Rising Voices
If you try to stay up to date on news from Madagascar, it is more than likely that you regularly read the Madagascar Tribune. And if you are indeed a subscriber, you would have recently come across a small news item by journalist Herimanda R about a rare and successful operation which took place in the neurosurgery department of Ravoahangy Hospital on June 10. One-year-old Tombotsara Ambinindrazana, forever known as “Baby Kamba” among bloggers around the world, was born with a rare case of frontal-nasal meningoencephalitis, which caused a large growth to protrude from his forehead, as seen in the following photo:
An article from Midi Madagasikara notes that only 37 cases of meningoencephalitis have been seen at Ravoahangy Hospital. But what neither article mentions is the amazing background story of a determined 18-year-old blogger named Diana Chamia who first raised awareness about Kamba’s condition with her blog post “Help Me Help Them“.
Diana Chamia pictured with Kamba prior to his operation, which was made possible largely to Diana’s hard work.
Diana, a young journalism student in Mahajanga, Madagascar, learned how to blog thanks to citizen media workshops organized by Rising Voices’ grantee, Foko Madagascar. Other Foko bloggers from Mahajanga include Cylnice, Jombilo, Lomelle, Mielmanja, Rondro, Tonkataly, Ysiastella, and Zouboon.
Bloggers from the Foko Blog Club in Mahajanga, with Diana wearing all black in the middle.
But it was Diana who decided to use her blog as a space for social action. As she describes in a blog post from April 19, Diana first met baby Kamba and his single mother, Philomène Georgine, after she missed her usual bus stop while lost in thought.
I took bus number 5 from home to Bazar Mahabibo, but I was too dreamy or maybe it’s this kid’s destiny. I missed my stop. We were already at the City hall busstop when I realized my mistake. On the way back to the market, I saw this lady who was bearing a kid on her back, another in her arms and a big red bag on her shoulder. The one in her front was shielded with a green sari. (I was wondering why she used such protection in the very warm Majunga weather). A gust blew, revealing the child’s face.
Diana goes on to describe her interaction with Philomène who, despite her best efforts, was not able to find support for the operation to remove the large growth from her son’s forehead. That same day Diana promised herself that she would work to get Kamba the operation which would allow him to grow up an ordinary child without attracting the strange looks from passerby that his mother had already grown accustomed to.
For the next few months Diana rallied her fellow Malagasy bloggers to help her cause. The entire Foko blogging project got behind the initiative and helped Diana set up Zaza sy Vavy Gasy (”For a Malagasy Woman and Child”), a bilingual site dedicated to raising support and funding for the costly operation to remove the growth on Kamba’s forehead. A Facebook causes page was also set up.
Diana’s long campaign has been well documented by Foko project coordinator Joan Razafimaharo both on her personal blog and at the national blogging collective, Malagasy Miray.
Meanwhile in Canada, Jean Razafindambo, a Malagasy expat with strong roots in Mahajanga, was surfing the internet on the day his grandson was born when he stumbled upon Diana’s blog. As Razafindambo told the Ottawa Citizen, “I thought about my grandson, he was healthy, and if (Kamba) was my grandson, what would I do?” With the help of friends, co-workers and generous strangers, Jean and his wife Baku raised nearly $1,500 for Kamba’s operation by running in Ottawa’s half marathon in May.
Baby Kamba recovering well
As you can see in the above photo, baby Kamba is recovering remarkably given that it was such a serious operation (lasting more than 8 hours). That operation would have never taken place if it were not for Diana’s big heart and stubborn persistence. How many times have we passed by an individual in need of help and blamed our government for a lack of decent healthcare or public housing? But then we walk on. Diana didn’t walk on. Armed with nothing more than a blog and her determination, she forever changed the life of a baby boy who has become known around the world as Baby Kamba. You can hear directly from Kamba’s mother Philomène and from Diana herself in the following video with English subtitles.
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[...] I mentioned how ridiculously honored I am to be able to work with people like Diana and the Foko team? I am looking forward to meeting Pati [podcast] at the Global Interdependence [...]
posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:06 pm - #8015It is pretty amazing to see how adding sights and sounds to a story adds so much more depth to it. Congrats to all of the hard work put in by everyone…
posted on July 21st, 2008 at 2:38 pm - #8016Wow. Unbelievable story, and amazing that Diana accomplished what she did by blogging!
posted on July 21st, 2008 at 3:03 pm - #8019Thank you so much Diana and dear Foko Folks for sharing this piece - such an inspiration, it shows that everyone can make this a better world.
posted on July 21st, 2008 at 3:14 pm - #8020ohhhhh this is so sweet i’m about to cry (of course we texted diana and she ll do her best to find her was on Rising Voices and thank you guyz)
posted on July 21st, 2008 at 5:02 pm - #8028Her spirit and energy have touched everyone and mostly all the FBC kids who now feel very inspired by her work .
Thanks you friends
Read this story last night, and still can’t shake it out of my head. Diana is the perfect example of someone courageous enough to take a step from reaction to action, and making the difference many of us just talk or think about.
Thank you Diana, you are a true inspiration.
posted on July 21st, 2008 at 9:59 pm - #8044Thanks Diana. Now, all around the word can see tha when Malagasy want, Malagasy can. and blogging is one way to find out how life is very very important for us (bloggers).
posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 3:56 am - #8058This is such an inspiring story! Kind hearts + the power of blogging = everyday miracles!
posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 4:30 am - #8060Such a beautiful story. Go FOKO!
posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 5:58 am - #8066[...] Rising Voices » One Blogger’s Determination to Help Baby Kamba in Madagascar A section of CauseWired covers Foko Madagasgar’s terrific work in empowering community blogging and online organizing. Here’s an incredibly inspiring story of one blogger’s will to change a baby’s life, using social media to get the job done. Wow. (tags: Madagasgar socialmedia blog) [...]
posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 6:37 pm - #8109Very inspiring, indeed. I’ll sure send it to all those skeptical people that are always asking about the use of having a blog.
Thanks for sharing it!
posted on July 23rd, 2008 at 8:19 pm - #8201Wow, absolutely inspiring.I couldn’t have put it better than Janine ‘ Kind hearts + the power of blogging = everyday miracles!’ This is amazing.
posted on July 24th, 2008 at 9:58 am - #8276[...] les journaux ne vont pas parler. Les blogueurs de Foko, représenté par sipakv, ont montré qu’un blog peut-être aussi un puissant acteur de progrè social qui dynamise une communauté à se mobiliser pour la bonne cause. Cet acte de solidarité a touché [...]
posted on July 24th, 2008 at 12:27 pm - #8291Complimenti !!!!
posted on July 25th, 2008 at 2:33 am - #8364[...] The this year we raised funds to make Madagascar’s Children’s dreams come true. [...]
posted on July 27th, 2008 at 6:00 am - #8573The power of blogging. And the kindness and persistence of a soul. I am in awe.
posted on July 27th, 2008 at 6:29 am - #8575[...] took her hours to convince Georgine to allow her to take pictures from her Nokia mobile phone !! If youth activism made Majunga known worldwide, the other motivation to start workshops in Madagascar provinces was to [...]
posted on August 1st, 2008 at 12:16 am - #8997[...] tanora raha tsy hiteny oe zaza aho satria tompoko lahy sy tompoko vavy i Diana dia ankizy mananana “volonte” sy “perverance” be tokoa ary tsy nihambahamba izy ny nampiseho sy nanao antso avo tamin’ny alalany blogny . Raha [...]
posted on August 2nd, 2008 at 8:57 pm - #9201What a exciting story! Thanks, the power of blogging. I wish all the best of the baby ‘KAMBA’.
posted on August 4th, 2008 at 11:33 pm - #9397I felt very sorry when I read this story. I am also sorry for kamba. I pray for kamba’s recovery.
posted on August 5th, 2008 at 1:28 am - #9412[...] the world was captivated with one blogger from Madagascar, Diana making the front page with her extraordinary social initiative for baby Kamba, the works of her fellow bloggers of the Rising Voices grantee FOKO may have been [...]
posted on August 9th, 2008 at 2:52 pm - #9784hi everybody, it’s Stephane from the Foko Blog Club ( FBC ).i’d just want to thank those who have written,especially the Rising Voices members,for your consideration. Speacial thank also to david sasaki for having worked hardly for the Rising Voices members.thank you all!
posted on August 18th, 2008 at 11:15 am - #10315[...] in giving away for (free) such important informations and hard work. Cyclone Yvan coverage and Baby Kamba project were two very interesting examples of journalists and webmasters relaying without aknowledging [...]
posted on August 26th, 2008 at 11:03 pm - #10987