Parfait has been the mayor of the rural community of Antsatsaka for more than 25 years. In his six terms of office, he has experienced all the changes and difficulties in the local community.
Parfait is amongst the first clients of Nanoé in the community, with the town’s first electricity pole set up in 2018. Parfait not only encouraged the project as a mayor, but also as a direct beneficiary as he was convinced of its benefits for local development. The electrification of the town, delivered by Nanoé, has been an important step. It has changed the daily lives of local residents; children can study at night, local shops can get refrigerators and, ultimately, public services like schools or the local town hall operate better.
What are your professional background, your technical expertise and your areas of interest ?
I haven’t studied, yet my strength is the trust that the local residents have had in me for many years. I particularly receive support from young people because I spend a lot of time with them, organising physical activities or community meetings. This creates a close proximity and a strong bond.
My role isn’t only to manage but also to listen and bring together local residents around development projects. This influence is my main skill as a mayor.
Why did you participate in the project?
The town had an urgent need for electricity. Without energy, sustainable development isn’t feasible. Since Nanoé started working with us, we have already experienced visible changes:
- Security: thanks to electrified homes, residents feel more secure. Moreover, electricity reduces fire risks linked to oil lamps or candles.
- Social life: residents can meet at night, organise community meetings or take part in social activities. Electricity also improves communication and community cohesion between families and neighbours.
- Reduced spending and environmental protection: households use less oil lamps or candles. Individual solar systems purchased on the market or in town aren’t as effective as Nanoé’s solution.
Now, the problems that we would like to resolve with our participation in this project are:
- Public lighting: with local roads being lit, night-time travels will become safer and attract more visitors to spend the night in the village.
- Economic development: access to more powerful electricity services will enable local shopkeepers to grow their activities – such as bakeries, hair salons, workshops and fresh produce preservation.
- Education and health: schools will benefit from better conditions for evening classes. Healthcare centres will ensure preservation of medicine and vaccines, and will be able to provide continuous and more reliable care.
- Future aspirations: electricity will enable young people to be more confident and stay in the community. This will help curb rural exodus.
How do you hope you will benefit from participating in the project and its outcomes?
With this project, I want the local families of my community to live better daily lives with more light and security. I am expecting young people to find economic opportunities locally, without having to leave the village. And for the entire community, I hope that this will attract other development projects in the future.