The project's beginning dates back to 1984 when the "school passport"
was initiated by AMADE-Monaco: it aimed at providing a sustainable development
in poor or underdeveloped countries by improving the children's education. The
supportive involvement of students of Monaco was an important aspect of this
initiative.
AMADE-Monaco launched the project with AMADE-Madagascar, one of the first "AMADE-sisters".
16 children from Madagascar at the age of six were put into the responsibility
of AMADE-Monaco during their five years of elementary education. Both students
and teachers in Monaco committed themselves to supportive action, to raise the
necessary funds. During a period of four schoolyears all classes of the secondary
school got involved into the project.
Afterwards we started the "school passport" with Lithuania.
Subsequently the project subdivided and we also financed the construction of
an entire school in Madagascar.
Originally the "school passport" was meant to work as a "remote
adoption". Its intention was to have the students of a class of an industrial
country take over the responsibility for the education of one more more children
in a less fortunate country. As a result our students got sensitized for the
problems of children in an undeveloped country and there was enough menpower
to raise the needed funds for those countries.
Today the national AMADEs are taking over more
and more responsibility for themselves by an improved organisation, allowing
them to come up with funds on their own by mobilizing local donors or by coming
up with sponsors. This way we can focus our efforts more on structural measures
to improve the development of the local initiatives.
Even today (2006) AMADE-Monaco continues their support for already supported
countries like Madagascar and Lithuania. As an example we supported AMADE-Argentinia
with the launch of the "school passport" in 2002.
