During the meeting he had with the Chairman of the Hellenic Community of Madagascar, Mr Christos Spiliopoulos, His Beatitude took the initiative of re-establishing the Greek School of Antananarivo , through Greek language classes.
The Chairman of the Greek Community of this African island took His Beatitude on a guided tour of the buildings which are tied with the history of the Hellenic Community of Madagascar, next to the Church of the Presentation of the Theotokos which was built by Greek immigrants over 60 years previously. It is in a three-storey building which witnessed days of Hellenic glory, with conference halls, reception rooms, a school and an archive of the Community of Antananarivo.
“Today, the number of Greeks in Madagascar has diminished significantly, but not our wish to continue the work of our ancestors, to teach Greek to our children as well as the history of our land, so that we may pass on our culture to this place where are patriots created so much splendour”, said the Chairman of the Hellenic Community. He continued, saying: “The great problem preventing the re-operation of the Greek School is the lack of teaching staff for the few Greek children who are still here who number in a the tens only, if we add to those the children from mixed marriages. We must also not forget that this school could operate also as a Greek cultural centre for the locals who might want to learn about Greece ”.
His Beatitude stressed the necessity for life to return to the classrooms, himself taking the initiative to talk to the responsible persons at the Ministry of Education and Religion and to SAE.
“At some point, Greece needs to notice us, so that Hellenism is not lost in Madagascar ”, said the Chairman of the Hellenic Community.
