Alfa Narcisse NAMBININTSOA dreamed of learning and having a bright professional future. Coming from a large low-income family living in a rural area, he did not have the means to access quality education. In 2014 he took the entrance exam for the CERES (Education and remediation centres) program of IECD and was selected.

Created in 2006, from a partnership between the Malagasy association PROMES and IECD, the CERES program accompanies 500 college students per year, from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, 50% of whom are girls,  who are eager to continue their secondary studies, succeed in their professional integration and are determined to participate in their country’s development. “I took advantage of the existence of this structure to benefit from the boarding school, the library, to go on the Internet, to follow a quality education with a personal development program and a personalized accompaniment. CERES has been a great opportunity, this program is very good,” Alfa shared his experience.

Alfa continued his studies at Saint-François Xavier Antanimena High School, one of the best high schools in Madagascar, and won the title of National Major in the General Baccalaureate in Madagascar in 2022. In September 2022 he was invited to New York to represent Malagasy children at the United Nations Transforming Education Summit. He also visited the IECD headquarters in Paris to meet the teams. “I am here to prove to you that you work for a good cause “, said the young man during this moving meeting.