By Lindsay Redifer

  Americans Sara LeHoullier and Sondra Fischer love two things: teaching and Madagascar. Now they are combining the two in a project custom-made for Tamatave, a city on the east coast of the Island, a center for learning and cultural exchange for native English speakers and the Malagasy people.

  The two lived in Madagascar from 2005 to 2007 when they served as volunteers in the Peace Corps. Once their tours ended, they found themselves at home in the United States and unsettled. Fischer called LeHoullier with an ultimatum-if she got down to her last two thousand dollars and was still without a job she was returning to Madagascar and wanted LeHoullier to come with her. “I thought, why not?” LeHoullier said.

  And, they were off. Today, the two friends work constantly to bring their idea of a cultural exchange center to life in Tamatave. “We’re one,” Fischer said of their partnership. The two want the same things for the community, a place to learn English and learn how to benefit from local tourism, an industry on the rise.

   Tour guide Fidelys Raharimandimby is one of Fischer and LeHoullier’s biggest cheerleaders, said he’s already worked with many English speaking tourists. He’s noticed English speakers seem more likely to spend more money than French speakers, but only if there’s something special to see.