Good Onja, Sam

How does a 29-year-old engineering graduate with a major in mechatronics end up in a remote part of Madagascar, teaching English and computer coding?

While Sam Lucas was in Ghana in 2009, teaching English and maths as a volunteer, he was struck by the wasted talent among his students. He returned to New Zealand in 2015 and, despite never having visited Madagascar, he founded Onja (a Malagasy word meaning ‘waves’) using his savings and money raised by friends and family.

I wanted to experience the project first-hand, so in May I headed to Madagascar. After 36 hours’ flying, I touched down in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s bustling, chaotic capital, and then endured a bone-shaking seven-hour car trip, before arriving in the small coastal town of Mahanoro where Onja is based.

Sam introduced me to his 26 students and small team of volunteer teachers and staff. The students, aged 17 to 22, had been selected from thousands who applied, so represent some of Madagascar’s best and brightest. Despite learning English for less than six months, their basic fluency was already apparent. Many rose at 4am to put in extra study ahead of their 7am classes. It’s that kind of determination that motivated Sam to establish Onja.

“Having spent a lot of time in the developing world over the past five years, I have been inspired by the incredible commitment displayed by the students I work with,” he says. “It really concerned me that few, if any, would ever be able to attend higher education or find well-paid employment. Knowing that such brilliant minds would easily find work in developed countries, I spotted an opportunity to connect the two.”

In exchange for receiving a two-year education, the students agree to work for an outsourcing venture after they graduate. Profits generated by this venture are fed back into funding the school to educate more students.

Establishing Onja hasn’t been easy. There’s fundraising, the isolated location, being responsible for 26 young boarders, and ensuring the ongoing sustainability of the project.

“It takes unrelenting commitment and belief and a hardworking, trusting team,” Sam says. “But I know I’m helping these students develop skills that will significantly impact their futures.”

After a month living in Mahanoro, I grew to love the laidback lifestyle, listening to waves crashing on the beach, and the simplicity of a diet of rice, beans and tropical fresh fruit. I also had perfect mobile connectivity, for far less than we pay in New Zealand. It’s an example of how technology can drive change in even the world’s poorest countries.

Sam’s commitment to Onja is the same as that required of a start-up entrepreneur.

“We have developed a proven model that will be able to expand to other countries in the future,” he says. “While there are an endless number of challenges, including being separated from friends and family, right now I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”

Growing up poor, my opportunities were always going to be extremely limited.

My parents are farmers and I’m one of four children. I would help my mother every weekend to take goods to the market to earn money to pay our school fees.

In Madagascar, parents are expected to contribute towards their children’s education. While I was at high school, our principal asked us to set a goal. Mine was to become a computer engineer, even though I knew my family didn't have enough money for me to achieve my goal. 

I received my Baccalaureate qualification but university was out of the question, so I started working as a teacher to earn a small amount of money. up poor, my opportunities were always going to be extremely limited. 

One day my life changed when I was invited to sit an exam to be part of Onja. I was so happy when I received the call to say I had been accepted. I am now studying hard to become the computer engineer I always dreamed about.