Razanakolona brothers' Olympic adventure

From École Polytechnique de Montréal

October 11, 2006 - Philippe Razanakolona, a Polytechnique student, and his brother Mathieu, both born in Canada with Malagasy roots, have decided to present Madagascar to the world and to help this beautiful island in need of and seeking international support, in their own way, of course.

The Razanakolona brothers' project was to represent Madagascar in alpine skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Mathieu was the first Malagasy skier competing in an Olympic winter event! This was a unique opportunity for Madagascar to gain positive international visibility. Philippe was basically taking care of everything that comes under the umbrella "organizing," i.e. logistics, communications, marketing...

This presence at the Winter Olympics has had a dual purpose for the Razanakolona's: the realization of an Olympic dream and a way of subsidizing a development program for Madagascar. Philippe has created a non-profit organisation, "rAzAlpin.org", that establishes a development program and manages the funds. "rAzAlpin.org" forms partnerships to finance a development program in Madagascar. The program is in accordance with the United Nations "Millennium Goals" for Madagascar and will fund sustainable development projects.