Synthia comes from Andromba, a farming village in the region of Ambatondrazaka, famous for it’s rice production. She looks back on a difficult childhood, because when she was four, her father was accused of theft and sent to jail for 5 years. He didn’t do it, though. He was mixed up with someone with the same name, and he wasn’t able to prove it. These 5 years were very hard for Synthia and her mother, because a lot of people in the village looked down upon them. Synthia didn’t have many friends and didn’t feel accepted. After her father was released, they were able to get their life back in order and start again, and now their position in the village is much better. The people accept her family now, but thinking back of her early years still makes Synthia frustrated and saddened.
Synthia’s parents used to grow rice for a living, but due to climate change and bad weather the yields have become much less. Now they only grow rice for personal use. To earn an additional income, Synthia’s father repairs bicycles and her mother sells mofogasy, a typical Malagasy type of bread.
After finishing high school, Synthia would have loved to study science at university. She especially took an interest in chemistry and genetic engineering. Her dream couldn’t become reality though, because of financial limitations. Instead Synthia worked for a year in a quarry to dig for gemstones, but without much benefit. She looks forward to becoming a coder, because she was always good at mathematics and science.