Last modified: Saturday, July 1, 2006 11:52 PM EDT Former Attleboro resident Linda Tetreault stand in the doorway of her hut on the island nation of Madagascar. (Submitted photo) Former Attleboro mayoral candidate now helping African village BY STACEY M. PERLMAN/FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE ATTLEBORO -- For the past two years, Attleboro resident Linda Tetreault has been living in a 10- by 12-foot bamboo hut in the rainforests of Madagascar. Since returning to the United States about a month ago, the former Attleboro mayoral can didate has been visiting family and friends while getting a taste of guilty pleasures like Bloomin' Onions and Doritos before she heads back for another year in Madagascar, where she will continue her work with the Peace Corps. `` She's a magnificent lady,'' beamed long-time friend Irene Davey, as they sat one recent afternoon in the Larson Senior Center. (Going back early July) Tetreault has been helping the people of the Betsimisarika tribe on the island nation off the east coast of Africa, work ing with them to build toilets, schools and health centers. With 60 toilet facilities built already, a total of 150 are set to be constructed throughout the area she is serving. Three schools serving 70 children have also been built. Despite poverty throughout Madagascar, Tetreault said she is amazed by the dignity, respect and happiness of the people there. `` These are not unhappy peo ple. They're not depressed,'' she said. `` They respect their elders. It's a privilege to live with people like that.'' People tend to think of African countries as horrible places plagued by murder and rape, but that couldn't be fur ther from the truth, said Tetreault. `` I never have a fear that someone will hurt me,'' she said. There is also a great deal of trust among the people. When having to send packages or let ters, Tetreault would simply hand some money to the driver who would then deliver them to the right place. There is no tracking system like they have in the United States, but Tetreault always knew pack ages and letters would get to the right place. Tetreault said the villagers she is helping have a strong work ethic. While the women cook and collect river sand and the children break rocks, the men are busy hauling 110-pound bags of cement on their backs for seven miles down mountain trails. This labor is in addition to the men's work on farms, where they earn only 80 cents a day. They are not paid for their work with Tetreault; they do that in an effort to wipe out poverty and improve sanitation. Davey, whom Tetreault refers to as her `` second mother,'' took matters into her own hands and helped raise $150 for Tetreault, who in turn donated it to the men in the village. The money is the equivalent of half a year's pay for one man. Tetreault said that Peace Corps projects are taking aim at the problems of dysentery, malaria and indoor respiratory illnesses caused by smoke in the village huts. She noted that she hears fewer people throwing up in the middle of the night and less labored breathing thanks to the chimneys that have been installed in the huts. The construction of toilets is an effort to eliminate dysentery. Despite the lack of electricity, running water and the vast array of insects and animals that roam freely, Tetreault said her hardest adjustment was learning the native language. `` There was nobody that spoke English,'' she said. `` I'd go three months without speaking English to anybody.'' Now she is familiar with the language and can communicate freely with the villagers. Joining the Peace Corps was nothing unusual for Tetreault, who ran for mayor in 2001. She said she has always done volunteer and environmental work. After her stay in Madagascar, she plans to head to Indonesia where she will help rebuild hospitals that were destroyed by the tsunami. She will be working with the French organization M'e9decins Sans Fronti'e8res, or Doctors Without Borders. Tetreault said she feels overwhelmed coming back to the United States for her one-month visit. `` With the choices Americans have '85 I still hear them complaining. They don't recognize how fortunate they are,'' she said. After working so closely with the people in Madagascar, Tetreault does not fear leaving them and moving on. `` Once you build something, it's substantial,'' she said. `` They can take care of things on their own.'' rdrtrdrsrdrw15rsp160 Stacey Perlman is an intern at The Sun Chronicle from Northeastern University and can be reached at perlman.s(at)(at)neu.edu.