COVID-19 APPEAL

Marielle used to work as a domestic worker for a family in Antananarivo but ran into problems with the family.  She was placed at the AAF centre in 2017. She is a very well- behaved and hard working girl and wanted to take a cookery course.  She took up a place at La Restauration catering school in Antananarivo and from there, she was chosen to follow a waitress training course at the National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (INTH) in collaboration with the Federation of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs of Madagascar. It is a two-year apprenticeship training combining classroom studies and...

We would like to thank the fantastic fundraising achievements of 11-year-old Dylan. He was inspired by watching David Attenborough’s Perfect Planet and wanted to do some fundraising for environmental conservation work.  He researched different charities and chose to fundraise for our tree planting programme in Madagascar. During the half-term holiday in February, he ran 5km every day and asked for donations.  He raised an amazing £560.00! Dylan decided to donate this money to buy:  2 woodlands  1 copse  2 trees Thank you and well done Dylan!

Money for Madagascar is a UK based charity, who have been working in Madagascar for 35 years. We work with reputable Malagasy NGO partners, with whom we have strong relationships. There is now a famine in the South of Madagascar. here is a link to an impassioned plea from the World Food Program on CNN this week https://t.co/zd9st5UAnq?amp=1 MfM is appealing for help to step up our famine feeding response.  So far we have sent over £20,000 and we are still receiving and sending funds. We are currently feeding daily nutritious meals to all 650 kids in 2 primary schools...

The programme to train local families in different techniques of rice and maize cultivation, planting fruit trees and composting has been successful.   The families who took part received seeds, saplings and tools so they were able to put their training into practice and they chose the type of saplings they wanted for their own land.  Unfortunately, the drought has meant the harvest has been disappointing but the skills they have learned will be useful and help improve production in the future.        10 hectares of degraded land were identified for restoration in Betombotsirika. This was done with the...

We have had a very positive report from our Topaza project.  Despite the pandemic, there has been a lot of progress. In September, we reported that the construction of the farm buildings was underway.  Since then two cows were purchased and a calf was born.  The amount of milk from the cows averages 35 litres per week and is a fantastic addition to feed the children and staff at the centre improving their health and nutrition. A litter of piglets was born with the intention of selling 4 and keeping the other 5 for 5 months so they could be...

We are very excited to start a new project, working with a school in near the Andasibe National Park.  The school has 96 pupils and work is already well underway to create a kitchen garden to provide produce for the school canteen. After starting at the end of November, the garden was planted with a range of vegetables including courgettes, green beans, tomatoes and peppers. Some crops have been more successful than others but topping the table so far has to be the 83kg of courgettes harvested to date!  In February the school bought three rabbits who are providing fertiliser...

Covid is now gripping Madagascar. My heart is aching for colleagues and friends that we have lost to Covid in recent weeks and with fear for more we may lose as the covid situation in Madagascar become very frightening . This time it’s not just a financial crisis for households in lockdown it’s a medical crisis. The South African variant is spreading fast. In a country with almost no medical infrastructure and very little help with medical costs or social security,  the outlook is bleak. Oxygen canisters are now extremely scarce to come by, and at £60 per canister they...

Our partners in the E4L projects have sent us an update about their progress in the eight schools run by AVM and Ankizy Gasy, Despite the pandemic, we are pleased to report that the work continues. Training has been provided for teachers on child psychology and improving classroom practice and management. School Principals had leadership training.  The teachers were very positive about the training and evidence of changed practice as a result has been observed. The children were thrilled to learn about worm composting on a school trip.  They learned how this helps improve the soil and in turn increases...

There is a humanitarian crisis in southern Madagascar where people are starving to death. There has been a drought for a number of years in this area and the restrictions with the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation.  Movement has been restricted so supplies of food have not been getting to this part of the country.  This combination has caused famine and malnutrition in the local population. Whilst our established projects concentrate on improving lives long-term for example, through education, improving sanitation and social support, there are times where immediate assistance to help in emergency situations are essential.  This is...

To combat hunger and malnutrition, MfM invests in helping vulnerable children to grown their own organic food.  Like here, where a student at Akany Avoko children’s centre is photographed showing a courgette nearly ready for harvest. At this residential centre for vulnerable and destitute kids, harvested rainwater, bio-gas and compost are used to help produce vegetables to feed 150 children.  Now faced with lock-down, the centre is more grateful than ever for their investment in self-sufficiency. MfM gives regular support to Akany Avoko children’s centre. Much of the money we are able to send is thanks to sponsors in the...

It’s time to share some good news from our sustainable livelihoods project, run by SAF, in the villages surrounding Madagascar’s unique Betampona Reserve.  Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, they have had a successful year and the development and conservation in the area has achieved good results. The local population are learning ways to improve their agricultural practices to improve their income and nutrition in sustainable ways.  This helps reduce the forest being destroyed through ‘slash and burn’ and wildlife poaching. More productive agricultural techniques have also meant that the diets and therefore the health of the people have improved.  The sale...

                      The generous UWI grant awarded to the Topaza Children’s centre has been put to good use.  The centre is struggling financially with no funding coming from the state for several years to help support children sent there from the courts.  Topaza relies mostly on donations and sponsorship of children to keep the home open so this very generous grant is very welcome to help the financial stability of the centre. The majority of the grant was spent on a new minibus for the centre.  This arrived in July and...