Our Partners

Download: Our Partners

Protecting and Enabling Vulnerable Children:

Various projects supporting children, families, and schools.

This programme transforms the lives of vulnerable children in and around Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo. Orphaned, abandoned, abused, sick and homeless children receive shelter, food, healthcare, education, water, sanitation and loving care. The programme supports the following partners and projects:

• Akany Avoko Ambohidratrimo
  A home providing care for vulnerable children aged 0 – 21.
• Akany Avoko Bevalala 
  A home for destitute boys; a subsidiary of Akany Avoko Ambohidratrimo.
• Akany Avoko Faravohitra 
  A home providing residential care and education for vulnerable teenage girls. Its café and craft shop provide training and work experience for older girls/young women.
• Akany Hasina 
  A non-residential after-school club providing homework support and environmental and cultural education.
• Ankizy Gasy
  Runs an extensive Student Sponsorship Scheme for more than 1,000 students in and around Ambohidratrimo, including primary and secondary school pupils, university students and people undertaking vocational training. Ankizy Gasy provides support services for students in and beyond school, including medical care, canteens, homework clubs, careers services and vocational courses. It also run a mentoring centre, where many of these services are provided.
• La Source Special Needs School
  MfM supported La Source for 20 years. Since the directors retired, MfM supporters set up a voluntary pension fund to make an annual gift to the directors, as a gesture of gratitude and to help them in their retirement.
• SAF Medical Centre
  A grant from UWI enabled MfM to support SAF in setting up an ultrasound service at the SAF medical unit in the centre of Antananarivo. The grant enabled the purchase of ultrasound equipment and paid for medical professionals’ training. MfM supported several SAFFIFA Social-Work Centres, which operated under the management of the SAFFIFA church group. These centres, the Isotry Centre, Gilpin Centre, and Akanin-Zazavavy Girls Centre, helped vulnerable and needy children from 2000- 2022.
• Sisters Of the Good Shepherd
  At the Fihavanana Centre, MfM has for decades supported vulnerable children, enabling them to access education, food, and medical care. In addition to daily classes and canteens, wider social work services with families and state services build pathways for children and teenagers to re-enter mainstream education or take part in vocational training.
• Topaza FJKM Children’s Centre
  MfM started supporting this Children’s Centre through a three-year grant from the Union of Welsh Independents. We continue to support Topaza through our daily school food programme, funded by Mary’s Meals, and through wider benefits of training and support provided by our Vulnerable Children’s Programme.

Resilient Forest and Livelihoods:

Through education, training and practical support, we help farmers and forest dwellers improve their incomes and protect and restore their fragile environment. Urgent attention is now focused on reforestation, sustainable food security and resilience to climate change.

The programme supports the following partners and projects:

• Ivato Theological College
• Mitsinjo Forest
  This project trains people to become rural development technicians, trains farmers in more efficient, productive and protective cultivation of vegetables, trees and fruit trees. From 2019-23, we worked together to help train theological students, with funding from the Union of Welsh Independents, and we are working with Association Mitsinjo to restore indigenous forests and develop livelihoods in Andasibe-Mantadia.
• SAF – Betampona
  Agricultural and development officers work with vulnerable farmers to develop sustainable livelihoods to improve forest communities’ food security, education and health. By investing in sustainable development and environmental education, we helped Malagasy people reduce the destruction/exploitation of the Betampona Special Reserve, thus contributing to its conservation. This project ran from 1990 to 2022.
• SAF – Melaky
  Working with women’s cooperatives in Madagascar’s far west to restore forests and seed fund income-generating activities for low-income families.
• SAF – Toamasina
  Reducing food insecurity and poverty using sustainable agricultural techniques in the east of Madagascar. Projects targeted the most vulnerable, including juvenile prisoners, school children, and women’s cooperatives. This project ran from 1990 to 2022.
• Madagasikara Voakajy
  Youth for Lemurs Project: Funded by DEFRA’s Darwin Initiative, this project enables young people to lead lemur conservation in eastern Madagascar. It aims to equip 200 youths with knowledge, skills and experience to increase yields through sustainable farming. Partnerships with local enterprises help grow aromatic and medicinal plants that can be cultivated for new markets. Young people will share their community knowledge, skills, and experience and engage members in lemur conservation stewardship.

Education for Life: 

This programme tackles key educational access and attainment obstacles in Madagascar’s remote rural primary schools. 

• Association Voary Maitso AVM  – delivers the majority of the Education for Life (EfL) Programme to schools in Itasy and Miarinarivo regions
• Ankizy Gasy – delivers EfL in the Analamanga Region, specifically around Ambohidratrimo 
• Working together for the Development of Madagascar – delivers EfL in Analamanga Region, specifically in Alasora 
• Association Miarintsoa AMI – delivers WASH infrastructure in EfL schools. 

Research Partners: 

• University of Antananarivo
• Lancaster University
• Bangor University
• University of West of England
• University of Cumbria

 

Development and Business Partners: 

Find our list of business partners.
Hear more about what our development partners have to say.