Responding to Drought in Madagascar

Participants checking in for a food Distribution in the community of Ifotaka

Greetings from Madagascar!

Madagascar - off Africa’s southeast coast

Many areas of Africa are facing serious challenges right now, but southern Madagascar has been particularly hard hit. World Renew is partnering with SAF/FJKM—Sampan’Asa Fampandrosoana of the Fiangonan’i Jesoa Kristy eto Madagasikara—on a Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) funded food assistance project in the Amboasary district. The region has been severely affected by prolonged drought and food insecurity, with many families surviving on only one small meal a day, often just plain rice, which falls far short of meeting their nutritional needs.

This assignment came together quickly and a bit unexpectedly, giving us the chance to work in a country and with a partner completely new to us. One of the biggest adjustments has been language. Madagascar has two official languages—Malagasy and French—but in the rural south, French isn’t widely spoken. Not that our grade-school French would have gotten us very far anyway! Most conversations here happen only in Malagasy, so our interpreter, Michelin, has become a lifeline. Thanks to him, we’ve been able to build meaningful connections with both the SAF team and the communities they serve.

We’re also grateful to Matilda Okech, World Renew’s Director of International Disaster Response, who traveled from Kenya to join us at the start of this assignment. She helped open doors—introducing us to the local partner and joining us on a preliminary visit to the project site—which set the stage for the work to follow.

Stacks of 60 kg bags of rice - ready to be distributed

Each month, for five months, the project provides 2,100 vulnerable households with food baskets that include 60 kg of rice, 9 kg of beans, and 2 litres of cooking oil.

It’s a response designed to fill the most urgent needs, while also being carefully targeted and community-led. SAF/FJKM is doing an excellent job ensuring the distributions are fair, transparent, and safe.

We’ve been involved in several aspects of the project: joining food distributions, visiting communities, and supporting the survey process—helping with survey design, assisting with  training on the KoboCollect app used for data collection, and accompanying the team in the field for parts of the endline survey. We’re also working with the team to make some behind-the-scenes processes more efficient for future projects.

One of the SAF Project Team Members interviews a project participant

One of the highlights for us has been sitting down with families in the program—hearing their stories, and understanding both their struggles and their remarkable resilience. It’s a sobering reminder of how deeply the climate crisis is affecting daily life, especially for women-led households, older adults, and those living with disability.

Anakovatae, a project participant, tends beans she planted from her food rations

The SAF/FJKM staff—both the local team and their HQ in the capital of Antananarivo—have been incredibly supportive and welcoming. We’re thankful for their partnership, and their deep commitment to the communities they serve.

With the SAF Project Team - in front of their field office in Amboasary

The work continues, with one monthly food distribution still to come and much still to do as we review the endline survey results—measuring the project’s impact—and help SAF complete the reporting and documentation required by CFGB.

We’re grateful for your continued support and interest in this work—and we’d ask you to keep Madagascar in your thoughts and prayers. Rainfall remains unpredictable, and the needs are immense. But so too is the strength of the communities here.

We have included a few photos below that we hope will offer glimpses into the people, places, and moments - and bring some helpful context to what we’ve shared.

Thanks for journeying with us 😊,

 
Pam & Henry

Warm smiles and song and dance welcome us to the community

Community meetings precede each distribution

A SAF Project Team member checking in a participant

Approximately 150,000 kg of food gets offloaded by hand each month

A short rest before the journey home from the distribution site

Some households will join up with others and hire an ox cart to transport the food home

 A typical Fokontony (village)  in the Amboasary District - showing the barren soil conditions