Solidarity with Mayotte: Cyclone Recovery Efforts One Month On

On 14 December 2024, Cyclone Chido wreaked havoc on the French archipelago of Mayotte, a region already facing significant socio-economic challenges. In response, Fondation de France quickly launched a nationwide appeal for donations, raising an extraordinary €40 million. Thanks to this remarkable solidarity, the foundation has already supported 18 local associations to address the immediate needs of the affected populations.

The Solidarité Mayotte committee, made up of seven expert volunteers, has convened four times since the disaster and will continue to meet at least weekly in the coming months to assess evolving needs and decide on priority actions. To date, 18 projects have been funded, amounting to €2.5 million in aid.

Responding to Immediate Needs

Fondation de France is supporting on-the-ground actions to meet immediate needs, including food aid, access to drinking water, hygiene kits, preparations for housing reconstruction, psychological support, and assistance for children. Funded initiatives include:

• Wema Watrou: Providing emergency aid to 70 highly vulnerable families in the village of Tsararano. This includes distributing food, clothing, and essential supplies such as hygiene kits, mattresses, tarps, lamps, first aid kits, mosquito nets, and water jugs. In partnership with the POPAM (Platform Opellia for addiction prevention and care in Mayotte), the association is also conducting medical outreach to ensure isolated individuals can access healthcare.
• Tsingoni Regional Authority: An association that has collaborated with Fondation de France since 2024 as part of the “Preparing for and Responding to Crises and Disasters” program. Following the cyclone, they are distributing food vouchers and conducting outreach in neighbourhoods to identify vulnerable populations, including women, children, and the elderly, while directing them to available assistance. The group also helps clear debris, creates collective vegetable gardens to restart local food production, and oversees two employment projects focused on waste management and recycling.
• The NGO Solidarités International: Providing technical support to a number of local associations, in particular to restore access to drinking water and repair sewage systems.
• Center for Information on the Rights of Women and Families (CIDFF): Delivering drinking water, food kits, and hygiene supplies to isolated elderly individuals and women facing domestic or familial violence. They also provide temporary shelter solutions and water purification for water sourced from wells, rivers, and natural springs.
• Union of Mahoran Students and Pupils of Reunion: Supporting Mayotte students studying in La Réunion who are in precarious situations, as their families are no longer able to send aid. They distribute food parcels and psychological support sessions in collaboration with the university.

Supporting Children and Their Families

Fondation de France is committed to safeguarding children’s access to education and well-being by supporting local organisations that assist families, provide school supplies and toys, and organise sports, arts, and cultural activities. These include:

• Le Village d’Eva: An association that has been active in Mayotte for over a decade in the field of child protection. They offer educational activities and post-cyclone psychological care for children, as well as distributing food and drinking water to families.
• Les Petites Pousses: Operating in the northern regions of Mayotte (Acoua, Mtsamboro, Bandraboua, and Koungou), where the cyclone caused total destruction, this group supports 300 children aged 0–10 and their families. They provide toys and play equipment tailored to the children’s needs. Childcare professionals from the association organise educational and artistic activities, as well as cooking workshops for parents and children.
• Les Diables Noirs de Combani: This Mahoran football league supports 40 families facing extreme hardship, including single mothers with children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities in the village of Combani. They provide food vouchers, essential supplies, school equipment, and organise sports and cultural activities.

Ensuring Access to Healthcare and Psychological Support

The scale of the disaster has led to immense healthcare and psychological needs. Fondation de France is funding associations that provide access to basic medical care, psychological support and safe spaces for healing. These include:

• Action Coup de Pouce in Kaweni: Working to combat social isolation among vulnerable groups, especially women and children. They offer psychological support services, collective meals, educational and sports activities for youth, and intergenerational cultural initiatives to help communities recover from the trauma inflicted by the cyclone.
• Mednum: Addressing the digital divide in post-cyclone Mayotte, this organization establishes digital access points across the island to help residents file insurance claims and medical care requests online. They also organise workshops to train locals in using digital tools, including platforms like MEDADOM, which offers online medical consultations, making healthcare more accessible.
• Fédération Nationale de la Protection Civile: Active in Mayotte since 2015, this group provides emergency medical assistance, including operating a dispensary, conducting medical outreach, and offering psychological support.
• Médecins du Monde: For several years, this organization has facilitated access to essential healthcare services for isolated communities across Mayotte.

Facilitating Reconstruction

Alongside the response to immediate needs, it is necessary to anticipate the reconstruction and economic recovery phase. Housing and agriculture have been devastated. An assessment of the housing has been conducted with the Likoli Dago association in the Talus 2 slum in Majicavo-Koropa, where Fondation de France supported the construction of houses. A more comprehensive assessment of the buildings is also being carried out by Architectes de l'urgence, in collaboration with the French government.

Discussions have also begun with construction professionals and associations like Compagnons Bâtisseurs, which have partnered with Fondation de France on previous post-cyclone recovery efforts in the French overseas territories. Plans are also underway to help get children back into school as quickly as possible, as well as to revive the economy, particularly in the agricultural sector.

To help restore a sense of normalcy, Fondation de France is funding projects like Radio Dziani, Mayotte’s main radio station. With the foundation’s support, the organisation will rebuild its facilities and replace broadcasting equipment destroyed by the cyclone.

Donations to support recovery in Mayotte can be made to:
Fondation de France – Solidarité Mayotte
60509 Chantilly Cedex, France

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