A Response to Drought, Locusts, and Floods in Madagascar. After being plagued by a series of disaster events, Madagascar’s vulnerable population are receiving much-needed food and other assistance from World Renew. International Relief Managers, George and Toni Fernhout from Edmonton, Alberta are coordinating this response.
After being plagued by a series of disaster events, Madagascar’s vulnerable population are receiving much-needed food and other assistance from World Renew. International Relief Managers, George and Toni Fernhout from Edmonton, Alberta are coordinating this response.
“This year, Madagascar has been struck by successive disaster events,” said Jacqueline Koster, World Renew’s Eastern and Southern Africa Disaster Response Manager, “First a cyclone, then swarms of locusts, and finally a period of erratic weather. All of this has combined to create a situation of widespread food insecurity and hunger particularly in the south.”
Madagascar is already one of the world’s poorest countries with an average per capita income of only $260. Many families rely on small-scale farms for their income and food supply. After this year’s series of disaster events, it is estimated that 400,000 people within Madagascar have been directly affected and are now facing severe food shortages until the next crop can be harvested next June.
World Renew is partnering with the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM) to respond to this crisis. FJKM has been operating in the affected region or 17 years and is also a member with World Renew in the ACT Alliance.
Earlier this fall, another World Renew International Relief Manager, Peter Diepersloot, travelled to Madagascar to meet with FJKM, assess this situation, and determine an appropriate response. Based on this assessment, World Renew and FJKM decided to provide food assistance, seeds and farming tools to 1,000 families in the Sakaraha district.
“Each month, families receive 50kg of rice, 10 kg of beans, and 3 liters of cooking oil,” said Koster. “Fifteen percent of these families are considered especially vulnerable and receive the food rations at no cost. The remaining 85% of the families are working on community improvement projects in exchange for this food.“
The community projects were decided upon in consultation with community members during the assessment phase. These projects build social capital. They include cleaning irrigation canals, repairing roads, planting trees, rehabilitating farm fields, and other farm-related activities. Families who receive food rations have been asked to contribute 10 days of labor each month towards these projects.
George and Toni Fernhout are long-time disaster response volunteers with World Renew and left for Madagascar on November 6. In 2004, they helped the organization respond to a horrific tsunami in Sri Lanka. They have also served in Syria and Haiti.
In Madagascar, the Fernhouts are working with FJKM to oversee the selection of beneficiaries and the distribution of food and farming supplies. They are also monitoring the success of the project and providing regular reports on its progress.
World Renew’s response in Madagascar is funded through its alliance with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Additional support is still needed.
