Fondation de France Mayotte cyclone Chido recovery funding, Digi Mart USA News (Mayotte): A Fondation de France delegation visited Mayotte last week to meet with local associative partners and review the progress of ongoing projects. According to Karine Méaux, head of the foundation’s emergencies division, this is the seventh visit by a delegation since Cyclone Chido passed.
Méaux said the foundation was already present on the island and supporting many projects related to water and housing before the cyclone. She said the foundation meets with national and local institutions, residents and local associations every six months to review its strategy.
Of the €44 million raised, €28 million has so far been redirected to various sectors, notably food and water. More than 375 projects have been supported at an estimated cost of €28 million.
“We wanted to avoid moving too quickly in order to target the most vulnerable,” Méaux said.
The remaining €16 million will be directed first toward housing. Méaux said reconstruction in areas hit by natural disasters, particularly Mayotte, where damage was extremely severe, is not expected to begin for one to one and a half years.
She said the foundation cannot fund public buildings such as roads, schools or hospitals, which is the responsibility of the state and local authorities.
During the roughly ten-day visit, the delegation went to several locations, including the Coconi agricultural high school to support coconut replanting, Ouangani to fund Compagnons bâtisseurs rebuilding homes destroyed by Chido, and Tsingoni to take part in forest cleanup after the cyclone. Méaux said the foundation also plans to target people aged 16 to 25 through sports-linked youth projects and work-integration sites.
Méaux stated that the foundation will spend the €44 million in Mayotte and will continue supporting projects in culture, agriculture, youth, sport, housing, health and mental health.
