Close link to Madagascar
Our Managing Director Stéphane Lévêque has had a close link to Madagascar for many years. In his frequent visits over a period of 20+ years, he has formed a very strong network there. After hearing about the struggles of the vulnerable communities due to lock-down, he decided to call on his connections and friends to see what could be done to support these communities in need.
The response was overwhelming!
Support rained in from every corner
Jean Marc Bouchet, a restaurant owner in the capital city of Antananarivo, immediately offered to put his industrial kitchens at our disposal. Régis Guillet, Director of Au Complexe, offered to manage the production of all the meals each day. The First Lady of Madagascar, Mialy Rajoelina, offered to help distribute the meals. Her association Fitia organized the distribution among desperate people who were in confinement centres, orphanages, schools and churches. She was so committed to our project that she travelled to help prepare the dishes for several consecutive days. Envol Madagascar, the initiative of Faranah Goulamaly, helped to distribute the meals among single women with young children who were victims of violence. Sakafo pour tous helped to distribute the meals among street children. To support this project, financial contributions came in from concerned friends and colleagues around the globe.
Bringing meals directly to people in need
Thanks to this wonderful collaboration of diverse people from faraway lands, we were able to prepare and distribute 5,000 meals per day locally. The organizational skills and connections of all those involved made it possible for us to bring these daily meals directly to the people for 3 full weeks!
Heart-warming and humbling experience
COVID-19 has had a profound impact on all of our lives in some way or another. For the most part 2020 will be remembered for the all negative things it brought about, but these three weeks will be remembered in our company as a heart-warming time in which we saw so many happy and thankful faces of people who were struggling even more than we could ever imagine.
