Associations from the South Channel and Brittany come to the aid of Mayotte

Support for Mayotte continues. Several associations from Northern Brittany and the South Channel are joining forces to collect foodstuffs for the 101st French department, devastated by Cyclone Chido on December 14. It is the Bouge Bouge organization, based in Fougères, which is at the origin of the initiative. Le Grenier aux projects of Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët then became involved in the humanitarian adventure. “I myself am from Mayotte. My mother and my sisters are there. It took me a while to hear from everyone,” explains Nassai Madi, president of the Bouge Bouge association.

The Mahorais has set himself the objective of filling a container from the company Armor Protéines de Pontmain, in which he works and which supports him in his initiative. “For the moment we have filled half of the container, mainly with clothes. What we need now is food for the residents,” says Nassai Madi.

Food collected in Saint-Hilaire

To carry out his goal, the president of Bouge Bouge called on Grenier aux Projets, an association specializing in humanitarian aid. “This is the first time that Nassai has organized this kind of project. Here we regularly send half containers to Senegal or Guinea-Bissau, so we can advise it, explains Valérie Durand, treasurer of the organization. We talked to him about how to collect rainwater on site to drink it, that kind of thing, it’s very useful in those kinds of situations.” Le Grenier aux projects also collects food, which will then be donated to Bouge Bouge.

A month's journey by boat

It is at the headquarters, located in Virey, that the association harvests the products until January 12. “Then we will redistribute them to Nassai in the following days,” assures Valérie Durand. “The container must then leave between January 23 and 27, depending on the filling rate of the container. It would be a shame to leave if it is not full,” explains Nassai Madi. Humanitarian aid must be transported by ship to Mayotte at the end of February/beginning of March, taking the time to make the journey to the archipelago.

Collection from the attic to the projects: 36A route de la Ricolais, Virey. Until Sunday January 12.

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