Nearly six weeks after the passage of Cyclone Chido, the Fondation de France has already collected more than 40 million euros to help Mayotte. These funds are used to facilitate reconstruction and meet basic needs by relying on the local associative fabric.
More than 40 million euros is the amount collected by the Fondation de France to help Mayotte almost six weeks after the devastating passage of Cyclone Chido. It was a record start for a collection of the structure thanks to its media coverage, Stéphane Bern having for example called for donations during the New Year's Eve evening of December 31 on the Champs-Elysées.
These funds also exceed those of the Foundation's recent collections in recent years, going beyond the 30 million euros collected for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame in 2019, the 18.6 million euros following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 or the 15.2 million euros collected following the passage of Hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélémy in 2017.
As during these previous disasters, the Fondation de France does not intervene directly on the ground, but has the role of centralizing donations to finance the projects of associative structures, especially local ones. They can submit a request via the form on its site, it is then examined by a committee made up of seven volunteer experts. It meets twice a week to decide which projects to support.
At this stage, around twenty projects have been financed to the tune of more than 2.5 million euros. Among them: distributions of food packages by the Wema Watrou association in Tsararano, the maraudes of the Tsingoni Territorial Authority or the targeted actions of the information center on the rights of women and families (CIDFF) and the Union of Mahorais students and pupils of Reunion.
-Beyond providing essential aid, the Foundation has also targeted areas such as supporting children by supporting projects led by the village of Eva and Les Petites Pousse, two structures working in the child protection. The Les Diables Noirs football club also received funds to provide food vouchers and school materials to 40 families in extremely precarious situations.
The organization also supports national structures of various sizes: from the Mednum association, which sets up digital access points, to Médecins du Monde and the NGO Solidarités international. The Fondation de France adds that it “initiated discussions with professionals in the building sector and associations such as the Compagnons Bâtisseurs“, and engaged in exchanges”to contribute to the return to school as quickly as possible, as well as to economic recovery, particularly agricultural.“
“Grants most often run between 5,000 and 100,000 euros, depending on needs, the organization's management capabilities and potential co-financing.“, specifies the foundation. If it ensures that the supported structures have the shoulders to manage the funds, this is also the case after payment with an audit of the accounts to ensure the proper management of these donations.
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