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Poverty in Madagascar Curbed by Meals & Education

Madagascar Reported by Convoy of Hope

Combating poverty in Madagascar is a complex problem. Madagascar is an island country off the southeastern coast of Africa. In the last 35 years, the country has experienced a series of natural disasters, including droughts, cyclones, floods, and locust invasions. All of this has exacerbated the country’s food insecurity.

Feeding Children Helps Stop Poverty in Madagascar

Madagascar is one of the newest additions to Convoy of Hope’s Children’s Feeding program, which started in December of 2022 to combat malnutrition. When children are fed at one of the four program centers, they receive the vital nutrients they need to grow and thrive.

Before Convoy began programming in Madagascar, parents would send their kids to school, go to work, come back home to make lunch for their kids, feed their kids, and then go back to work. Feeding their children pulled them away from their work every day.

Poverty in Madagascar

Now that children are being fed at school, this weight has been lifted. Parents can manage their time better, their work day is no longer interrupted, and they experience less stress.

Often, children wouldn’t go back to school after lunch due to walking back and forth. Now that they are fed at school, they remain there. They receive a better, more consistent education.

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way

In late January, a cyclone impacted Madagascar. The storm destroyed several churches and made some roads nearly impassable. 

After the cyclone passed, Alice — one of Convoy’s team members in the country — was using a borrowed car to deliver food to a program center. The road was in terrible condition, and the car was not made to travel on rough terrain. Her wheels got stuck in the mud.

With help from members of the community, Alice was able to deliver food to a local school in need.

While her wheels spun, a few local men saw her and asked why she was driving in such bad road conditions. Alice explained that she needed to deliver food to the school at the top of the hill. The men paused and said, “Those are our kids at the school!”

Poverty in Madagascar

The men pushed her car through the muddy road … uphill for half a mile! With their help, Alice was able to deliver the food to the program center. She got to make sure the kids received the nutrition they needed to have energy and focus in school that day.

Because of your generosity, Convoy can feed children in Madagascar regular, nutritious meals — meals that give them energy and help them stay engaged in their education.

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