Solidarity with Mayotte – Cyclone Chido

On December 14, Cyclone Chido swept across the island of Mayotte, lying 497 miles off the East Africa coast.

The storm was categorized as a “violet” level threat, the highest level, with winds of over 136 mph and high waves of submersion.

Impassable roads, shanty towns reduced to rubble, downed electricity and telephone networks… After the passage of cyclone Chido, the face of Mayotte changed. Many lost their lives, and countless lost their homes. The precarious housing, home to 40% of the population of the archipelago’s 320,000 inhabitants, has been “completely destroyed”, announced the French Minister of the Interior.

Faced with the distress of the hard-hit populations, Fondation de France is launching an appeal for national solidarity for Mayotte.

Fondation de France is mobilizing urgently to provide assistance to the stricken population. On the strength of its experience in the French West Indies in 2017 (cyclones Irma, José, and Maria) and with the support of its local partners in the Indian Ocean region, Fondation de France is rapidly deploying essential actions to help the victims (shelter, psychological support, relaunching economic activities and associations…).

Emergency Response Efforts Following the Cyclone in Mayotte:

A “Solidarity Mayotte” committee has been established to oversee relief efforts, with plans to meet at least weekly in the coming months to assess evolving needs and determine the most effective actions to support. In the interim, volunteer experts from the “Preparing for and Responding to Crises and Disasters” committee have been urgently mobilized to review initial support requests from local and national organizations and approve the first aid efforts.

The Head of Emergency Programs at Fondation de France was on the ground from December 25 to January 3rd, conducting needs assessments and coordinating the foundation’s support for partner organizations.

Building on its pre-existing initiatives in Mayotte, Fondation de France has renewed its support for collaborative efforts among several local organizations, including Naima, Solidarité Mayotte, and Horizons, as well as the international NGO Solidarités International. Together, these groups are addressing immediate needs through hygiene kit distribution, water decontamination filters, latrine cleaning, and wastewater system repairs.

To further respond to urgent needs, Fondation de France is also supporting:

• Haki Za Wanatsa, part of the CIDE (Convention on the Rights of the Child) collective in Mayotte, which distributes food vouchers and essential supply kits;
• Médecins du Monde, which has long worked to ensure access to essential healthcare for isolated populations across the archipelago;
• The National Federation of Civil Protection, active in Mayotte since 2015, which is implementing water treatment and distribution systems as well as emergency medical assistance, including a dispensary, mobile medical outreach, and psychological support services.
• The Régie de Territoire de Tsingoni association, which has partnered with Fondation de France since 2024 to improve housing quality as part of its “Preparing for and Responding to Crises and Disasters” program. Since the cyclone struck, the organization has distributed food vouchers, conducted neighborhood outreach to identify the most vulnerable populations—especially women, children, and the elderly—and directed them to available assistance. It also supports community-led cleanup efforts, establishes collective vegetable gardens to restore food production, and coordinates two job-training projects focused on waste management and recycling.
• The Center for Information on the Rights of Women and Families (CIDFF) of Mayotte provides drinking water, food, and hygiene kits, particularly to isolated elderly individuals and women experiencing domestic and family violence. It also implements temporary shelter solutions and treats water from wells, rivers, and other sources to ensure it is safe for use.
• The Village of Eva association has been active in Mayotte for over a decade, focusing on child protection. It offers children educational activities and psychological support in the aftermath of the cyclone. The organization also distributes food and drinking water kits to families in need.

Following this emergency phase, Fondation de France will focus on reconstruction efforts and helping vulnerable populations return to normalcy. Housing assessments are already underway in partnership with Likoli Dago in the Talus 2 shantytown in Majicavo-Koropa, where Fondation de France previously contributed to housing projects.

At the same time, discussions have begun with local professionals and organizations like Les Compagnons Bâtisseurs, with whom the foundation has collaborated on post-cyclone recovery projects in other overseas territories. Efforts are also underway to expedite the resumption of schooling and to support economic recovery, particularly in agriculture.

Fondation de France Stands with Mayotte

Fondation de France has been involved in post-emergency aid for over thirty years. It was one of the major players after the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, the earthquakes in Haiti since 2010, the earthquake in Nepal in 2015 and the hurricanes in the French West Indies in 2017. More recently, it has been mobilized in Lebanon in 2020, in Ukraine since 2022 and following the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria  in February 2023 and in Morocco in September 2023. It has demonstrated its expertise in meeting the needs of disaster victims, notably by providing psychological support for those most severely affected, helping to rebuild communities and support economic recovery.

Information on the work carried out on the ground and the results will be posted on the website www.fondationdefrance.org.