One year after Cyclone Chido struck Mayotte on December 14, 2024, the archipelago continues its path toward recovery. While emergency needs have gradually eased, daily life remains fragile for many residents, with persistent challenges around housing, water access, education, and livelihoods.
In response to the disaster, Fondation de France mobilized quickly to support emergency relief efforts across the archipelago. Over the past year, the Fondation has supported 240 local organizations, enabling them to respond to urgent needs such as food aid, access to drinking water, temporary shelter, healthcare, and psychosocial support.
From the outset, Fondation de France has approached the crisis with a clear conviction: sustainable recovery can only be built with and through local actors. Rather than implementing programs from the outside, the Fondation works by supporting Mahoran nonprofit organizations, community groups, and professional networks that are deeply rooted in the territory and trusted by local communities.
This approach is guided by close coordination on the ground, including a dedicated local committee that helps assess needs, identify priority initiatives, and adapt responses as the situation progresses. One year on, Fondation de France’s continued presence in Mayotte reflects a long-term commitment to rebuilding not only infrastructure, but also local capacities, resilience, and preparedness for future crises.
From emergency response to sustainable rebuilding
While in the months immediately following the cyclone, Fondation de France prioritized meeting essential needs, today, the challenge is different. As Karine Meaux, Head of the Emergency Response Unit, explains, “The challenge now is to consolidate what has been achieved, particularly among the most vulnerable populations, with a special focus on children, young people, and women.”
This shift has translated into support for projects that combine immediate relief with long-term resilience. Across sectors such as education, agriculture, housing, water access, and environmental protection, Fondation de France works through trusted local partners who understand the territory, its social fabric, and its constraints. Regular coordination with public authorities and nonprofit partners helps ensure coherence, avoid duplication, and adapt responses as conditions change.
Rebuilding with local resources: transforming fallen timber
One of the most emblematic reconstruction projects supported by Fondation de France addresses both environmental damage and rebuilding needs. Following Cyclone Chido, an estimated one-third of Mayotte’s forests were destroyed, leaving not only a scarred landscape, but vast quantities of fallen timber at risk of becoming unusable.
In response, the organization Lieux Infinis, in collaboration with architect Hugo Dardenne and the firm Encore Heureux Architectes, launched a mobile sawmill project that transforms fallen trees into construction materials. The sawmill, inaugurated in Coconi in December, can be moved directly to affected areas to rapidly process timber into planks and structural elements for reconstruction.
Beyond its immediate impact on clearing debris and salvaging timber, the project reflects a longer-term vision. “One of the challenges is to find alternatives to the systematic use of imported wood, sheet metal, or concrete,” explains Nicola Delon, co-founder of Encore Heureux Architectes, noting the importance of reviving local building techniques.
“Without the support of the Fondation de France, which was the first to place its trust in us, the project would never have seen the light of day,” he emphasizes. Looking ahead, the initiative aims to establish a permanent timber workshop and help lay the foundations for a sustainable local wood industry across the archipelago.
Supporting children and restoring stability
Children have been among the most affected by the cyclone’s aftermath. School closures, overcrowded classrooms, and food insecurity have worsened pre-existing challenges, particularly for families already living in precarious conditions.
For more than a decade, Le Village d’Eva has worked to support out-of-school children across several areas of the archipelago. Today, the organization operates four centers and assists nearly 800 children each year, offering educational support, meals, and a safe, structured environment.
After Cyclone Chido, the organization intensified its efforts with the support of Fondation de France. In addition to maintaining its centers, Le Village d’Eva expanded outreach programs to identify children who had dropped out of school and to bring educational activities directly into neighborhoods.
Working with Terra Psy, another organization supported by Fondation de France, staff received training to provide emotional and psychological support to children affected by trauma and displacement.
As coordinator Léonie Decourt-Gislard explains, “Restoring their confidence, protecting them, and offering them prospects is a collective effort that requires a long-term commitment alongside local actors and families.” Persistent needs remain, particularly in areas where waiting lists are as long as current capacity, underscoring the importance of sustained support.
Reviving agriculture and strengthening food security
Cyclone Chido devastated Mayotte’s agricultural sector, destroying crops, livestock, and beehives, and threatening the livelihoods of small farmers across the archipelago. “We lost 95% of our production after the cyclone,” said Fatima Daoud, a livestock and mixed crop farmer, in an interview with Fondation de France.
In the commune of Tsingoni, Fondation de France is supporting Groupement de Vulgarisation Agricole (GVA), a collective of farmers committed to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.
With the Foundation’s support, GVA launched a collective recovery effort, deploying agricultural workers to clear debris, stabilize soils, prune damaged trees, and replant crops across 80 farms. “This support has been fundamental,” shared farmer and beekeeper Abassi Dimassi in the interview. “Without it, we would not have been able to get back on our feet, given the extent of the damage.”
The project also reinforces local solidarity through musada, a traditional system of mutual aid among farmers. At the same time, training in post-cyclone agriculture, erosion control, and agroforestry is helping producers rethink their practices. “If another disaster strikes, the agricultural sector in Mayotte must be more resilient,” Dimassi concludes.
Securing access to water for the most vulnerable
France, is deploying a program to equip vulnerable households with 500-liter motorized water tanks.
Implemented in partnership with local social services and community organizations, the project prioritizes households facing isolation, disability, or health-related vulnerabilities. By enabling families to store water during supply periods, the initiative improves hygiene, reduces health risks, and strengthens water security for nearly 1,500 residents. The installation of tanks by job integration teams also contributes to skills development and local employment, reinforcing the project’s long-term impact.
Strengthening local actors for the future
Across all these initiatives, Fondation de France’s approach remains consistent: work through local organizations, support coordination, and invest in long-term capacity. Over the past year, the Fondation has traveled repeatedly to Mayotte and launched programs to strengthen the financial and organizational resilience of partner nonprofits, helping them modernize tools, improve fund management, and prepare for future crises.
As Mayotte continues to rebuild, this sustained commitment reflects a conviction at the heart of Fondation de France’s work: recovery is not only about repairing damage, but about reinforcing communities across the archipelago so they are better equipped to face what lies ahead.
We thank the donors in the United States whose contributions supported relief and recovery efforts in Mayotte following Cyclone Chido. Your support has played an important role in enabling local organizations across the archipelago to continue their work and address ongoing needs.
