Nine months after Cyclone Chido struck on December 14, the archipelago of Mayotte is still struggling to recover. The unprecedented scale of this disaster left deep scars, and the needs of the population remain immense. Shortly after the cyclone, Fondation de France mobilized to support locally-led projects providing ongoing support where it is needed most.
The appeal for donations launched by Fondation de France raised €43.6 million, of which €15.1 million has already been allocated to support more than 200 initiatives across the territory.
Mayotte faces a severe health crisis. Already struggling with limited infrastructure, poverty, and rapid population growth, the island’s challenges were further exposed by the cyclone. The main hospital is overwhelmed, medical staff are stretched thin, and residents face multiple financial, logistical, and administrative barriers to accessing care.
Youth on the archipelago are a major priority as the school year resumes. 73 of the initiatives supported by Fondation de France focus on education and youth support.
Mayotte’s environment, especially its forests, faces a long road to recovery to restore access to trails and implement preventative landscape management to mitigate future disasters.
On the International Day for Disaster Reduction, we share details of the forward-thinking work Fondation de France has been carrying out on the ground with its local partners, helping the people of Mayotte rebuild and recover thanks to donor support.
Expanding Access to Healthcare and Mental Health
Mental health is an especially urgent concern: services are almost nonexistent, while needs are immense, particularly among young people. Sophie Lasserre, head of health and mental health in the Emergency Unit at Fondation de France, explains the priorities on the ground and what has been possible to implement in the last nine months, all thanks to donor generosity.
What are the most urgent challenges in healthcare and mental health?
The healthcare system in Mayotte is extremely fragile. The main hospital is overwhelmed. When Fondation de France visited in late June, only two of the five operating rooms were functional, and there was a severe shortage of professionals, often on short-term contracts. Access to care is further limited by the fact that many residents cannot advance medical fees, public transport is scarce, and some fear arrest when visiting clinics. Unlike mainland France, Mayotte has no State Medical Aid program.
The particularly poor living conditions on the islands—high levels of substandard housing, inadequate sanitation, air pollution, and lack of running water for much of the population—have a major impact on residents’ health. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular conditions, cancer, and diabetes are on the rise. The cyclone also disrupted treatments for several weeks.
Mental health is particularly neglected. Adult psychiatric care is nearly nonexistent, access to private psychologists is limited, expensive, and faces cultural barriers. Yet the needs are immense: many young people experience isolation, anxiety, addictive behaviors, or trauma triggered by the cyclone.
Children’s health is another major concern. Mayotte has one of the highest birth rates in France, with roughly 10,000–11,000 births each year—about the size of a new classroom of children being born every single day on the island, which has a population of around 330,000. Infant mortality is twice as high as in mainland France, and early pregnancies remain frequent. Many young people grow up in environments marked by poor housing, insecurity, and lack of access to clean water, further weakening their physical and psychological health.
What are Fondation de France’s priorities?
Fondation de France has chosen to focus primarily on the health of young people, who are especially vulnerable.
The association Terra Psy organizes discussion groups in schools. With very few school psychologists available, it was essential to provide support to students when schools reopened after the cyclone at the start of the year. Terra Psy also conducted psychological outreach to children who are not enrolled in school and to their families.
The association Play International has implemented sports sessions supervised by mental health professionals for children in various neighborhoods. For the school year, these sessions are being offered in schools, and the organization works with education professionals so that they can oversee them.
Meanwhile, EPSM provides somatic and psychological care to students at the University of Mayotte, the Coconi agricultural high school, and the Maisons Familiales Rurales, with these services now becoming permanent in these institutions. Fondation de France has also emphasized outreach projects that go directly to people who are vulnerable and isolated and who cannot leave home to receive care.
Why is cooperation between different actors essential?
Mobile initiatives allow the foundation to reach people who do not go to care facilities due to fear of arrest, lack of resources, or withdrawal following the cyclone. Yet these initiatives remain fragile: uncertainty about the hospital’s capacity and community structures sometimes limits follow-up after screening.
This is why Fondation de France works with the Regional Health Agency to strengthen coordination among healthcare, social, and nonprofit actors, to pool resources, share practices, and provide a more coherent collective response.
This effort is particularly necessary in mental health, which remains under-resourced. Anxiety disorders, addictive behaviors, and post-traumatic stress—very common among young people after Cyclone Chido—require a coordinated and consistent response. Psychological follow-up remains highly stigmatized and is often perceived as a sign of weakness. Making care pathways clearer and better adapted also helps to reduce stigma around mental health within society.
Fondation de France is also attentive to the care of survivors of gender-based and sexual violence, including youth. Field associations identify many cases, worsened by destroyed housing and overcrowding, but they lack secure structures to shelter and protect victims. Developing coordinated initiatives that involve healthcare professionals, nonprofit actors, and institutions is essential to offer comprehensive support.
Can you share examples of supported projects?
The foundation continues to prioritize support for the most vulnerable. Mayotte Autisme restored its therapeutic garden to continue assisting people with autism spectrum disorders.
In Mamoudzou, the Groupe d’Entraide Mutuelle Vivre Ensemble, which supports people with mental health conditions and saw a sharp increase in demand, replaced its destroyed equipment and expanded its capacity.
Fondation de France also supported a day of reflection on the psychological consequences of the cyclone, organized by and for health professionals, to make mental health a recognized priority for all.
Supporting the New School Year in Mayotte
School has resumed in Mayotte, but students continue to face difficult circumstances. Many school buildings remain damaged or under repair. In most schools, classroom rotations are still necessary due to the lack of sufficient facilities, forcing students to split schedules (half attend in the morning, the other half in the afternoon).
This system makes learning more difficult and widens inequalities, but organizations and teachers are redoubling their efforts to support students and families. Local organizations are especially active in distributing school supplies, providing tutoring, and offering extracurricular activities. Fondation de France has already supported 73 projects in the fields of education, childhood, and youth, with a total of more than €3 million (20% of funds committed to date).
In Longoni, in the north of the island, Fondation de France is supporting the organization Nya Moja, which has provided school supplies to 800 children. The organization also organizes extracurricular activities during school holidays and runs tutoring programs open to all. It also manages a shelter for young people without housing solutions.
In Bandrélé, in the southeast of the island, the organization Nyora Ya Toimaa—which means “star of hope”—supports young people throughout the year through tutoring programs. For the new school year, it distributed school kits to children living in precarious conditions, in collaboration with schools and the local municipality, to give them better conditions for learning.
Through its tutoring project, the organization Maesha Na Ulanga, based in Mamoudzou, brings together volunteer teachers to support students from primary through high school. It also organizes sports activities, environmental awareness initiatives, and educational support, strengthening academic success while promoting the personal development of young people.
Fondation de France also supports organizations working in early childhood education. Six nonprofit daycare centers are currently being restored and will soon reopen: Les Libellules, Les Petites Étoiles, Les Enfants des Margouillats, Niya Moja Oudza Loulou in Tsingoni, Niyatsara Mitarimizaa in Kani-Kéli, and Owaza. These vital facilities allow toddlers to once again benefit from an environment of learning and socialization.
On September 17 and 18, a strategic seminar brought together the Solidarité Mayotte Committee to set new priorities and establish Fondation de France’s long-term action plan. From October 2 to 8, a delegation consisting of Clémence Allirot, Emergency Program Officer at Fondation de France; Dominique Boyer and Clémentine Lehuger, president and member of the Solidarité Mayotte Committee; and Danièle Dorp, program officer for supported projects, will visit the island. Their goal: to meet with local nonprofit and institutional partners, and to review needs and supported initiatives in education and sports at the start of the school year.
Public and Private Stakeholders Mobilize for the Forests of Mayotte
Devastated by Cyclone Chido and then Tropical Storm Dikeledi, the forests of Mayotte are now the focus of a major restoration effort. On September 22, the Departmental Council of Mayotte, the National Forestry Office (ONF), the Department of Economy, Employment, Labor and Solidarity (DEETS) of Mayotte, and Fondation de France launched a call for expressions of interest, open to local organizations, to reopen forest perimeters and trails damaged by the storms.
Damages from the cyclone are estimated at €3.4 billion: 88% to infrastructure and property, and 12% to natural environments, including forests. After the emergency phase—when residents, local authorities, state services, and organizations mobilized to clear roads and homes—the focus has now shifted to reconstruction and restoration of ecosystems vital to the island’s survival. These operations are particularly important for the preservation of French biodiversity: around 80% of it is concentrated in overseas territories.
It is in this context that the Departmental Council of Mayotte, ONF, DEETS of Mayotte, and Fondation de France have decided to join forces. The call for expressions of interest is part of a long-term restoration strategy. Each partner is mobilizing its expertise to set up a joint initiative to reopen and mark out forest perimeters. This new stage builds on the first rehabilitation efforts already undertaken on the island and strengthens the work carried out by reconstruction teams and forest managers. Local organizations have until October 15, 2025, to submit their applications. Work will then be assigned, lot by lot, to the organizations selected after review of the proposals. The projects will be carried out by individuals in workforce integration programs, supervised by the organizations.
The operation consists of restoring the boundaries of departmental forests that were heavily damaged. It includes reopening and clearing the perimeters, marked with paint. Teams will remove herbaceous vegetation, trees, and branches along the forest edges over a width of four meters, using manual or mechanical methods. Beyond rehabilitation, the goal is also to provide better information to forest users and to strengthen the protection of natural areas. Reopening perimeters and trails helps limit the spread of agricultural fires into forested areas, improves access in case of fire, and prepares for future replanting in the most fragile zones.
The forests concerned by this operation cover a large part of the territory: the massifs of Monts Hachiroungou and Dziani Bolé, Majimbini Madjabalini, Sohoa and Maevarano, Monts Bénéra and Tchaourembo, and Satra Gori–Mont Choungui. The affected trails include Voundzé Col Andilabé, Dapani, Combani, Sohoa Forest, and the FD trail along the northern ridges. Eleven municipalities of the archipelago are involved: M’Tsamboro, Acoua, M’Tsangamouji, Koungou, Mamoudzou, Tsingoni, Chiconi, Dembeni, Chirongui, Bandrélé, and Kani-Kéli.
Originally published by Fondation de France. Read more here: Expanding Access to Healthcare and Mental Health, Supporting the New School Year in Mayotte, Public and Private Stakeholders Mobilize for the Forests of Mayotte. Translated and adapted from French.
