Maltese Charity Which Runs Madagascar Orphanage Appeals For Funds Before COVID-19 Forces Them To Close Down
Damaged by the financial impact of COVID-19, a Maltese charity which runs an orphanage in northern Madagascar has appealed for funds before it’s forced to close its doors for good.
“Like the rest of the world, COVID has put an extra strain on our resources, among other things, our funding resources,” the Arnaud Guesry Foundation said.
“Our home garden keeps our kitchen running but our staff need extra support to be able to come to work safely and continue to care for our children. We are trying our best to navigate our way through these tough times, but the hard realisation is setting in, that if we don’t manage to secure a serious injection of funds, we will soon be forced to close the orphanage.”
The Arnaud Guesry Foundation runs the La Maison d’Arnaud orphanage, which currently houses 30 children, offering them education, nutrition, heath support and psycho-social support.
They’ve introduced sustainable practices, such as investing in chickens to sell eggs and producing a range of crops. With the children helping with the harvest and tending the animals and the land, the orphanage has so far produced 80 different varieties of salads, 9,000 aubergines, 66,000 papayas, 100,000 kilos of bananas, 12 packets of parsley, 72,000 tomatoes, 1,500 green beans, 1,000 peppers, and 14 packets of water cress.
Besides the orphanage, the foundation also runs a summer school programme and a prison support project, offering temporary custody for children while their mothers are behind bars.
Moreover, they run a specialist malnutrition programme in coordination with local hospitals and offer crisis relief for abandoned, exploited and severely abused children.
However, they’re now feeling the pinch of COVID-19 and are trying to fundraise €20,000 from the general public to keep their philanthropic operation rolling on.
“[If we close down], 30 + children would be shipped over 1,500km away and lose all contact with family and community,” the foundation warned. “Our organisation was founded on the premise that one person, one family, can make a difference. We still rely on that belief; that each person can contribute to the reduction of inequality and the irradiation of global poverty.”
“There are so many ways you can help us and each one makes a difference. You can sponsor a child, or a nanny or a program. You can volunteer for us. You can donate to us. You can fundraise for us. We need € 20,000 to get us through this tough period. Every single donation makes a difference. Please give what you can and we guarantee that every cent goes directly to Madagascar and the children.”
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