URGENT: FUNDING NEEDED
Devastating Fire Strikes Village of Sahambala by Betampona Natural Reserve
Update at the Bottom of this page: First Supplies Have Arrived!
The smoking remains of the village of Sahambala just west of Betampona Natural Reserve.
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The images above show the busy village of Sahambala as it was last summer.
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The images above and below show the ash that remains of 10 major stores and 53 homes.
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When donating, indicate FIRE in the SPECIAL PURPOSE section on the donation page to dedicate funding to this emergency.
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HOMES & STORES LOST
The main street of Sahambala where children celebrated World Environment Day with MFG over the summer has been reduced to ash and rubble. Sahambala was a thriving commercial center and hub of the local area until a fire struck in February 2017. The MFG team has been up to assess the situation and have sent back these photos and the request for help with emergency supplies. Upwards of 200 people are homeless and being sheltered in the local church as fire burned ten of the town's major stores and over fifty homes. Amidst the bad news, we are very grateful to report that no one was hurt.
CLOVES & SCHOOLBOOKS
The losses also included a vast proportion of the year's harvest of cloves - one of the biggest cash crops in the region. While the school was spared, one of the teacher's homes was among the 53 completely destroyed. Many of the children have lost their schoolbooks. This is a heartbreaking loss as parents struggle to buy textbooks, exercise workbooks, and pencils. It is often the determining factor in whether a child will be able to start or continue an education. Replacing the books will be beyond their abilities after this recent disaster. For many children, this single event could mean the end of their chances to sit the secondary school entrance exams and to continue their education.
NO SECURITY NET
The personal and economic loss is devastating. There is no such thing as household insurance or social security. Without your help, these people have little choice but to put pressure on the protected forest areas and its natural and living resources in this crisis. MFG has partnered closely with the village of Sahambala for over a decade through the Saturday School and the native forest restoration programme on the western edge of the Betampona Nature Reserve. We are reaching out to our friends and supporters to help them in their hour of desperate need. Please join with us, through a donation (however small), to help give this community an opportunity to rebuild.
PLEASE HELP: For the People. For the Forest.
While the impact of this fire will take many years to recover, we're hoping to purchase lumber and supplies in Tamatave to reduce the chances of trees being cut in Betampona. Cash is also needed to buy other general emergency supplies from dishes and cooking pots to clothing and water buckets. DONATE NOW.
The main street of Sahambala where children celebrated World Environment Day with MFG over the summer has been reduced to ash and rubble. Sahambala was a thriving commercial center and hub of the local area until a fire struck in February 2017. The MFG team has been up to assess the situation and have sent back these photos and the request for help with emergency supplies. Upwards of 200 people are homeless and being sheltered in the local church as fire burned ten of the town's major stores and over fifty homes. Amidst the bad news, we are very grateful to report that no one was hurt.
CLOVES & SCHOOLBOOKS
The losses also included a vast proportion of the year's harvest of cloves - one of the biggest cash crops in the region. While the school was spared, one of the teacher's homes was among the 53 completely destroyed. Many of the children have lost their schoolbooks. This is a heartbreaking loss as parents struggle to buy textbooks, exercise workbooks, and pencils. It is often the determining factor in whether a child will be able to start or continue an education. Replacing the books will be beyond their abilities after this recent disaster. For many children, this single event could mean the end of their chances to sit the secondary school entrance exams and to continue their education.
NO SECURITY NET
The personal and economic loss is devastating. There is no such thing as household insurance or social security. Without your help, these people have little choice but to put pressure on the protected forest areas and its natural and living resources in this crisis. MFG has partnered closely with the village of Sahambala for over a decade through the Saturday School and the native forest restoration programme on the western edge of the Betampona Nature Reserve. We are reaching out to our friends and supporters to help them in their hour of desperate need. Please join with us, through a donation (however small), to help give this community an opportunity to rebuild.
PLEASE HELP: For the People. For the Forest.
While the impact of this fire will take many years to recover, we're hoping to purchase lumber and supplies in Tamatave to reduce the chances of trees being cut in Betampona. Cash is also needed to buy other general emergency supplies from dishes and cooking pots to clothing and water buckets. DONATE NOW.
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With your support, children can continue attending school and once again enjoy celebrating in their community as shown in these images from Sahambala before the fire. DONATE
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When donating, indicate FIRE in the SPECIAL PURPOSE section on the donation page to dedicate funding to this emergency.
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First Emergency Supplies Arrive
The team has already made their first delivery of materials to Sahambala!
With news of the generous donations coming in, the team made initial purchases and headed to Sahambala. More supplies are already purchased and ready to come up on their next trip. Arrangements are being planned regarding purchase and distribution of lumber. The commune/regional government could be helpful in coordinating transportation. To expedite that, we can arrange to pay for their fuel. Unfortunately for travel, the roads are being heavily degraded by the large number of heavy trucks hauling out chromium which makes this trip even more difficult than usual. We can't thank our lead donors enough. The $5,000 donations from Zoo Zürich and San Francisco Zoo provided the backbone for this operation. We also extend a special thanks to Dickerson Park Zoo for their $1,000 donation. Beyond this, there have been so many donors giving $50 and $100 as well as $15 and $35. They've all added up to bringing hope to this terrible situation. And none of this would be possible without the core support of all of our Member Institutions. On behalf of all the people benefiting from this effort, thank you from depth of our hearts!
With news of the generous donations coming in, the team made initial purchases and headed to Sahambala. More supplies are already purchased and ready to come up on their next trip. Arrangements are being planned regarding purchase and distribution of lumber. The commune/regional government could be helpful in coordinating transportation. To expedite that, we can arrange to pay for their fuel. Unfortunately for travel, the roads are being heavily degraded by the large number of heavy trucks hauling out chromium which makes this trip even more difficult than usual. We can't thank our lead donors enough. The $5,000 donations from Zoo Zürich and San Francisco Zoo provided the backbone for this operation. We also extend a special thanks to Dickerson Park Zoo for their $1,000 donation. Beyond this, there have been so many donors giving $50 and $100 as well as $15 and $35. They've all added up to bringing hope to this terrible situation. And none of this would be possible without the core support of all of our Member Institutions. On behalf of all the people benefiting from this effort, thank you from depth of our hearts!
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