Since 2021, two French associations, Un Enfant par la Main (UEPLM) and Fert, have been collaborating in the north of Madagascar. This collaboration has its roots in exchanges initiated a few years earlier within the Coordination Humanitaire et Développement (CHD), of which both organizations are active members.
Given the complementary nature of each association’s expertise, initial discussions have identified the potential for joint collaboration.
UEPLM’s action is in line with the vision of a world where children have access to their fundamental rights, such as education, health, water, nutrition and protection. One of the concrete obstacles to their proper development is the precarious socio-economic situation of their parents, which conditions many facets of their lives: going to school, being well nourished, having access to healthcare, drinking water and sanitation. UEPLM’s actions therefore always combine children’s rights with strengthening families’ livelihoods, two essential conditions for enabling them to realize their potential in the long term.
Support actions for family farms carried out by Fert (technical training for producers to improve their production and therefore their income, support for marketing initiatives for agricultural products, farm cash management advice, organization of farmers to take charge these services, etc.) aim to improve the income and living conditions of families.
In this way, the two approaches feed off and complement each other, multiplying the impact on children and their families, while supporting the wider development of a territory and a community at large.
Common principles and intervention methods
UEPLM and Fert share not only values, but also a long-term commitment to less-favoured rural areas. Their decision to build on local dynamics and plan interventions over the medium to long term (10 to 15 years) illustrates their deep commitment to sustainable local development.
A concrete avenue for partnership has emerged between UEPLM and Fert. Indeed, UEPLM wanted to launch a new program in Madagascar, while Fert, firmly established for more than 30 years in support of the Fifata group (professional agricultural organizations structured around different services: training, advice, access to credit, etc.) in 12 regions of Madagascar, sought, at the request of farmer members of Fifata in the Sofia region, to intensify agricultural advisory actions in the district of Befandriana benefiting from good agricultural potential.
In 2021, a joint exploratory mission confirmed the complementary nature of the two associations, the interest of farmers federated within a regional member organization of Fifata (FFTS), the need to focus efforts on the commune of Morafeno, and the importance of gaining a deeper understanding of local issues. This was followed by a 6-month joint territorial diagnosis, which confirmed the relevance of joint action, while providing a better understanding of the challenges of local development and children’s rights. The collaboration was then formalized through a 3-year renewable partnership agreement, seen by the partners as a first step on the road to development in the Morafeno commune.
Des résultats concrets et un impact positif
The official launch of the partnership has enabled local teams to be set up and the first activities to begin in January 2022. On the ground, four employees are implementing operations from the district of Befandriana, just a few kilometers from the rural commune of Morafeno. UEPLM is represented by a community mobilizer and a logistics and administrative officer, while the Cap Malagasy association, a member of the Fifata group and Fert partner, is represented by two agricultural advisors, all sharing a common office.
Although each organization carries out its own activities according to its area of expertise, the UEPLM and Fert/Groupe Fifata teams can easily coordinate to optimize actions and convey a common message to the Morafeno communities. In addition to daily exchanges between the technical teams in the field, the coherence of actions is ensured on the one hand by a UEPLM zone coordinator who supervises all actions from the UEPLM country office in Antananarivo, and who carries out several field missions per year in the commune of Morafeno, and by Fert and Fifata group managers based in Antsohihy, capital of the Sofia region, for FFTS, and in Antsirabe, in the Malagasy Highlands, for Fifata, Cap Malagasy and Fert. Coordination between the partners is also based on a quarterly steering committee, joint field missions involving local teams and members of the head office team, and exchanges of best practices.
In two years, the results of this collaboration are already palpable. Thanks to various private funding (donations, sponsorships, Fondation Axian, Fondation ILLIS or even the Cercle Immobilier des Mécènes), significant progress has been made in various areas in the territory of Morafeno:
• Right to education: 10 classrooms were built, equipped with educational resources, and 6 schools were reforested. 64 preschool and primary school teachers were trained to make learning more effective and enable children to acquire basic skills.
• Right to protection: 900 birth certificates have been issued, thus guaranteeing the right to identity of children, who are also made aware of their rights through the creation of a dedicated club.
• Right to access to water: 135 purifiers were distributed, facilitating families’ access to drinking water. In addition, 3 toilet blocks were built in schools and 5 awareness sessions on good hygiene practices were organized in 2023.
• Right to nutrition and food security: 38 local farmers’ organizations were supported by Fert/Groupe Fifata. Good agricultural and nutritional practices were disseminated to 482 family farms, improving yields and income, particularly through onion production. Finally, household financial management was strengthened by the creation of 9 credit groups, benefiting more than 200 people.
This synergy between UEPLM and Fert demonstrates not only the effectiveness of an innovative partnership focused on the sustainable development of a territory, but also the concrete positive impact it can have on local communities in just 2 years through a holistic approach. This collaboration is an inspiring example of a strategic partnership between development organizations. By pooling their expertise and resources, these two associations and their partners have given concrete expression to their commitment to children’s fundamental rights and agricultural development, laying the foundations for a promising future for the populations they support.
