With long walks and empty stomachs, many students in Madagascar’s south struggle to stay in school. Convoy of Hope is helping change that story – and MAF flights are multiplying their effectiveness.
Story by Antsatiana Gino Randrianasolo
“When children receive a meal at school, it does more than fill a stomach. It helps them stay in class, helps parents, and hopefully helps them build a better future,” said Alice Koloina Rahelimalala, director of Convoy of Hope in Madagascar.
Convoy of Hope works to bring help and hope to communities in need, whether by feeding children, empowering women, training farmers, or supporting vulnerable families.
It helps them stay in class, helps parents, and hopefully helps them build a better future
In Madagascar, the organisation currently focuses much of its work on hard-to-reach villages around the capital, where school canteen programmes and community projects help children to stay in class and allow families to gain stability.
Through a partnership in the south of the country, the faith-based organisation also supports school canteens in Ejeda, helping children in Madagascar’s less-developed south receive regular meals.
Reaching remote communities in southern Madagascar can take days by road, but MAF flights help the Convoy of Hope team fly there from the capital in just a few hours, allowing them to supervise school feeding programmes, weigh children, and assess progress – all in a single visit.
“Working with MAF allows us to go further and saves us hours that we can spend on our work there,” said Koloina.
For children in Fiheferana, one of the villages they support, school used to start with hunger.
Some students would walk the trail through the forest for over an hour, arriving with only a cup of warm water or nothing at all. Others didn’t come because they had no food at home.
“Some children walk an hour, arrive tired, and cannot focus,” said Ramamiarintsoa Herimampionina, director of the secondary school in Fiheferana. “Some do not come to school at all because they have not eaten.”
Today, that reality is changing.
Convoy of Hope’s school canteen programme provides around 400 students across the two schools in the village with a daily meal that is prepared by parents who take turns cooking four to five times a year. The menu changes daily depending on what is available at local markets, giving children fresh, nutritious meals.
“We can focus on our work, knowing our children are fed,” said Rasoariniaina Merline, a Fiheferana parent.
We can focus on our work
The impact is clear.
“Three of my students, Fiderana, Finaritra, and Christina, live ten kilometres away in a village called Ankazotokana,” said Raharisoa Fanjalalaina Heritiana, director of the primary school. “They walk through forest paths, leaving home at 5:30 a.m., arriving at school hungry and tired. Now, they can have good food at school before returning home.”
Convoy of Hope also supports Tantsaha Miavotra, an eight-member women’s group led by Razanadrakoto Sarobidy Fanomezantsoa Mioty. They dry fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish using solar-powered equipment provided by the programme.
Beyond meals, children benefit from community programmes like the girls’ empowerment initiative, where mentors teach spiritual growth, life skills, talent development, and financial awareness.