Water Brings New Life in Madagascar

Your support is bringing nutritious food and clean water to southern Madagascar.

Thanks to your support, in southern Madagascar, access to clean water is helping communities grow food, improve health, and create new sources of income. Dr. Andry Ranaivoson, GHM’s water and agriculture consultant, recently spent four weeks in Madagascar visiting nine project sites. He saw firsthand how your support is transforming dry, arid land into places where communities can grow nutritious food. According to a farmer from the Soavatsy community, “This water is improving our community and our lives.”

Soavatsy is a powerful example of what access to water can make possible. This community of 250 people, nearly half of them children, is now growing fresh vegetables for both food and income.

When Andry arrived at the small village of Soavatsy, community members were busy harvesting. Women, men, and children filled buckets with fresh produce. An 11 pound bucket of tomatoes can sell for $12, a significant increase in income, and the harvest will continue for several weeks. Additionally, brokers are now hearing about the village’s harvests and traveling to Soavatsy and similar communities to purchase produce to sell in larger food markets.

Thanks to your support, a GHM-installed well in 2019 turned arid land into a thriving community garden. Today, an improved water system is helping communities like Soavatsy grow nutritious food, generate income, and build a more secure future.

Water Projects in Process

In Madagascar, a toby, pronounced “too-bee”, is a Christian healing center that cares for people experiencing mental illness, addiction, and other significant life challenges. Access to clean water is essential for patients, staff, and the surrounding community.

At Toby Amboasary, home to 200 adults and children receiving care, there was no reliable water source on site. Toby Shepherds had to travel by ox cart to the Mandrare River, pump water, and bring it back to the facility. Thanks to your support, a new 7-meter-deep borehole was recently drilled, providing an excellent source of clean water. Plans are now underway to connect the borehole to the Toby, a nearby health clinic, and surrounding communities through a pipeline.

At nearby Ambolomariagne, work is also underway to restore a damaged borehole that will provide water to more than 250 people. The borehole sits in the middle of a cassava field, where a drip irrigation system will soon help increase food production.

These projects are especially important in the Androy Region, where drought has contributed to food insecurity, poor sanitation, and high rates of child malnutrition.

Water is truly a gift from God. Thank you for helping bring water, food, health, and hope to communities in Madagascar!