In Madagascar, hunger is impacting 1.8 million people who are living with crisis levels of food insecurity, amidst ongoing drought, below-average crop yields, and economic instability.
To meet immediate food needs for 2,100 families living in the Amboasary district of Madagascar’s Anosy region, World Renew’s partner SAF/FJKM provided five months of food baskets between April and August 2025.
This support reached 13,650 people – like Zafindefera, who lives with her mother and eight children, including her five-year-old daughter Miza who was born with a physical disability that prevents her from walking. Like many families in southern Madagascar, they face the ongoing challenges of a difficult environment and limited resources.
Zafindefera grows sweet potatoes, cassava, and corn on her own land, but says it’s been two years since she’s been able to harvest anything from her fields. “That has made it even more difficult to buy other food essentials for our daily meals.”
When harvests are possible, she cooks sweet potato leaves – an affordable, sustainable food that can be gathered multiple times a year. Along with selling firewood at the market to afford rice for their meals, and boiling tamarind fruit she picks to provide her children with vitamins, Zafindefera does all she can to sustain her family’s nutrition.
Zafindefera dreams of a more secure future for all her children – one where they can become aid workers or doctors and serve others in need. She is working hard to afford to send them to school, and passes on the knowledge she gains from the community awareness sessions she participates in. “I speak with my children about what I’ve learned so they can grow up with this knowledge,” she says. “It’s important they understand their value.” (Photo: SAF/FJKM)
But some days, when money is short, Zafindefera has to borrow food from relatives or friends, and ration their meals down to one serving of rice a day, just to get by.
“This food assistance has lightened the weight I carry each day, and made it possible for my children to eat more regularly,” she says.
Zafindefera continues to sell wood and pillow sacks at the market to purchase essentials like salt and medicine, while also setting aside a small amount in the local Village Savings and Loan Association – with hopes to withdraw funds for seeds and begin planting when the rains return.
Building lasting stability for her family is her priority, says Zafindefera. “My family is a gift from God, and for that, I am thankful.”
This story was originally published in the 2026 spring edition of Breaking Bread.
