The Project Komba campaign went live on the 7th of July, 2020. You have made such an impact since that day. From the start, the aim of the campaign remains unchanged: to provide a sustained flow of funds into the community each month and help the people of Nosy Komba stay on their feet and keep food on the table until the airports reopen and tourists return, allowing businesses to open back up.
Because this pandemic and its effects will most certainly drag on for months to come, the goal is to raise as much as possible and distribute it steadily, evenly over time by our partner organization Madagascar Research and Conservation Institute (MRCI). In the campaign’s first month, TOGETHER we raised over $4,000 USD, reaching double our first month’s goal! On the 31st of July, Project Komba made its first dispersal of funds to MRCI.
Rojo, MRCI Community Coordinator, distributing Project Komba’s August rice donation to villagers on Nosy Komba (left) and Ampohana (right).
With the first monthly payout of $2,000 USD, 60+ families received various food staples including rice (fourteen 60kg bags!!), beans, oil, flour and more. An additional 35 furloughed workers received a paycheck. Workers who otherwise would have a drastically reduced salary, or would have gone without pay altogether. Thanks to you, they can afford necessities this month. MRCI generously donated their boat, fuel, time, and personnel to purchase and distribute these much-needed supplies, traveling to isolated villages on multiple islands. Because of this, every dollar donated – 100% – goes directly to local people in Madagascar.
The people of Nosy Komba are working together and working hard to lift one another up during this time of crisis. Those furloughed workers who got a paycheck thanks to this campaign? They didn’t keep it just for their own family. They helped out their neighbors too, spreading generosity throughout entire communities. Viruses aren’t the only contagious things. So to are acts of kindness and generosity. The ripple of good you send out into this world becomes mirrored, then amplified, acting as a beacon of hope in the darkness. It is easy to feel overwhelmed with all the uncertainty in the world today. But more formidable still than all the world’s woes is the power of us together, antsika. As each kindness sparks another, the world brightens and slowly, change comes. We can change the world. Together.
The Project Komba family is incredibly grateful for such an extraordinary response to the campaign so far and for all the generous people donating their time and money to the cause. Madagascar’s president, Andry Rajoelina, has announced that the airport on Nosy Be island will potentially re-open to tourists in the beginning of October. While this is incredible news, it isn’t over yet! In the best of scenarios, it will still be quite some time before tourists return in strong numbers and businesses can fully reopen. We MUST keep up this amazing momentum!
In order to continue providing this lifeline to the people of Nosy Komba, some phenomenal humans have stepped up as Project Komba Ambassadors and are running their own fundraisers! YOU CAN TOO! We make it super simple:
- We’ve got step by step fundraiser packs up on our website!
- Register on our website and we’ll send you a link to join our fundraiser’s private facebook group. There you’ll find templates for social media posts, support from fellow fundraisers, and more!
- You can chat with or email anyone on the team if you have more questions – we’ll help you every step of the way (ProjectKomba@gmail.com).
- We recommend a fundraising goal of 200-300 GBP (or more if you’re up for it!).
- You’ll link directly to our GoFundMe page and we’ll add you as a team member.
- When people donate, they can select your name and that will track your fundraising total automatically.
- It’s very easy and doesn’t require you to handle or transfer any money at all.
- Check out our Top Tips for making the most of your fundraiser!
Better yet, you can join our Kilometers for Komba challenge coming up in October! We are organizing an all-for-one fundraising challenge in which a team will attempt to collectively walk/run/cycle/swim 2,000 km in 1 month. This is the equivalent distance of travelling from the southernmost tip of Madagascar (Cape St. Marie) to Nosy Komba. Check out the details here.
None of this would be possible without the Malagasy people on the ground directing aid to where it is most needed, where it will help the most; or without YOU and your generous support. From one human to another, thank you and much love.
Project Komba 