Monday, December 23, France observed a day of national mourning, marking one week since the deadly passage of Cyclone Chido in Mayotte. At 11 a.m., a minute of silence was observed in tribute to the victims. While emergency services continue their efforts on site to find the missing and restore access to water, electricity and mobile networks, solidarity is being organized in mainland France. Illustration with a collection of donations launched Tuesday December 24 at the Bourse du Travail in Saint-Denis, north of Paris.
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Josselin is the first to show up for the collection. At arm’s length, he carries a large bag filled with essential foodstuffs. “ There is flour, cakes, rice, dry foods “, he explains. But that’s not all. “ Notebooks too, colored pencils for schools. »
President of a West Indian football club in the north of ParisJosselin immediately mobilized his network to help Mayotte. “ From the moment I launched this at my club level, the kids started to come forward, precisely to help Mayotte. They bought things themselves with their parents. So here, these are the first boxes, the first packages that we are taking, and there should be others. »
Once collected, the first boxes are carefully packaged. This task is entrusted to Stève, member of the NGO Overseas Solidarité Catastrophe, which organizes the collection. “ We’re going to sort the clothes, we’re going to sort the food, we’re going to organize everything quickly because we think we’re going to have quite a bit of success. We know it will work. »
Help comes from all sides, and not only from mainland France: solidarity between overseas territories is also the key to a successful collection. “ No matter Mayotte, Reunion, or even Guadeloupe and Martinique, all the overseas islands come together to be able to provide help to their compatriots. »
The NGO has already found an air freight carrier. The aid will first be sent in containers to Reunion before joining Mayotte.
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