A small French charity with two homes in Madagascar
Founded in 2006 in Laval, western France. Entirely volunteer-run, with two local committees in Madagascar: in Fianarantsoa and in Toliara, also known as Tuléar.
More than twenty years, two countries, one rule: build only what we can go and see
It began in 2006 with 45 kg of toys and clothes sent to Madagascar. The following year it was 240 kg, and support for two schools.
The name comes from a Malagasy proverb: plant one grain of rice and a hundred will grow. Ambeoka means "new seeds", and the association means to be that grain of rice: a handful of volunteers in Laval, and hundreds of children helped in Madagascar.
One thing quickly became obvious: sending parcels was not enough. In 2008 the association rebuilt a bridge that reconnected three villages and restored food deliveries to the orphanage. That was the turning point: AMBEOKA stopped being a charity that sends goods and became one that builds.
Two local committees followed — in Fianarantsoa in July 2008, in Toliara in 2009. They run the building work day to day, choose the builders and report back on progress.
The second orphanage is named after Marie-Louise Labaud, our treasurer's mother.
What sets us apart
We go and see
We only fund projects that members of the association can go and inspect in person. Every trip since 2008 has produced a written report.
We publish every figure
Each project appears with its real cost: €1,750 for the bridge, €20,000 for the first orphanage, €2,000 for the land in Fianarantsoa, and €35,438 so far for the second.
We are all volunteers
No salaries, no overheads. Our income comes from memberships, from fundraising evenings in Laval, and from donations.
The other half of the work
An orphanage in Madagascar is also paid for in a village hall in western France. Concerts, Malagasy dinners, a Christmas market stall: that is where most of the money is raised.
Laval Christmas market
In Laval, Wednesday 9 to Sunday 13 December 2026.
If you are in the area and can spare a few hours, do get in touch.
They cook
A Malagasy dinner for eighty to a hundred guests, cooked and served by volunteers. It is the heart of every evening, and its biggest earner.
They sing and play
The Laval choir Coup d'Chœur has given concerts for the association since 2009. Musicians, singers and dancers take the stage unpaid.
They staff the stall
Five days at the Christmas market, in half-day shifts: selling crafts brought back from Madagascar, and above all explaining where the money goes.
They lend a hall
The towns of Laval and Mayenne, a neighbourhood centre, the cultural centre: without a borrowed hall there is no evening.
They feed the school
The canteen meals in Fianarantsoa — 250 to 300 children every school day — are provided by a partner donor.
They give
The first donors, in 2006, were the staff of Laval town hall. Members and donors have covered what the evenings cannot ever since. Make a donation.
Where the money goes
It is the first question any donor asks, and rightly so. Our answer fits on one page: our work, where every project appears with its date and its cost.
Our income
- Membership fees, at €20 a year
- Individual donations, including some from as far away as Asia
- Fundraising evenings and markets held in Laval
- Income earned locally by the small businesses we funded: three cycle rickshaws and two shops in Toliara
Our spending
- Building and maintaining the two orphanages, the school and the infrastructure
- The school canteen, free for 250 to 300 children every school day
- Supplies: school equipment, computers, clothing
- No staff costs whatsoever. Members who travel to Madagascar pay their own way
The association at a glance
A question, a partnership proposal, or an offer of help? Write or call: someone from the association will reply, in French or in English.
- Legal status
- A registered French charitable association
(an association loi 1901, under the 1901 law on voluntary bodies) - Founded
- 2006, in Laval, France
- President
- Mrs Vololoniaina Ravelonjanahary
- Registered office
- 91 avenue de Mayenne, 53000 Laval
France - Telephone
- +33 2 53 22 86 18
- ambeoka@gmail.com
- Tax status
- Recognised in France as an
organisme d'intérêt général - Paid staff
- None. The association
is run entirely by volunteers - Membership
- €20 a year
Become a member, and the building carries on
Become a member for €20 a year, make a donation, or come and help run a stall: every kind of help counts.
Donate or join