Your donation becomes a wall, a meal, a water tower
We pay no salaries and carry no overheads. What you give goes straight to the work in Madagascar, and comes back to you as photographs and figures on the Our work page.
A water tower for the Fianarantsoa orphanage
The well begun in 2022 came to nothing: five boreholes, down to 25 metres, and no water. The project has been redesigned. A water tower built against the house will store water and supply the building and the school canteen; a treatment system will make it safe to drink.
€3,000 for the water tower, €3,000 for the treatment system. Every gift goes to this project until it is funded.
What your donation buys
Rough guides, not promises. You choose the amount.
The French government recognises AMBEOKA as an organisme d'intérêt général — broadly the French equivalent of charitable status. If you pay income tax in France, you can reduce your tax bill by 66% of what you give, so a gift of €100 costs you €34. If you pay tax elsewhere, this relief does not apply to you — but your gift is just as welcome, and we will send you a written acknowledgement for your own records.
How to give
Online, by card
The quickest way: by card, below, through HelloAsso, the payment platform used by French charities. No fees are taken from the association; your receipt is emailed to you. The form is in French — amount (montant), name, email, card — and takes about a minute.
Can't see the form? Give online through HelloAsso
Bank transfer — simplest from abroad
Email us at ambeoka@gmail.com and we will send you the association's IBAN and BIC by return, the same day.
Transfers within the Single Euro Payments Area — SEPA: the EU, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Monaco, Andorra, San Marino and the United Kingdom — are usually free and arrive within one or two working days. From outside SEPA your bank will charge its own fees; please ask for ‘shared charges’ (SHA) so that as little as possible is taken out of your gift along the way.
Please use ‘DONATION’ and your name as the payment reference, and include your postal address in your email so that we can send a receipt.
By cheque — from France
Cheques in euros, drawn on a French bank, payable to Association AMBEOKA, and posted to:
Association AMBEOKA
91 avenue de Mayenne, 53000 Laval
France
Please enclose your name, postal address and email.
Becoming a member
For €20 a year you become a member, with a vote at our annual general meeting.
Send your name, postal address and email with your payment, or write to ambeoka@gmail.com for the membership form.
Giving time
The fundraising evenings and market stalls we run in Laval are our biggest source of income each year, and they depend entirely on volunteers. If you are anywhere near western France, write to us.
Common questions
How do I know where my money goes?
The Our work page sets out more than twenty years of projects with the sums committed at each stage. Projects that stalled for lack of money are listed alongside the rest. And the 2008 bridge diary shows, day by day, how donations turn into something you can walk across.
How much of my donation reaches Madagascar?
The association is entirely volunteer-run and has no staff costs. The only costs are bank and postal charges. Members who travel to Madagascar pay their own fares.
Can I get a tax receipt?
We can issue a French tax receipt — a reçu fiscal — which lets a French taxpayer reduce their income tax by 66% of the gift, up to a ceiling of 20% of their taxable income. If you are taxed in another country your own rules apply, and we cannot advise you on them; we will gladly send a written acknowledgement of your gift for your records.
Why a water tower rather than a well?
Because the ground gave nothing. Five boreholes were sunk, down to 25 metres, without finding water. A water tower built against the orphanage will store water and bring it to the building and the canteen; the treatment system that follows will make it safe to drink. The two stages are costed at €3,000 each.
Can I give in someone's memory?
Yes. The second orphanage is named after Marie-Louise Labaud, our treasurer's mother. Do write and tell us who you would like to remember.
Can I send clothes or toys?
That is how the association started in 2006, and 200 kg were still being shipped in 2011. But freight is expensive, and we now prefer to buy locally, which supports the Malagasy economy. Please contact us before sending anything.
Are you registered anywhere outside France?
No. AMBEOKA is a French association, with two local committees in Madagascar. We have received gifts from as far away as Asia, and they are handled exactly like any other.