Cyclones, Chefs, and Cookware: WCK’s Response in Mayotte
This month, our team served our last meals of the cyclone response in Mayotte. Cyclone Chido devastated communities in December, downing power lines and damaging the port and airport. The cyclone left a rash of destruction and cut off lines of food and water to the islands. Over the past few months, our team has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with communities to leverage local resources and cooking skills, source equipment and ingredients, and empower grassroots organizations.
Our teams worked with 80+ restaurant partners across Mayotte–. Upon arriving in Mayotte, our teams immediately began scouting for the neighborhoods most heavily impacted by the cyclone. In the process, we met and partnered with dozens of local restaurateurs, chefs, and home cooks who jumped at the opportunity to serve their neighbors.
“After Chido, we had to close,” said WCK restaurant partner Leila. “We had to restart everything because we have a very unique concept here in Mayotte– we grow everything we cook. I started working with [WCK] to provide as many meals as I was capable of making.”
To expand on the capacity of restaurants, the team built a large central Field Kitchen, run in close partnership with an association of women who cooked each day. We imported key ingredients to supply the kitchen and solve for shortages– over a hundred tons– for thousands of meals from Kenya via boat. Our teams moved these meals as quickly as they could, preparing comforting meals like Kakamoukuo, a dish from the nearby Comoros that features fish prepared with a blend of spices. Despite the remote location and serious damage from the storm, our teams persevered to serve over 1.4 million nourishing meals over the course of three months.
The meals our teams cooked were all Halal to meet the needs of the island’s majority-Muslim population. Towards the end of our time in Mayotte, we also distributed home cooking ingredients, including rice, fish, and flour, for Ramadan. This way, families can break their fast with home-cooked meals as they observe the holy month.
Our efforts in Mayotte wrapped up with our teams donating kitchen equipment to 67 local organizations. They are inaugurating their new kitchen setup by preparing Foutari, the communal meal at which families break the fast together during Ramadan. One of these local groups, Mlio Mwema, created a kitchen training program for cooks. The program will support school meal programs in Mamoudzou. Another, Mariziki Association, provides meals to children returning to school after months recovering from the storm.
“When Cyclone Chido hit… people lost a lot of things, including the ability of children to go to school,” said WCK Mayotte restaurant partner Nidhoimi Saïd. “As soon as we received the equipment, the women were amazed– they didn’t expect it. This has given us even greater momentum for our efforts.”
As we leave Mayotte, local communities continue to channel their tools and expertise to rebuild. We’ll continue to see Mahorans supporting and feeding Mayotte throughout the road to recovery.
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