Mission Statement
mission statement
Anjiro Initiative supports charitable and educational programs in economically disadvantaged communities in Madagascar by providing grants to local schools and other community organizations.
What We Do
Anjiro Initiative relies on meaningful relationships for financial contributions that become educational grants to cover the schooling fees of scholars in Anjiro, a small farming community in Eastern Madagascar. Since 2014, our community-driven organization has disbursed more than $135,000 in the form of school grants for students in primary and secondary schools in Anjiro.
Anjiro Initiative partners with school administrations to identify students in need of financial support. Throughout the year, our local Malagasy program coordinator engages closely with school administrations, beneficiary families and students, and the local government to monitor the progress of our grant-making program, ensuring that we are accountable to those we serve.
How Funds Are Used
Our Malagasy program coordinator disburses your donations directly to schools in Anjiro to cover students’ tuition and schooling fees.
Our Story
About anjiro
Anjiro is a small, rural farming community in Eastern Madagascar. The community is home to six schools and is known for cultural activities such as hosting “famadihanas” (a sacred Malagasy ritual that honors the lives of beloved ancestors), engagements, marriages, and circumcisions. Residents often encounter hardships stemming from limited access to education, employment, healthcare, global markets, and protections against the harmful effects of climate change.
how we started
In 2010, Clifford Duong quit his job at a Fortune 500 company in the San Francisco Bay Area to join the Peace Corps and serve for three years in Eastern Madagascar. He found himself living in a rural community named Anjiro, over 11,000 miles away from home. There, he learned the meaning of respect, family, and his unearned privilege—themes that deeply affected him as a first-generation Vietnamese American and son of former refugees during the Vietnam War. Over three years, Clifford learned to speak the Bezanozano dialect of Malagasy, patiently taught by his neighbors in Anjiro.
Throughout his service, Clifford was struck by one question time and time again: could he pay for a neighbor’s child to enroll in school? Providing support to individuals instead of the community at large did not fit within the core mandate of the Peace Corps. In 2014, upon his return to the States, Clifford established Project Fo Mitambatra, an annual crowdfund to support former neighborhood kids to enroll in school.
After five years, the crowdfund grew five-fold to include the whole community of Anjiro. Seeing how this program simultaneously excited the community in Madagascar and supporters back home in the US, Clifford realized the timing was right to formalize the work to aspire to even greater impact. Project Fo Mitambatra transformed into Anjiro Initiative, which was legally incorporated in 2019 with a founding team of diverse and talented leaders from the public and private sectors, think tanks, foundations, and civil society. Anjiro Initiative’s aim is to benefit more students and disadvantaged communities across all of Madagascar.
Timeline
2011: Our founder Clifford Duong joins the Peace Corps in Anjiro, Madagascar.
2012: Clifford teaches local students how to secure grants for scholarships and computers.
2014: Project Fo Mitambatra is formed by Clifford. This is the 1st year of fundraising for student tuition grants.
2019: Project Fo Mitambatra legally forms into a 501(c)(3) and changes its name to Anjiro Initiative. This is the 6th year of fundraising and the 1st as Anjiro Initiative.
2021: Anjiro Initiative creates a university program to support graduating secondary school students. This is the 8th year of fundraising and the 3rd as Anjiro Initiative.
2023: Anjiro Initiative hires its first Head of Programs, extends grant programming to the districts of Moramanga, Fianarantsoa, and Farafangana, and partners with local and international organizations and programs.
