Money for Madagascar was started in 1986 at a time when the Malagasy economy was in deep crisis and the standard of living had fallen by 40% in less than fifteen years.  Madagascar was ranked 10th poorest country in the world.  Very few international agencies were working there at the time and the emphasis seemed to be on conservation of wildlife without a matching concern for the plight of the people.  Barbara Prys-Williams, with the support of Swansea Quakers, decided that something had to be done and so Money for Madagascar was born.  In the first three years nearly £80,000 was raised and in 1991 Money for Madagascar became an independent Charity.

Today Money for Madagascar is a Registered Charity run by eleven Trustees and one paid Development Officer.  All the Trustees are unpaid volunteers.  Most have visited Madagascar on more than one occasion, and both the Co–ordinator and the Treasurer have worked there. We have no office (apart from the Co–ordinator’s garage!) so a very high proportion of donated money goes directly to Madagascar.
We feel very strongly that the people in Madagascar know what they need — it is not for us to tell them, and they also have the expertise, so our function is essentially one of funding.  We aim to send a visitor (usually one of the Trustees) to Madagascar each year to see the projects and to renew our acquaintance with our Malagasy partners who, in many cases, have become our friends.