Since being set up in 2011, Youth First has focused on the promotion and empowerment of young people; first with the Young Women Leadership Program, a capacity building and leadership program for young girls, support and initiation to entrepreneurship, then through the accompaniment of young entrepreneurs within the Hary Project, which was our first collaboration with CRS Madagascar.

These different projects have enabled Youth First to acquire key experiences in the field of entrepreneurship, in particular in terms of support and coaching, training of Youth Coaches, the development of tools, and in the development and management of a common fund system ("Youth Basket Fund"), with 33 young rural entrepreneurs from the regions of Tamatave, Morombe, Mananjary and Tuléar beneficiaries.

To keep this work going, Youth First is today committed to bringing its expertise in youth promotion and entrepreneurship so that young people contribute to improving the situation in southern Madagascar, through the MAHARO program, a food security program initiated by CRS Madagascar. This project aims to prevent and reduce the food insecurity of the most vulnerable households in the Androy and Atsimo Andrefana region, within the framework of which Youth First will ensure to lead the strategy and work directly at the level of young people through training in terms of entrepreneurship, coaching sessions as well as monitoring the entrepreneurial activities of these young people in their respective regions.

Spanning 5 years, the first year of the project is devoted to refining the program strategy and developing the tools. At the end of the planning meeting last January, the Youth Officers who ensure the effectiveness of the interventions and the quality of the project were implemented in their respective intervention zones: Tsihombe, Ampanihy and Beloha. Let us give Malagasy youth the opportunity and the means to contribute to the development of the country!