Synergy Flavors builds two new schools in Madagascar
Move follows first pair of schools built in 2016 as part of company’s give-back program.
Synergy Flavors has opened two new schools in Madagascar, giving children in vanilla-producing communities access to education. Photo from Synergy Flavors.
Wauconda, Ill.-based Synergy Flavors, Inc., a leading supplier of flavors, extracts and essences for the global food and beverage industry, has completed construction of two new primary schools in Antohomaro and Farahalana, Madagascar.
The two facilities are the second pair of schools Synergy Flavors has funded in Madagascar. The first two schools were built near Sambava, Madagascar in 2016.
Synergy Flavors once again worked with the Madagascar Development Fund (MDF) to build the two schools. They replace two others that were destroyed by Cyclone Enowa early in 2017, a cyclone that destroyed much of the region’s infrastructure. The initiative reflects the company’s way of giving back to the underserved community of growers and processors who have been at the heart of Synergy Flavors’ success for decades.
“One of MDF’s main objectives is to reduce poverty by providing communities with self-sustaining tools, such as education and schools,” said Brian Donaldson, past British ambassador to Madagascar and patron of the Madagascar Development Fund. “Thanks to Synergy Flavors’ funding, we are able to provide two more towns with access to educational resources and skill development tools that will improve the lives of children, who will one day become leaders in their communities.”
Madagascar has a historically challenged economy, where more than 80 percent of the population has an income of less than one dollar per day, according to MDF. Antohomaro and Farahalana are located in the SAVA region, which produces nearly 80 percent of the world’s vanilla beans. As a major producer of vanilla extracts and flavors, Synergy Flavors chose to invest in the future of a region that has provided so much to the flavor and ingredient industry.
“Synergy Flavors believes the key to innovation and success is starting with the right foundation,” said Rod Sowders, president and chief executive officer of Synergy Flavors. “Education is a significant portion of that foundation. By building schools in areas that lack a direct avenue to education, we are creating a strong foundation for Malagasy children and driving transformative change throughout the entire community.”
With construction completed, the two schools will now begin to accept children for classes. These schools will put young children on the right path to a more promising future and will provide many of them with access to education for the first time in their lives.
The inauguration of the schools is expected to take place later this year.
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