I am convinced that the heart of Madagascar lies deep within its people. I have never experienced a more warm, fun-loving and friendly group of people. Contrary to the animated movie, Madagascar is inhabited by over 16 million people and most lemurs live in national parks. 65% of the people are under the age of 24. And the average life expectancy is around 49 years. To say that this is a very young population is to put it mildly. Whenever we go out people are always saying Bonjour Vaza (hello foreigner); of course four blond white girls kind of stand out here. Despite that, we have had tea or dinner with several Malagasy families. Relationships are very important and we have learned much during these times.
Madagascar is where Africa meets Asia infused with a little French. This is a place like none other. Technically Madagascar is part of Africa but it is very Asian. Many of the people look like they’ve come from the other side of the Indian Ocean (above Australia). Rice is a staple. There are animals and plants here that are found nowhere else on earth. The official language is Malagasy, but a lot of French is also spoken, especially for business.
The challenge: To reach over 8 million kids with the gospel. Many of those children do not go to school or read very well. Many of those children do not live in areas that are easy to get to. Book of Hope has been in Madagascar for several years and distributed a lot of books but the task is huge. Madagascar is the fourth largest island; the length of California and Oregon. The roads are winding and few. Many places require 4 wheel drive, planes or boats to get to.
Andrea, Kate, Mindy and I are here to help train a new national coordinator and help expand the partnerships with groups already doing ministry in some of the remote places. This first month was spent getting to know some of our new partners and learning about the culture. The next two months we have many trainings scheduled where we will also be doing a little bit of traveling. We are excited about our coordinator; she has the vision and the connections to get the job done. And while our time is relatively short here, we hope to train many leaders who can carry out this task so that the future of Madagascar will be bright. These people are absolute gems, they definitely have captured my heart.
Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/kimart4ch
Madagascar is where Africa meets Asia infused with a little French. This is a place like none other. Technically Madagascar is part of Africa but it is very Asian. Many of the people look like they’ve come from the other side of the Indian Ocean (above Australia). Rice is a staple. There are animals and plants here that are found nowhere else on earth. The official language is Malagasy, but a lot of French is also spoken, especially for business.
The challenge: To reach over 8 million kids with the gospel. Many of those children do not go to school or read very well. Many of those children do not live in areas that are easy to get to. Book of Hope has been in Madagascar for several years and distributed a lot of books but the task is huge. Madagascar is the fourth largest island; the length of California and Oregon. The roads are winding and few. Many places require 4 wheel drive, planes or boats to get to.
Andrea, Kate, Mindy and I are here to help train a new national coordinator and help expand the partnerships with groups already doing ministry in some of the remote places. This first month was spent getting to know some of our new partners and learning about the culture. The next two months we have many trainings scheduled where we will also be doing a little bit of traveling. We are excited about our coordinator; she has the vision and the connections to get the job done. And while our time is relatively short here, we hope to train many leaders who can carry out this task so that the future of Madagascar will be bright. These people are absolute gems, they definitely have captured my heart.
Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/kimart4ch
