first week update from madagascar

our air seychelles flight in the seychelles

its exactly one week since we left the shores of a wintery England and made our long journey to the Indian Ocean isle of Madagascar, in this post we hope to provide you with an idea of what we've experienced since we arrived and what we've got to look forward to over the next few weeks as we seek to share the Emerging Leaders 'Certificate in Community Leadership' programme to those we have relationship with here in Toamasina.

firstly we want to let you know that other than being very hot and therefore sweaty we are both well, Cho and Deborah (the Directors of Love 'n Care Ministries) have made us feel very welcome in their home which we are sharing with two other girls from South Korea. 

selfie on a tuk-tuk ride to the market

our accommodation is situated on the edge of the city about a mile from the city center of Toamasina, the islands main port on the east coast, and has electricity and running water, unlike many of the homes that surround ours (which are little homes made from palm leaves raised up off the ground on vertical poles which keep out the unwanted rodents and ensure that the water flows under the home rather than through it when the rain's come and oh have we seen some rain since we've been here! it seems like there are just two settings on the weather gauge, blistering sun or torrential rain with the temperature set on high whatever the weather).

saturday afternoon street people feeding programme

after arriving in the capital Antananarivo (Tana) by plane and being met by Cho and Deborah we made the 'interesting' road trip on one of only a handful of tarred roads on the whole island, this was between Tana and Toamasina. Seeing as though this road links what is the main port and the capital one would be forgiven in thinking this would be a major three or four laned highway which would enable the ease of transportation of goods and people both to and from the island, well that iddle couldn't be further from the truth. the road, the RN2, is little more than an English country road which winds its way through the vast mountain ranges and rainforests is edged by soft verges, and small villages with people selling all kinds of goods via their tiny wooden shops which could easily be blown down by the traffic and the road even narrows to single carriageway bridges over some of the smaller rivers.

local fishermen's dugout kayaks

thankfully we enjoyed an overnight stop before completing the near on nine hour trip which was made all the more exciting with drivers of any kind of vehicle, and those ranged from huge articulated lorries carrying shipping containers, buses packed full of people, smaller taxi's overloaded with what seemed like the whole of the passengers worldly possessions precariously balanced on the roof, to small little rickshaws and even carts loaded (overloaded) with bananas being pushed by men up and down these tight roads. everyone was vying for position on the narrow, twisty roads and overtaking uphill on blind bends was the accepted norm!.......saying that our driver was fantastic and even if he did put Lewis Hamilton to shame on more than a couple of occasions he was very careful to ensure we arrived in one piece.

we encountered many different views
on our way to church last sunday!

upon arriving on Toamasina (also known by it's French name Tamatave, which is kinda crazy but hey nothing surprises us any more) we made our way to the local football stadium, OK once again put aside any ideas of what this might look like in your mind, where we joined the amazing team 

maz at a local standpipe

of dedicated people who provide a nutritional meal to the homeless people, mainly women and children, who live on the streets of the 'city'. this once a week meal might seem like a drop in the ocean but this ministry compliments the recent opening of a night shelter by LNC where these street people can stay in safety whilst choosing to remain on the street by day (their choice).

huge shipping container ship in toamasina port

we joined the church at Bethany school on Sunday morning, this once little school has been transformed since our first visit in 2014, it is now equipped with a two story building which provides the classrooms for around 300 children and an open sided building which doubles up as a church on Sundays. Tim spoke at the service and no the congregation (once again mainly made up of children) didn't fall asleep.

view of our neighbours from over the wall
 of our accomadation!

there are so many things that overwhelm you about Madagascar however one highlight must be the riot of colour that seems to abound this can be seen as you ride on the local Tuk Tuk past lines of vibrant coloured fruit and vegetables laid out on the small hand made market stalls that adorn the sides of all the roads in the town or in the clothing of the smiling faced people or leaves of the plants which we have the joy to look out over in our little garden. 

LNC school children, in class

the other thing that hits you is the extreme poverty, it's not right in your face but even to wake to the sounds of our nextdoor neighbours pumping water from a standpipe by hand or becoming aware of the smells wafting over our wall of people cooking on the open charcoal fires that surround us, one realises that yes this is one of the poorest countries in the world with a an annual GDP per capita of less than $500, which to give some comparison India sits at near on three times as much, with South Africa near to $7,000 and Great Britian at over $40,000. 

another classroom 

there is so much need here but with the links we have via LNC and their networks through Madagascar we are certain that we can help to change some of the mindsets that keep people from living the lives that they once dreamt of.

we had the opportunity to visit the two new schools that LNC have built since we last visited, this is an incredible testimony to the favour that these guys have, the desire to make a difference no matter what and to see children who live in some of the most challenging areas of the bush that surrounds Toamasina gain an education which could enable them to see a different life for themselves, their families and the wider communities as they become responsible and participating members of what is an amazing country. 

maz making her way
through the puddles on the way
to the market

apart from schooling LNC have acquired a large piece of land which they are now developing into a small farm, we visited this land and there is a large harvest of aubergines and courgettes ripening and with their chicken hatchery they have over 30 hens that will all be used to provide the nutritional meal that all the children receive during their school day. 

one other encouraging point is that via their work in the local prison where they hold a morning service that is open to all the 1000 men, women and children who are held there, one of the ex-inmates is now employed to help with the cultivation of the land at the farm which is fantastic news.

maz and theo at the new LNC school

we had the opportunity to meet up with a couple of old friends whom Cho had arranged to meet to discuss the Emerging Leaders material with and following that meeting we have now set up five workshops which will take place for three hours over the next four weeks. 

our first one starts next wednesday afternoon at a large local church and as part of the presentation we have agreed to speak at the church which has over 5,000 people on Sunday morning to encourage their congregation to attend the training course, we hope that not all of them will take up the offer, but as an example of our commitment to the cause the first of three services starts at 5.30am which will mean a very early start if we're both to get our hair sorted prior to being picked up at 5.00am!

waterpump/tower on the
farming land

our other events include the leadership staff of LNC as well as the inmates at the prison, we are so excited to be able to share this life changing material which has been so effective throughout the rest of Africa.

well that seems like a pretty comprehensive update for now, there is obviously so much more to share but we'll leave that until next time to share that.......