a week of contrasts and highlights

Maz with the Mercy Ministries team
plus the pilot from Hilmission 

so much has happened since we last updated our blog and once again to fully capture it all would require another chapter in what would become a huge book, however one word that could sum up the week would be 'contrasts'.

the contrasts between the different people we have had the opportunity to engage with, be those men in the local prison who we shared the whole of the four day 'Leadership for Life' training with, or the teachers and health care workers who also attended module one and two with us since we last posted, or the plight of those living in a remote village which took us 40 minutes to reach via helicopter.

the contrasts in the various landscapes that we have seen, be those behind dilapidated high walls that keep the world secure from the men and women who have been interned in the local prison, or the undulating countryside filled with hills and rivers, that we flew over that also keep a people trapped in poverty and insecurity.

hand made bricks that are going to be used
to build the new health clinic

the contrasts in the weather, be it the beating sun which draws up the moisture to create the stifling humid atmosphere or the crashing storms with downpours which wash away the sand roads and pour through the simple palm leaf structures of the tiny buildings that our neighbours call home.

the contrasts to the access of those things we so often take for granted, be that the clean and running water that flows from our taps and shower heads with the sounds of those living outside our bedroom window drawing water from a simple hand pump or the electricity that powers our lights, laptops and mobile phones which has been a bit hit and miss this week making it hard for us to undertake the most basic of tasks but which has drawn us towards the world that the majority of the people of the country live with each day.

the vast rural landscape that over 85% of the
Malagasy population call home

with all that said it has been an incredible week and to keep this post as succinct as possible we have focused on just two highlights. the first was the stunning journey we made via helicopter with the charity Mercy Ministries (MM). MM build and run 36 rural health care clinics, training up and then employing local people from the villages to be the person responsible to provide basic care to those living in the rural locations. remember Madagascar is twice the size of Great Britain but only has seven 'main roads' (roads is a very loose term but essentially means tarred) with over 85% of the 22 million people living in 'the bush'.

MM are looking at establishing a further three clinics in areas where either they have identified a need or if a village have approached them after seeing or hearing about the amazing healthcare changes that have taken place in other villages after MM have opened a clinic there. it was to one of those locations that we set out from Toamasina airport via helicopter to make the 40 minute journey. the flight was made in a six seater helicopter operated by Helimission, another amazing organisation who provide the various charities working in Madagascar the opportunity make use of the helicopter which is based in the capital Antananarivo's but which serves the whole of the country.

Maz arrives to handshakes and smiles!

once on board we headed north with the India ocean clearly visible out of the right hand window, the flat coast line soon turned into a vast landscape of hills and valleys, banana plantations overlooking carefully tended paddy (rice) fields which make up the staple of the local diet.

its hard to describe the scene as the pilot honed in on the location marker blinking away on his screen, we were only flying at a height of 300 meters and he was aware of the clock counting down to our expected time of arrival but even with as little as 20 seconds of flying time left there was no sign of anything that would confirm the existence of a single home, let lone a village of 1500 people.......

.......then all of a sudden the pilot spotted the scar of a red path snaking its way through the trees, then some simple reed huts set upon a hill, then the sight of a small white flag and a cross etched into the red soil. as we came in lower and made a sweeping left bank turn we were greeted by the sight of a hillside scattered with the people clothed in bright colours, the whole village and surrounding area had come to welcome us into their remote community, it truly was a never to be forgotten experience.

the whole village came
to greet us and showed us
to the place where the
clinic was being constructed

as the blades came to a stop the thousand or so men, women and children descended upon us, we were greeted by smiling face and handshakes, the Malagasy are quite a reserved people but their excitement at seeing us, and mainly the doctor and operations director of MM, overtook them and we were carried along on a wave of joy down the hill, across a small stream which provides the drinking and washing water and on up hill to the place where the foundations of the small concrete structure which were the beginnings of the new clinic.

this is to become the first concrete building ever to be built in the village and all the bags of cement which were then cast into bricks using the local sand were bought by hand through the hills and valleys by the village people, therefore it was with much passion and pride that these people stood around and showed us their handiwork.

there then followed some very long speeches and discussions around how the clinic would operate, the need to establish a committee to ensure the sustainability of the project, which although is overseen by MM is really operated and run by the village itself, which is a fantastic model and one that has been proven to work in their other 36 locations.

as the thunder rumbled and lighting flashed along the tops of the nearby mountains we were invited to join the elders in a reed home where a table had been set for a simple meal of rice and chicken, washed down with a cool glass of 'bon bon anglais' (a local fizzy drink resembling cream soda), we were encouraged to eat with gusto, however it was a little disconcerting having so many eyes watching every move of your fork or mouthful being consumed when they only sat and watched but we were assured that this was only to their delight to have us share with them which put our minds at ease.

the V.I.P's give their speeches
whilst the whole village listen!

it was a truly humbling experience and although we were there for near on two hours the time came for us to leave. we said our what we thought were our sad goodbyes to some of the local children who were obviously fascinated by our appearance in their village which sits over three hours walk from the nearest 'road' but as we started to walk back up to the landing spot the whole village turned with us and made the hike back up the hill accompanying us with singing and much shared laughter.

the hillside seemed even fuller than when we had arrived, word must have got out that this metal bird carrying vazaha (foreigners, especially european people) from the outside world had descended from the skies and again after much handshaking we left with a further gift of a live duck and a huge branch of green bananas.

village life...the home where we shared the meal.

sorry for the 'war and peace' style post but we've only just finished the first of our highlights! the second is still to follow, so go grab yourself a cuppa and come with us on another fascinating journey this time into the hearts, minds and lives of over 40 inmates at the local prison where we shared four mornings of leadership training with these often discarded men.

Love'nCare ministries, led by Cho and supported by his able team, have a weekly workshop within the prison, held in the church building they constructed a few years ago and which serves as a meeting point for those interested in expressing their Christian faith each morning and every Sunday.



the Emerging Leaders training, aptly called 'Leadership for Life' looks at our current ways of thinking, those that are shared by every human being on the planet and those that keep us small and unfulfilled, it then introduces mindsets that are common throughout any good leader, thus encouraging new thoughts, thought processes and vital applications for anyone to start leading their lives (module one), leading their team, or family (module two), leading their finances (module three) and then leading a community based project, be that income generating or a social project (module four). we were keen for this to be open to all inmates and were delighted that over 40 joined us for the whole 12 hour session!

the inmates listen intently to the
'Leadership for Life' modules

during the week we saw the whole countenance of those on the training change, their eyes both in their hearts and minds and in their physical appearances changed, gone were the men who saw their lives as hopeless and without purpose, each morning they came to learn with new vigour with stories of hope and by the end of the week a step by step plan to help create a better environment for themselves and those that share the tough conditions found behind a wall which keeps the prying eyes from seeing.

we are so blessed to be able to share this
life changing material

we don't want to paint a bleak picture but we're not quite sure that anyone can imaging the state of the place, and we can't go into detail but the government only provides these inmates, including women and children a few dried leaves each day for nourishment and family members are responsible for the care and welfare of their loved ones who live far from the rural villages that we are only now too aware of since our helicopter trip. given that Madagascar is one of the top 10 poorest countries in the world little imagination needs to be applied to understand how these people 'live'.

but there is hope and to hear the story of the men, one of whom had been held there since 1994 (22 years) and how he was applying the training into his thinking over the week was one that made our eyes shed more than a couple of tears.....'if only someone had shared this with me before I committed my crime' was his cry, 'please go and take this to the children so they don't end up like me', 'but i'm gonna now start to see myself as a leader and make a difference where i am right here and right now' (absolutely incredible and we will revisit the guys in a couple of weeks to see how they are doing and to encourage them in their changed thinking). 

the inmates pick up their pen's and
make notes about the modules

the reason we are now working with Emerging Leaders is to bring hope into the hearts and minds of some of the most vulnerable people in the world, our two highlights from the many many we could have shared with you this week see us providing that hope to those here in Madagascar!

we are thankful to you, our supporters and those who were inspired to create the 'leadership for life' material and we can't wait to see how that is going to be used this coming week as we work with the very prison guards that hold these newly inspired inmates and how they can work together to transform their lives, the lives of others, the lives of their community both inside and outside and transform the very nation of Madagascar.....it can happen and we are seeing that one life at a time.