Walkers Run for Water - An 80km run in Spain

It's been a while since we updated our blog so as we enter into 2021 with further trepidation we wanted to encourage you with news of a run I (Tim) completed on the 21st December to raise funds to dig a second well to install a water pump in a remote village in southern Madagascar.

Off for an Ultra Run!

Yes you read the title of this post correctly I ran 80 kilometers non stop on the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere from sunrise at 8.30am here in Spain to sunset at just before 6pm completing the challenge in 8 hours and 35 minutes, raising near on half the $5,000 that we need to sink this well in the process.

I wanted to write this post as an encouragement to those of us who have just drifted into middle age and to show that if I can achieve something that I only ever dreamt of then let that be a motivation to us all that each one of us has amazing amazing potential inside of us that is just waiting to be released.

So before we go into my run and look at how I undertook what was the longest run of my life, beating my previous best by seven kilometers, I want to take you back to the summer of 2016 when I took up running again and look back at the motivation to do that.

We'd arrived back in England after a three month trip to Madagascar where we once again engaged with our wonderful friends working in the capital Antananarivo and the eastern port city of Toamasina. Our return was to help support Maz' sister as she supported her mum who was in the final stages of her battle against cancer, sadly Judy passed away from just after we had got back home but it was good to be there at the end.

After a visit to see our eldest son and his family in Bath I felt overweight and short of breath as I played football and attempted to chase our three precious grandchildren around the local park.

My logo care of Emily House

I'd always been a good runner in my secondary school years, often picked for the cross-country team, longer distance track runs and spending nights at the athletic club in Aylesbury, Bucks. I had also continued to keep my fit playing football for my local team until I was 40 years old but then we took the bold step and moved to South Africa to set up the Village of Hope, a home for children impacted by HIV and TB, and although I ran a sports outreach programme into the local community using football and netball to encourage the young people living in the formal and informal settlements where we lived I had become lazy, overindulging in a tad too many braai's (BBQ) and perhaps enjoying the wonderful South African wine a little too much! 

Back to that June day in 2016 I looked at my life, the choices that I was making and observed other people around me, some who like me had just let things slip and others who were pushing themselves as they neared their fiftieth birthdays I was worried that within a few years I could have further grandchildren and pondered on what sort of Granddad would they grow up knowing and what fun would we all miss out on if I couldn't even kick a ball with them.

My motivation to run, the current water
situation in Madagascar 

So a few days later I decided to dust off a pair of old astro turf football boots, put on a tee-shirt and a pair of shorts and head off for a run around the block a simple run of around 500 meters. By the end of the run I could hardly breath but undeterred I woke the next morning to undertake another round of that 500 meter loop.

By the morning of 23rd June, just a few days into my new found regime I decided that I needed to download an App to help me keep a note of my activities, mainly to motivate me but also to have a base point to look back on. If you click this link you'll be taken to my Strava page where you'll see that during that first recorded run I covered 2.62km in a total time of near on 15 minutes at an average pace of 5 mins 36 seconds per kilometer.

Water hole for a village of 2,000 people

Over the following days, weeks and now years I've extended my runs, starting with a 5km, a 10k in just under one hour by the middle of July and that was really that with the longer distances as I continued with runs around 5km-10km for just over a year. However on July 24th 2017 I pushed the boat out and ran with my Ultra running Brother-in-law, Chris, over my longest run to date a 14.8km run in France which took almost one and a half hours.

That August I turned 50 and on my birthday I ran a 10km in just over 50 minutes which I was very pleased with and with that in the bag I decided to enter into my first half marathon, again with my brother-in-law, and also my sister in Northampton, which I ran in just under one hour 50 minutes, I think I'd found my running legs but my distances really didn't go up again until I entered my first marathon over a year later.

My aim was to get over the line in under 4 hour's so I made up my mind that I would complete this with a run/walk strategy, thus ensuring I didn't burn out too quickly and giving my legs and body some time to recover as I tackled the tough Winelands Marathon held in the stunning South African town of Stellenbosch, more famed for its wines than it's marathon and guess what, just over 3 hours and 57 minutes since I set out I stumbled over the 26.2 mile (42.2km) line completely exhausted but I'd done it!

The pump on top of the first
new Well that we funded in early
2020

As you can see it took me quite some time to build up to a marathon distance and by the end of 2018 not only myself but also Maz had got into running regularly and we'd also changed our eating habits, inspired by the book Finding Ultra by Rich Roll we cut out all meat and dairy from our diets, a decision that we feel has both benefitted our health, weight, well-being and the well-being of the planet and those that we share it with.

Whilst in South Africa, we were based there to undertake some work for Emerging Leaders, working with local farms and the communities around those farms sharing the amazing Leadership for Life programme and seeing some very positive impact into the lives of those people who we'd come to know and love during our near on seven years setting up and running the Village of Hope, we both entered into the bi yearly 'trail series', runs up in the beautiful mountains that surround Cape Town which we both really enjoyed.

I wasn't without injury, during those first few years I really struggled with a bad back, slipping my disc whilst in South Africa which meant three months without running, continuing problems with my achilles and both knees, especially my left knee which I'm sure was the result of my 35 years or so playing football.

In early 2019 my crazy Brother-in-law challenged me to join him on an Ultra marathon, basically an ultra is any run that is longer than a marathon, technically I suppose it could be 43kms or 27 miles, but this one was going to be 73kms or just over 45 miles and would be taking place on the stunning island of Jersey which is situated just off of the north coast of France and although has long beautiful beaches to its west and southern sides has a very rugged north coast which was going to make the challenge of running it in under 11 hours very tough indeed....but once again we did it and although I couldn't walk for a couple of days after that event I was so proud of my achievement and to look back on where I'd come from just over 3 years before, however I vowed never to undertake another ultra distance again!

Since then I've tried to complete a marathon distance over a week every week and am not only feeling the benefit to my physical health but also my mental and spiritual health, it also means that I get out most days to take in some fresh air and to enjoy all that nature has to offer, be that on the pavements of England, fields of Zambia, sand tracks in Zimbabwe, mountain paths in South Africa, dusty streets in Madagascar, footpaths through the slums in Uganda, the beaches of Mauritius or the promenades here in Spain, I am blessed and I don't take that for granted.

Just the 75,500 steps!

So if I vowed never to do an ultra distance again why undertake the latest run here in Spain, where we are trying to gain our Spanish residency? Well that's a long story but it mainly comes down to the fact that I can't paint, I can't sing and to be honest I'm not very productive at all but what I have proved to myself is that I can run, and if I can run then maybe some kind people will sponsor me to push myself beyond my comfort zone so I can bless those who have very challenging lives each and everyday so to put my body on the line for just over 8 hours surely isn't too much to do.

If you haven't given up reading by now I'll just quickly let you know how I managed to cover the 80kms within the timescales that I had set myself. 

Firstly I made sure I had put some miles or Kilometers in my legs, training each day to do either some hill work, short sprints or longer distances. 

Next I made my plan for the run, my two previous ultra distances had been over some hilly terrain (I didn't mention that I had actually completed a second ultra distance, this was last June when I ran a 7.5km lap around Buckinghamshire on the shortest night of the year, completing the 56kms with some friends in just under six hours during the middle of the night, yes that was crazy but a wonderful way to celebrate the summer solstice and raise further funds for our friends who are struggling in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia and Madagascar), this time I wasn't going to put the challenging hills in so I opted for an 8km lap (x10) up and down the promenade in Torrox Costa, lightweight I know!

At 8.30am I started my run, equipped with a drinks bottle and Maz on hand to bring down supplies as per the timings I'd estimated that I would run passed our apartment. I aimed to get through the first marathon as fast as I could and then worry about the following 38km once I'd got that under my belt. 

Lunch time

My first 12km I hit at a non stop 5 mins per km pace, the second 12km I slowed it down to a 2,5km run with a 250m walk which actually went really well so I continued that until I reached the full marathon point at my fastest marathon time of 3hrs 53 mins which I was really pleased with as I was aiming to undertake that at around 4hrs. 

After a short break for lunch, where Maz bought down a pot noddle to compliment the nuts, seeds and dried fruit that I had been consuming since the first hour, I knew that I had around five hours to keep going to hit the final 38km. I reached 50km by running 1.5Km and walking 500 meters in 4hrs 50 mins and kept that going till I got to 60km.

The sun has shone all day and it was quite fun to see the shadows created as I passed the lighthouse and also bars where people had been enjoying their pre-Christmas drinks and food whilst I plodded passed them with sweat pouring from under my Santa hat which I had worn since the start. 

The last 20kms were made up of a walk/run with 500m intervals with Maz joining me for the last 14km which was a great encouragement to me and I crossed the 80km mark with 35 minutes left before the beautiful sun dropped into the mediterranean sea to end a perfect day!

Nearly finished

The 80km run also allowed me to pass my 2,300kms mark for the year 2020 a feat that I never dreamed of achieving way back in June 2016 when I stumbled out of bed in the hope that I could one day run a 5km and be able to chase my grandchildren around the park in my older age.

I hope you've enjoyed the read and that you have been inspired to realise the amazing potential that lies within each and everyone of us, maybe you won't go out for an 80km run but I would encourage you all to at least take time to exercise your body each day and if you can think more about what you put in your body via your choice of diet, I can guarantee that you'll feel better both in your body (I lost 20kg once I made my life choices) and in your mind.

Lastly if you are able to spare a few pennies then please visit our Facebook Fundraising page by clicking on to this link and help me to make a difference to those we know who are currently facing a daily challenge of finding fresh water just to live.

Home after a mad time in Madagascar....

A visit to a Love'NCare school which is providing
education for these children for the very first time

I'm sitting at my laptop on a dull and wet day in England, just two days ago we'd awoken to the bright blue skies that provided a starke backdrop to the plight of thousands of people who were going about their busy mornings just below us. There was a slight chill in the air, at 20 degrees celsius this was decidedly cold compared to what we had become used to during our over 100 day trip that had seen us travel to four African nations, with people were wearing thicker coats, hats and even scarves.

Sunset over Antananarivo 

It was the end of our trip and we were staying in a little hotel in Antananarivo (Tana), which provided us with our 21st different bed, for a couple of nights before flying home (to England) via Johannesburg. Where does all that time go?

So what will follow next is a brief summary of what we have been upto since our last full update after we left Bulawayo in Zimbabwe at the end of March, you can read that post by following the link here should you wish!

Maz and Ken chatting about the products that he
is making out of the flour he has ground from
Breadfruit and Cassava as an alternative to traditional flour
which is naturally gluten free. 

Arriving in Madagascar is always a bit of a culture shock, we know that much of our time spent in South Africa gave us the opportunities to enjoy many of the creature comforts of the western lifestyle that we enjoyed as we grew up in England and that aren't so available further up in Africa, but having visited other challenging nations such as Burundi and Zimbabwe we hold Madagascar at an even more challenging level.

Barge transporting charcoal which is the main
source of heat for people to cook on
given the fact that only 13% of the population have
access to electricity.

It's not only the stunning colours, scenery, the different smells and sounds overwhelming our senses, it's also the knowledge that Malagasy have some of the lowest levels of access to water, basic sanitation, education, employment and access to the outside world. It's a nation that seems to be stuck in time, taxi's are old Renaults that we used to see in the 1970's, carts drawn by cow or men are a plenty, cobbled streets are still de rigueur in Tana with other roads in the nation in such a state of disrepair that its hardly right to call them roads.

After arriving in Tana from Cape Town we spent a few days catching up with old friends in the capital city before deciding that it would be best to reschedule our planned trip and head across to Toamasina (Tamatave) to work with our contacts there first before returning to Tana towards the end of the trip.

An evening out with some very special people
Colin and Kimberley, Cho and Deborah 

Once again we were welcomed in Toamasina by our good friends Cho and Deborah who head up the amazing local charity called Love'nCare (LNC) and whom we first met way back in 2013 when Cho, a South Korean pastor, and his Malagasy understudy, Theo, visited us at the Village of Hope in Grabouw. Since that meeting we were invited to visit their project in Toamasina in 2014 and have subsequently returned in 2016, twice in 2017 and after a year out due to the internal issues within Madagascar, a cyclone, the plague and a governmental election to name just three, and we were so glad to be back.

Maz, Cho and the ambulance 

Cho is such an awesome guy and he and his team at LNC have now opened up 19 schools, most of them in rural areas where children are now able to access an education for the first time. LNC have also opened a new hospital in Toamasina, of which we were honored to take a tour of.

During our first few days we were also to reconnect with two of the most wonderful people we know, Kimberley and Colin have been friends since we met them in 2016, they run an NGO called HELP Madagascar and have been running the Leadership for Life (LfL) and LEAD NOW programmes with those that they work with since we trained a couple of their staff in 2017. Kimberley and Colin have been great advocates for both the programmes and they were the main reason why we had returned to Madagascar this time.

LEAD NOW

As usual we were keen to get out and meet other people and so it was wonderful to have the opportunity to visit a local school, the head teacher had been trained in the LEAD NOW (LN), children's leadership programme, by us in 2017 and has adopted it into the curriculum of five of the year groups within her school. The school has seen the dramatic effect that it has had on the children, not only are their grades going up, which is great news, but how the children see themselves and those around them has also improved, to such an extent that parents are now wanting their children to attend this privately run school (so many of schools in Madagascar are not run by the government) because of the new ways of teaching and the LN programme being offered!

Children being creative around the topic
of 'heart and character' which is at the
center of good leadership

It was wonderful to see the teacher, her husband was later to attended the LfL Training of Practitioners (TtP) that we ran and who will now be using that to share with the parents of the children!, really embrace the LN programme, using it to be creative outside of the actual LN lesson, with children making flowers and hearts in preparation for the lesson in their art and craft class. 

The lesson was on 'Heart and Character' and the children explored any of the characteristics that were causing keeping them small and not allowing them to grow into the full potential that lays within each one of them.

We also made time to visit the inmates who we had trained up to share the LfL within the local prison. I'm not sure if I can even attempt to convey the shocking conditions that are found not only this prison but also those throughout this vast island. Over 1500 men, women and children are kept in such shocking accommodation which not only plays havoc with their physical health (over the last year LNC have set up a daily feeding programme to combat the malnutrition which was found to be rampant during a recent Amnesty International report, see link, and during the time we were there one man died) but also their mental health.

Out fishing on the Panaglane

It was great to see the seven men who still remain inside, as well as meeting up with the guards who were also on the same programme. We also met up with the new prison commander who has committed herself to implement the LfL to help both those new inmates and those set for release. We hope to hear some better news around the ways in which the prison will further improve as both the inmates and guards start to write a better story for their lives and the lives of those around them.

Maz meets up with some men walking to sell
their recently made charcoal

We were also keen to make a short trip down the 600km long Canal Des Pangalanes where we had worked and stayed in 2016, this was at a local village where LNC have just recently built another school and where they have an orphanage to care for some of the local children who live in this rural area. It was wonderful to spend a day with these people and have an interaction with some local people who were making charcoal to sell, you could read about this by following this link to an earlier post.

The main reason for this part of the trip was to train up 35 local people who the trainers who we'd trained in 2017 from HELP had been sharing the LfL programme with during the last two years, our five day training would ensure that each of the 35 people would be equipped to be able to deliver the LfL programme into the organsiations and networks where they are working. 

It was great to spend time investing in these awesome people who we shared meals with and even in the humidity managed to keep from falling asleep in the afternoon session! They have all already been putting the leadership principles into action in their own lives and hearing the stories of the difference it has made.

Training 35 people in LfL is a tough task
given the humidity which saps all your energy over
the five days of training. 

We had a diverse group of people attend the 
training, including a man who lives and works in some remote locations outside of Toamasina helping local people understand the need to live alongside the lemurs that they share their space with and helping to help maintain the unique flora that exists in that part of the big island under the MFFG organisation, a lady who works in the local fistula clinic that our friend set up after the Mercy Ships had spent time in Toamasina in 2017, and many other heads of local organisations who are helping to uplift some of the poorest people in the city via sustainable projects.

Smiling faces

After spending near on three weeks in the east coast port we made our way back to Tana where we worked with some of the people who we had first met in 2016, most of these people are connected with the FJKM church in Ambohipo a huge church (well in numbers of people, 15,000, not the size of the building) which is based near the university of Antananarivo which attracts a large number of intelligent young people who are keen to make a difference in their nation.

Teachers trained to deliver LEAD NOW into their schools

We hosted a three day TtP for LN where we trained 10 local teachers who will now be sharing the programme with the children that they teach. Once again it was great to invest in these people who will grow the potential of the children that they are working with, helping them understand that they are the leaders of their own lives and that the way that they lead themselves has an impact on those around them.

Third world meet first world at the port of Toamasina

Madagascar is like no other place that we have ever been to, which as we said earlier include some of the most challenging places and nations in the world such as Burundi, Zimbabwe and the townships of South Africa, according to the World Bank 'Madagascar is lagging in a number of development indicators. Every second child (under the age of five) suffers from stunting, and the country has the world’s fifth highest number of out-of-school children. Furthermore, at only 13%, the rate of access to electricity is one of the lowest on the planet. In 2018, Madagascar’s Human Development Index (HDI), as measured by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), improved slightly from 0.512 to 0.519, but the country fell three places in the world ranking, from 158 to 161'.

Food is at the center!
Although the photo looks more like the Last Supper.

There are many factors that leave us with that feeling, but we think that the vastness, remoteness and failing infrastructure are major contributing factors but also it's risk to natural forces beyond its control, such as cyclone and disease, that place this nation of over 25 million people in a very challenging position.

Catching up and updating those who
we trained in the LfL programme in 2017.
Some very friendly faces there including
Flaurid who was instrumental in organising our time in Tana

After running the LN programme with the teachers, (which gave us such great joy as with all of the other issues the education system in Madagascar is severely lacking, as highlighted by UNICEF in this simple web page which shows that 'only 20% of teachers are civil servants and 97% do not have a vocational education degree') we were able to share the updates that had since been introduced to the LfL programme with those people we had trained in 2017. It was so good to see these wonderful people and to hear of their stories of how they had put the programme into action in their lives.

Prayer times with the Sisters

Our final engagement of this early spring 2019 trip was to run a four day retreat for eight people who we would train up to share the LfL programme within their networks. We were hosted by an order of protestant sisters who live in a small 'center' just outside Tana. As we said eight people joined us as we ran a LfL TtP with some very long morning, afternoon and evening sessions but we made sure that we had the opportunity to join the sisters during their three times of prayer during our days.

Off to our 'Leadership' retreat
Vonji and Voirana at the fore!

We are thankful to our friends Flaurida, Vonji and Voirana who were so helpful in arranging all our needs in Tana, from gathering people, arranging interpreters and translating the LfL programme, now in a second updated format into Malagasy.

The accommodation was quite basic by European standards but it was great to share this special time with these people who had attended LfL programmes that had been run by some of the people we had trained during our time in Tana in 2017, we shared meals together, and I (Tim) even managed to get out for a couple of runs which took me into the communities that live in between the rice paddy fields that surrounded the center.

More food which was prepared to suit our
'Plant based diets'

We left Madagascar with great expectations, we are very pleased with how the trip went and although we could have trained more people we are confident that those that we have trained are going to be great advocates and trainers themselves.

So now we are back in England having visited four different nations, worked with people from six different cities and sit with the knowledge that the Leadership for Life programmes are already having a huge impact into some of the most vulnerable communities in the world, delivered by local people to their own people groups, thus ensuring long term change coming through an understanding that everyone has amazing amazing potential to change their minds to change their lives.

Rice, rice and more rice

It's kinda weird being back in England, we are overwhelmed by the good state of the roads, cleanliness and availability of food and other products that we often take for granted. As for the foreseeable future we no further planned trips until at least October so we are going to make the most of this time by spending some time with family, meet up with old friends and have some down time in readiness for the next adventures that we are sure will come our way.

Madagascar we'll see you soon!

back in mad Madagascar

(Sorry no photos as yet, not stable enough internet at the moment!)

As I sit here in Toamasina, the coastal port on the east of Madagascar with it's clear blue skies and flat geography, England and the first world seem very very far away. I'm not sure why it feels so far away, it's not for the lack of any 'stuff', we can get the majority of 'stuff' that you can in the stores and restaurants here, even though there aren't any of the multinational food giants such as Walmart or McDonalds here on this island of 25 million people, which is a Godsend really, but it's just the fact that everything just seems to be that little bit harder. 

Maybe it's the humidity that's getting to me, but it could be the traffic, or the pot holes, the slower way of life, known locally here as Mora Mora, not that that's a problem, I like living life at a slower pace or maybe the threat of the malaria carrying mosquitoes, or lack of a stable and fast internet connection, our only contact with 'the outside world'. 

Don't get me wrong we aren't living in the middle of nowhere this is a 'city' of around 250,000, but with the limited infrastructure, access to electricity, water, decent schooling, etc for the majority of our neighbours then we might as well be. 

its funny that even now after spending the majority of my last ten years away from England it's hard for my mind to remove itself from the first world that my body has become used to and from the 'normal' experiences that I had grown up with.

Since our last blog update we have mainly been working in Antananarivo (Tana) with the team of people whom we trained up with the Emerging Leaders 'Leadership for Life' programme when we were last in that crazy of capital cities. 

The team there, mainly from a huge local church of 15,000, and known to us as 'Team Tana', have been using the programme to directly impact over 800 people in the last six months, with indirect impact on 16,000 people given the fact that most people share the leadership principles with another 20 people whom they either live or work with.

We had the opportunity to join six of our Team Tana guys as they got up early on a Saturday morning and travelled around two hours across the city on a local Taxi Be, more of those later, to share the last of the four modules to the ladies who are being cared for by the awesome charity, Iris Ministries in Tana. 

We know Caroline, the founder of the Malagasy expression of the charity started by Heidi Baker in Mozambique, very well and it was great to meet up with the young lady in charge of social development, Melanie, again. Our team did a great job, sharing the principles in effective and understandable ways with the ladies, who were mainly illiterate, on what was the second two groups that they had already worked with.

The main reason for this latest visit to Madagascar is to introduce the new Emerging Leaders children's programme, called LEAD NOW, which has been piloted in both Kenya and England with amazing results. During our time here we will train up local teachers, around 130 from various schools in both Tana and here in Toamasina, who will then be delivering the LEAD NOW programme to the children they teach in government and private (don't even think of Eton or Harrow!) schools with a view to 'rolling it out' throughout this vast and needy nation.

We have had such favour during our time here in Madagascar, this is our fourth visit, after initially coming out for a short two week visit whilst we were still based in South Africa in 2014. Not only have we already met up with our European Union Diplomat friend for a couple of lovely evening meals, as well as being invited to a 'european film night' as his guest in Tana but we were also hosted for a meeting with the Minister of Education whom we also signed an agreement with allowing us to train up the teachers in the LEAD NOW programme.

This was all exciting stuff, I even had to make a speech in front of quite a crowd, including local and national reporters from both the written press and TV stations. All this bodes very well for our continued work here and by the end of this week we will have already shared the LEAD NOW training with over 50 teachers.

Next week we also have the opportunity to return to work in the local prison here in Toamasina, where we will not only be training up the prisoners but also the guards who were worked with last year in the adult programme, Leadership for Life. We are very excited to have the chance to invest in some of the 'lifers' who have been very keen to pass on the programme to those who they share their 'space' and lives with.

We have really enjoyed our time back here, meeting up with our Teams, sharing meals and other fun times with them. we have even had a bit more freedom to venture out into the streets around where we stay (in Tana). As is our desire we don't want to experience any place as 'just a tourist' and so we have been walking out to have local Malagasy coffee on the streets, buying our fruit and veg (which we have always done during our time in Toamasina but Tana it just seemed a little more challenging), taking our lives in our hands as we joined the throngs of people who travel by Taxi Be (think South African Taxi or large but very old minibuses in the UK with around 25 people sitting on one another in a vehicle that should only take 15 people, they place planks of wood between the seats as more and more people load up) and loving the fact that we have the opportunity to hail a local 'private' taxi which is an old style Renault, Citroen or Peugeot not seen on the streets of England since I was about 10, think Renault4 or Citroen2CV.

Time is once again rushing away with us, we are staying in Toamasina for another couple of weeks, once again hosted by our good friends Cho and Deborah, and then on to Tana for 10 days before flying back into the normality of England.

We do hope to be able to provide a further update with photos and stories of our next month with you before we leave and you can always be sure of a FaceBook or Instagram update in between times.

thoughts from a morning in Madagascar....

The sun rises early, it's Wednesday morning in a coastal town in Madagascar, a town that sits upon the stunning Indian Ocean. People have been busy for many a long hour drawing water from hand pumps outside their bamboo structured homes preparing a simple breakfast of rice over charcoal fires. The noise of Chickens and children and the smell of smoke has woken us as we think about setting off via Tuk Tuk through the crowded colourful streets.

Streets adorned by market stalls selling every imaginable commodity, from locally grown exotic fruits, banana, pineapple and mango alongside fresh homemade breads that wouldn't look out of place in a Parisian cafe, to patched up inner tubes for bike repairs and second hand Manchester United football shirts.

Streets where our Tuk Tuk struggles to make its presence felt amongst many of its own kind, the driver however skillfully negotiates his way between Scooters and rickshaws who's passengers cling tight over potholed roads avoiding the stinking exhaust flumes belching from the huge articulate vehicles carrying cargo containers bought swift from the port. 

The destination of our journey is to visit 30 or so men who gather weekly for their informal bible study in a recently built church, these men come from various towns and villages across this huge and inhospitable island. They arrive at the Church past a tended garden complete with a vegetable patch and bushes which hold freshly washed clothes that dry in the hot morning sun. 

The men arrive in dribs and drabs, clutching their dog eared bibles to their thin and tatty tee shirts, most have no shoes but all are clean shaven with bright eyes held in sunken faces. The church building is one of many set within four high walls of their community and their only commonality, other than seeking God through his word, is that they are the inmates in the local prison.

This prison is a place we have grown to love, the hard faces of the guards who had originally welcomed us with suspicion as we entered their domain through the high rusty gates are now open and others who greet us at the transition building are now friends who accept our entrance, past walls with chalk boards containing the number of men, women and children held here, without question, which brings joy to our hearts.

Offers of help to carry a bag come from those who are being readied for their release,  more responsibility is given to either lifers or those who will be returned home soon and its those men who lead us through the dark passageway, where families are able to visit, into the stark sunshine of the prison yard.

It's hard to describe the feeling as you hear the metal door close behind you and you are confronted by around 1000 pairs of eyes who have raised their gaze from their labour or contemplation and which stare right into the depth of your very being, I can't imagine what Maz must feel like but time really does seem to stand still as you adjust to your surroundings, then you begin to realise that behind these cold eyes are men who just want to engage and find some meaning to their existence.

The yard made up of fine dirty sand is quite vast, in the middle there stands a run down basketball court and a full size football pitch, abet one with the far corner cut off for a toilet block or some such structure, and is surrounded by a large number buildings in various states of disrepair, none of them are new and those which make up most of your view to the left are where most of the men sleep and spend the majority of their day.

It would be unfair to paint too bleak a picture around the insides of these 'cells' as we haven't experienced them first hand but we have gained an idea of what they are like from the few conversations we've had with those willing to share with us. However it doesn't take too much imagination to bring to thought of over 200 adult men sharing a space no bigger than a standard classroom built for 30 children to study in, what with the hot and humid conditions where the occurrence of malaria is at one of the highest in the world, so let's forget scene of TVs, ensuite bathrooms and flat white sheets!

As we make our way past hundreds of men who are undertaking their daily chores under simple hand made structures of plastic bags stitched together to provide shade from the sun and rain (and when it rains in Toamasina it rains, being situated on the cyclone belt is not a great benefit to the towns location) we are welcomed with 'bon jours' from those who have taken time to look up from the pots simmering over the charcoal fires, all the inmates are left to fend for themselves so everyone is busy, many of them sit over their small bowls filled with their meager belongings that they are washing to rid them of the fleas and ticks that abound in their dark cell spaces. 

To say that the conditions are challenging is an understatement but it's with warm smiles that we are welcomed into the small Church by those that we first met during our trip to Madagascar in 2014, back then I had an opportunity to bring a team of local people who are involved in sports outreach to play on the lopsided pitch against the inmates team right here in the prison, since then we have been able to build further bridges via the Emerging Leaders 'Leadership for Life' training that we shared with over 50 of the inmates and guards early in 2016.

As we gathered around on unstable benches, window shutters constantly bang against the concrete walls in the ever increasing Ocean breeze, we not only share in the Bible study but hear stories of hope that have resulted in these men picking up their pens and writing a new story of Hope in their very own community. The things they had learnt from the Emerging Leaders modules have enabled these men to change their own lives in very tangible ways, they now understand that each of them 'has potential', he 'sees himself as a leader'. They have understood that leading starts with the ability to 'lead ourselves' and they have not only done that but they have also seen and 'taken responsibility' of their surroundings, the wellbeing of their fellow inmates and with the help of the guards, who also attended our training, they are now being seen as human beings who have something to offer this dysfunctional community rather than being those who just need to be suppressed whilst they serve their time.

Through the glassless window we are aware of the guard who's tower overlooks our end of the compound, his automatic weapon poised at the ready as we sing songs of a God who as able to 'help in times of trouble' and who 'sets the captive free'. It's all quite surreal but we continue to be encouraged as hear of how some of the lifers who attended our training are now sharing the principles with their fellow inmates and those who head up each cell are keen to be trained to be Trainers within the prison so that they can help others receive this life changing material which will not only make a difference whilst they are inside but also enable them to bring hope to their remote villages when they are released, leaving a legacy which will live beyond this time and space.

Time has a weird habit of racing away for those who want it to slow down and it seems to drag on for those who are wishing it's sands to move slightly quicker through the hourglass of their lives.  So it is within this space and it soon emerges that it is time for us to leave, words of thanks and a 'hope to see you again' soon follows and then one or two tough questions 'what are you doing for the rest of the day'? or 'where are you off to next on your adventures'? How does one answer these truthfully and without sounding blazé or heartless?

Tears well up in my eyes as I type this, just thinking of those face, those lives, those conditions which sit against my backdrop of excess and opportunities and so as we ventured back towards that rusty door, it was with heavy hearts knowing that this door is opened to us, a door to a world of freedom and choices for us and a door which many of these men, now our good friends with a shared vision to bring change to a challenging community will never have the opportunity to walk through. 

Yes some of these men and women have committed crimes worthy of punishment but it's never easy to say goodbye knowing that we are leaving them to another day of endless boredom borne out of the fact that there is little access to 'the outside world', even access to books and other learning materials is limited but we live with the hope that we have bought some light via our visit and can't wait to reacquainted ourselves with them again very soon.  

As that rusty door shuts behind us we are once again welcomed into the real world, a world with its busyness, a world full of choice and options but sadly not for all, if that were true then there would be no need for places where people are removed from society for the protection of others and so we set our sights on helping to create sustainable and viable communities through the Leadership training that we believe can help all men and women, boys and girls to 'see themselves as leaders', reaching their full 'potential',  picking up their 'life pen' and writing a different 'story' for their lives, the lives of their families,  their community and even their nation.

Catching up with old friends and training trainers in Toamasina

see yourself as a leader

firstly we're very sorry for the lack of blog activity over the last three weeks, whilst the internet is capable of allowing us to post a few photos on Facebook it isn't quick enough to allow us to access this platform which enables us to provide a longer update.

today we have ventured to a 'hotel' in town, from which we could hope to hear the gentle lapping of the Indian Ocean however the hum of buzzing tuk tuks and scooters kinda drowns that peaceful idle out! however it does allow us to send out some emails and complete this long post.....hurrah!

since our last post we have made our way to the east coast port and second largest town of Toamasina, this is where we spent three months earlier this year and was the first place we visited on our initial trip to Madagascar in 2014.

the place holds some precious memories for us, as well as precious people, so it has been great to 'escape' the hubbub of the capital and enjoy some 'freedom'. once again Cho and Deborah have made us feel very welcome, although they were in Cape Town for a church conference when we arrived so the first two weeks were spent reconnecting with other friends we'd made during our previous visits.

rickshaws

Toamasina, also known as Tamatave, is a much more accessible town, sitting at the edge of the ocean it is very flat and has a well thought out, if not well maintained, road network. there are very few 'metal'/tar roads and once you reach them you are share them with the hand pushed carts, rickshaws, tuk tuks, scooters, motorbikes, cars, 4x4's, minibuses, buses, lorries of various sizes and huge articulated vehicles which carry the shipping containers from the port out into the country.

we have probably said it before but driving here is a bit like one of those crazy arcade games where some unbelievable situation happens which you must navigate before moving onto the next level, level one navigate around the rickshaws, level two introduce the tuk tuk, level three now involve some scooters, level four drive in the rain etc!

tim sharing at the street feeding programme

we landed in Toamasina on a Saturday morning, which was just in time to join our great friend and translator, Theo, at the 'street feeding programme', it was humbling to spend a precious hour or so with these dear people who are mainly women, of various ages, and their children. it's hard to understand all of their stories but to end up on the street is no place for them. Love'NCare now provide a nutritional meal to these street people each and everyday and it seems like the time sharing is the highlight of their dull and mundane days.

maz sharing at Bethany service, they don't look very
engaged do they!

on the Sunday morning we had the opportunity to share at the Sunday service that takes place at the largest of the Love'NCare schools which sits about 20 minutes outside the 'main town' in a semi rural area. Bethany is not only a place for education but also provides a home to some of the children and women, who are now employed as cooks, whom the Love'NCare team met during their 'street feeding programme'. it is such a great model and one that is having a tangible impact on the lives of those who had previously chosen the street as their home.

sharing at this 'church', which is mainly made up of the children and the staff who live on site, is always a joy and as you can imagine myself and Maz try to engage them in stories, games and activities to get the point across.

meeting with the prisoners

during our first week we also had the chance to catch up with nine of the 30 inmates who had attended the Emerging Leaders - 'Leadership for Live' training that we had delivered in the prison earlier in the year. it was awesome to see them and the joy on their faces as they saw us walk through the 'gate' was a memory that we shall treasure for many a year.

we can't say too much around the visit, other than it was hard to see the conditions that these guys have to endure, we are well aware that these people are inside for good reason but to hear their stories is so heart breaking, but there is hope and they told us of the transformation that they have seen both in their own lives and the life of the whole prison, as not only they but around 20 of the prison guards attended Leadership for Life training and have put the new mindsets in place to see change within the cold walls.

the main reason for our return to Toamasina was to run a 'Train the Trainer' week, similar to the one that we had just completed in Antananarivo a few weeks before. the great thing about working with the guys here is that those who we were planning to train had attended our Leadership for Life modules earlier in the year.

Maz training trainers

this group then had the benefit of seeing the new mindsets of 'seeing themselves as leaders' in whatever role or situation for near on six months and it was so awesome to hear some of their stories of how they had applied the training to their own lives and the lives of those around them.

once again we had a wonderful week with these 20 people from various organisations from around Toamasina, church leaders, prison staff, children's workers, heads of large institutions working in the social welfare sectors and younger people who had just graduated from university.

coffee time, with rice and rice tea!

as always there was an element of 'fun' during the training, although the material is very transforming it is also very accessible and to be able to encourage people to think in new ways and also new ways of training in so cool.


unlike the Tana training we weren't able to host the people but this all seemed to work out fine, we'd hired some local people to undertake the daily catering, cooked outside over a charcoal fire, this meant that we shared time around the table, which is always a great time for bonding. once again the food was great, always traditionally Malagasy which means rice, rice and more rice with different accompanying dishes.

Pastor Reynaud practicing his delivery!

the training is all about practice and it was great to see each person develop over the week, they grew in confidence and by the end we were very happy with what they had been able to deliver back to the group.

at the end of the training we have encouraged both of the groups to work through the simple but effective 'project plan' which takes us from 'the here' (reality of today) to 'the there' (what will the project look like in six months or a years time), therefore our two teams, Team Tana and Team Toamasina, have set realistic goals and we are so encouraged to think that now 50 local and passionate people will be able to deliver this training into the groups and organisations where they work which will see others in their communities transformed in the same ways as their lives have already been.

our 'Team Toamasina' Trainers

we promise to update the blog later in the week where we will be sharing some further stories of hope from our time here in Madagascar as well as some exciting news about our next steps!