learning to dream again.....part one of two!

its hard to know where to start, whilst we were only around one and a half hours outside of the second largest town in Madagascar we might as well have been on another planet, such was the experience of our last three days spent in a rural village, called Ambalason, sharing the 'Leadership for Life' modules with various village chiefs and church leaders who joined us from other villages that sit along the 600 kilometer Pangalanes waterway which runs down the east coast of Madagascar.

we were aware that things would be different but nothing could quite prepare us for the remoteness of the place. we'd made our way out of Toamasina in a 4x4 Toyota on sand roads towing a small boat that would become our next means of travel after we'd found a suitable launch gain access to the large lakes which are interconnected by a shallow canals, built by the French to provide a reliable means of transportation rather than the pirate infested and unfriendly Indian Ocean.

once on the water we then travelling along the 'canal' passing by small craft powered by little more than a small paddle or a hand made sail, there were signs of life along the banks which rose with Travellers Palms and after 30 minutes we arrived on a remote beach scattered with small Piroque (dugout canoes) under the shade the exotic trees which hugged the shore.

the use of the term remote has to be put into prospective, in comparison to the village we visited via helicopter only a few weeks before and given the fact that over 85% of the Malagasy population of around 22 million, on an island twice the size of the United Kingdom, this is really the 'norm' for millions of people, therefore by remote we really mean 'cut off from the outside world' and Ambalason is certainly that in more ways than one.

after unloading our supplies, which included the essential mosquito nets such is the high prevalence of malaria and dengue fever in the areas along this great expanse of water, we made a twenty minute hike along a small single track to the village that we would become 'home' for the next three days.

we were introduced to Rudolph (the local pastor) and were informed that we'd be staying in his family home which was constructed out of palm leaves and bamboo, and which stood on a basic wooden structure raised from the ground on low stilts. he shown our 'room', which we shared with our friends Chris and Claire (not to be confused with our son and daugher-in-law who share the same names!) and discussed the important things of life. 'where do we go to the toilet?', 'what will we eat?' and 'can we drink the water?' (that we had already seen was being drawn up by a hand pump that was situated between his home and the cooking area where our food was to be prepared).

thankfully the local young people had dug a 'new' toilet, the first in the village, only a few weeks before and they were keen to show us this 'simple' but effective system which meant that we wouldn't need to venture into the bush to do our business. the topic of food was mainly based around how much rice we would like for our meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, but thankfully we had bought some provisions with us which would add some spice to the blandness of the staple of which there seemed to be much joy in the kitchen!

that said we were well feed, with meals complimented by a couple of chickens, who lived under our bedroom by the way, cuts of pork and locally caught freshwater crab. without the means of any electricity everything had to be cooked over an open fire which was situated inside a hut which served as both kitchen and dinning area. this is where we all shared meals in the half light smoke filled room, we were blessed with chairs around a small handmade table but others sat cross legged on the floor with a pile of rice set upon a huge banana leaf!

we'd gained access to the village via our connections with Mercy Ministries and were joined on the trip by Fara who was going to interpret for us and Patrisse who has carefully navigated his way down waterway which were filled with fishermen in their Pirogue and complex wooden fish traps which line the edges and even stretch across the whole 'canal' with 'gatemen' (also in their Piroque) lowering the reed structures to allow our outboard motor to navigate through without pulling the whole thing apart.

Mercy Ministries run 36 local health clinics overseen by a trained member of the village and have planned churches into each of those locations, once again the use of clinic and church have to be understood in the loose term of those words but at least the clinic is a brick structure, similar to that that we'd seen being constructed during our helicopter visit.

we were going to be hosting the four 'Leadership for Life' modules over two and a half days in the school, which the children, of who's countenance had lightened a bit to their strange visitors, were keen to show us. what greeted us as we made our way past the football pitch (again little more than bamboo goalposts set on an open piece of sandy ground) was a seemingly derelict two roomed building with metal window shutters hanging broken from the open windows and a desks in various states of disrepair strewn haphazardly around the bare concrete floors, we were informed that over 70 children attend the school which was currently closed for the Easter holidays.

the people attending the modules were arriving in dribs and drabs but by eleven o'clock and after our early morning journey we were keen to start, so we ignored to dilapidated surroundings and busied ourselves by hanging our carefully crafted and translated Emerging Leaders posters which gave the room a brighter feel.

the first module of 'Leadership for Life' is about awakening people to the understanding that their lives are full of potential, looking at the ways of thinking that keep us small and introducing seven leadership mindsets that will help them to start leading their own lives with a new prospective, these are shared via easily accessible activities and stories and the twenty or so people eagerly lapped up the material which we ended at around four in the afternoon to enable those travelling home to make it before dark.

those attending the modules had joined us from five other villages with people either walking or travelling by their own Pirogue up the waterway for up to two hours, what struck us during that first day was the limited understanding they had to 'the outside world' that we were talking about, when we mentioned countries or other people groups their gaze seemed vacant and we had to make sure that Fara was interpreting things in a way that they could grasp. it was slow going and we really had to go back to basics, this is something that we must be aware of when introducing new ideas to people who live in such remote places who have little contact with the outside world.

running the training is quite draining and after another meal of rice followed by 'Rice Tea' (which is basically the remains of the rice water reboiled to make a very thin 'tea') we were in bed by 8.30pm, in fact the whole village was in bed by that time and the silence we quite deafening.

readying ourselves for bed was made all the harder by the lack of electric light and the sand on which the village sits, the sand seemed to get everywhere and we can only suggest you imagine camping (not glamping) in a tent on an extremely sandy beach getting into bed without the opportunity to wash and having to deal with high (for Europe) temperatures which makes things all the more sticky!. however we all slept soundly with our straw filled pillow providing some comfort underneath our higgeldy-piggeldy mosquito nets which were precariously strung above the bed (although we'd taken our own nets the family had invited us to use theirs, the one over our bed contained more larger holes so we're not quite sure how effective they would be but we weren't bitten and that's what they have to sleep under every night so we're not complaining!).

after being awoken by the sounds of the village, cockerels crowing at an unbelievably early hour, the hand pump drawing water, the sound of a large pestle and mortar grinding down the corn which was being used to make our sweet doughnut style bread which we would enjoy with more rice for breakfast and with children playing outside our bedroom we got up early and enjoyed a quick 'shower' (cold water bucket behind a reed screen). breakfast also included the seemingly very precious coffee and before 8am we were already walking to the school to start module two.

we started the session, as always, with a review of the previous day, and asked if people had 'done their home work?', which included looking at their dreams, once again the 'remoteness' of the place hit home as most people informed us that they didn't have any dreams for their lives, that in fact they'd never had any dreams, no dreams of becoming a fireman, nurse, school teacher and all the other familiar childhood dreams that we can identify with. these people, even though they were 'community leaders' themselves, had little expectation that their lives could look any different to the way their communities had been for perhaps hundreds of years.

however not to be discouraged we saw the accessibility of the the 'Leadership for life' modules coming to the fore and were extremely pleased to see the class grow with a few new faces who had joined due to the stories of those who had attended day one and shared how life changing the modules had been.

we are very aware of this long post so we will continue this on a future post which we hope you will enjoy reading later on in the week......oh and sorry about the lack of photos but our limited internet and the slow speeds have made it impossible to upload any!.......

.......to be continued.........!

'madagascar time'

the weeks seem to be flying past and although our days aren't full full like they used to be in South Africa we are still keeping ourselves busy as we settle in to the rhythm that is our 'Madagascar Time'.

each day brings new opportunities which in turn open up into new friendships with each of those having new stories all as individual each other. we have now successfully shared the full extent of the four modules of the 'Leadership for Life' to over 150 people, ranging from local teachers and health care workers, prison inmates and the members of a large church here in Toamasina. it is a magical experience as we see the eyes of those attending the modules come to life as they realise that they are in fact leaders and by laying down new mindsets they can change their lives and the lives of their families, their finances and their wider communities.

we are trying to maintain a work, spiritual and life learning balance which we found hard to find in South Africa, our days start with some fitness work-out routines which keep our bodies strong but that are quite challenging due to the heat and humidity. it has been important to take some time to meditate on the things going on around us, our daily readings of Father Richard Rohr's emails along with books and podcasts extending our knowledge especially around the worlds psycho-social needs has also been important to us (as well as reading some less taxing material!). 

we eat out most days at local establishments, this is simply due to the relatively inexpensive food and the fact that its so fresh and wholesome. we buy locally produced fruit and veg from the street vendors which line the roadsides and although we do have access of a vehicle (thanks Love'nCare) we do use the local tuk tuks to get around quite often.

each of the 'Leadership for Life' modules run for around three hours but with the set up and take down of material which Maz has so expertly drawn up and had translated means that these draw out to near on four hours and even if we aren't running morning and afternoon modules on the same day we are still exhausted by the end of it.

the feedback we are receiving from those taking part is the highlight of each module, to hear the stories of how people have applied their new thinking into real life situations is showing us (and them) that this is really working and is applicable to the lives of those we are sharing with. we are really looking forward to this coming Wednesday when we will have an opportunity to spend a couple of hours with the prison inmates to hear how they have got on (not gotten on, gotten isn't a real word!) since the last module we shared with them three weeks ago.

we did enjoy a night away in Foule Point which although sits only 40 miles to the north of Toamasina took over one and a half hours to reach due to the shocking road conditions of the 'national road' RN5, which has was featured on a BBC web page as one of the most challenging roads in the world. apparently it gets much worse the further north you travel and we are going to venture that way again in a few weeks time!...have a look here for an idea of what we are talking about, remember this is a 'national road' not some off road experience!

anyways it was great to get away and Maz spent time snorkeling, with a mask and tube borrowed from a local fisherman!, whilst I stood as still as a statue on the coral to afraid to move in what was such clear and warm water and got sun burnt on my back!

we are now mastering 'night driving' which we equate to some sort of crazy computer game where everything else is set to cause you to 'fail the level', what with the huge unmarked potholes, no street lighting, even in the middle of the town, other cars or motorised vehicles coming towards you with their headlights a blaze truly blinding you as you watch out for the small scooters and motorbikes who dart in an out of the unlit rickshaws that are being ridden or pushed by black men who are also trying to avoid the same hazards as you is a somewhat draining. that said it keeps you on your toes and is quite fun (at times).

every Sunday we have the chance to 'bring a word' to either the church held at Bethany school or in the prison, this is always a time of joy and celebration and even if we don't know what's going on for most of the time (a bit like the night driving) it's great to be part of these moments. yesterday we had over 170 prisoners join us, men, women and children in the small church set inside the prison grounds which was awesome.

during the last few weeks we have also met up with some incredible people who have a heart to serve the least, the last and the lost here in Madagascar, we have already posted about Mercy Ministries but they hosted a workshop with a couple from England who were sharing about 'effective community development' and we had the fantastic opportunity to visit the Mercy Ships ship that is providing medical care during their ten months docked at the port in Toamasina.

this ship is manned by over 400 volunteers, ranging from surgeons who perform life changing and other wise unavailable operations to men, women and children who have been screened and bought to the ship to have treatment in one of the five operating theaters, to cooks and cleaners who ensure that everyone is feed and good hygiene standards are maintained. the ship is also fitted out with x-ray machines and even has a CT scanner, unheard of in Madagascar, we want to thank Keith Brinkman and his team for allowing us a business visit to what was a truly awesome facility.

it's great to see the strong relationships that Cho has built with local, national and international organisations and by the time we post again we will have been into the 'bush' areas along the Pangalange canal to the south of Toamasina where we are going to stop for two nights (including our 28th wedding anniversary) to share the 'Leadership for Life' modules to the teams working in the remote villages in that region.

we are truly blessed to be here and although there are daily challenges with electricity and slow internet etc we are thankful to have a good meal each day and the freedom to come and have an impact into some of the vulnerable people of the world.

P.S no photos again due to slow upload speed (sorry), LORD GIVE ME STRENGTH!

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.

madagascar end of week two....

wow we can hardly believe its coming to the second week that we've been in Madagascar and what a week it's been, below we've tried to capture some of the highlights which include having the opportunity to visit the poor people who had lost everything in a recent fire, engaging with the dear children the weekly homeless feeding programme, attending a 5.30am church service with over 700 people, sharing with the prisoners at their sunday service, being taken to the police station because we weren't carrying our passports, watching a local football match in the bush which was birthed out of the sports coach training we led two years ago, preparing and then sharing with over 70 people the Leadership training programme at a local church and making contact and working on further opportunities to share the Certificate in Community Leadership programme throughout Madagascar.

it's really hard to put down in word all the experiences that we have had during the last week, obviously the reason we are in Madagascar is to share the Emerging Leaders programme with as many people as we can so to have delivered the training of module one to a group of 78 people is a real mile stone in our lives. the training is really built on seeing peoples lives transformed by introducing leadership mind sets that are simple enough to put into practice. we'd seen how effective it had been in South Africa when Trevor and Jane Waldock came to share a version of this training with some of our community in Grabouw, but for us to deliver this training was going to be a different story. we worked together well, sharing the three hour session between us and to see the eyes of those we were teaching open up and engage with us during that first session was a real privilege and we are confident that those people will be applying this training into their lives right now.

we have further opportunities to share, the first of those starts tomorrow morning, where we will gather the teaching and key leaders of both Love'nCare (LNC) ministries and another wonderful NGO called Mercy Ministries together for module one, we are then going to be sharing the training in the local prison with further opportunities to share with other NGO's and even the prison guards which would be an great connector to encourage the prisoners thus completing a circle that will benefit the whole of that prison community.

outside of the training our hearts were once again broken by the plight of the thirty or so families who's homes had been lost to a huge fire that ripped through one of the informal settlements on the northern edge of Toamasina. Cho and Deborah from Love'ncare had raised funds via their connections in South Korea to purchase some large cooking pots, blankets and foam mattresses which we distributed via another NGO called Help Madagascar, representatives from the 30 families gathered together where they were given the provisions and we had the opportunity to see the devastating effect of the fire first hand. the homes made of a timber frame covered with a beautifully woven leaf cladding with palm leaf roofing which stand side by side along the banks of a small mosquito infested stream were overwhelmed by flames so quickly that everything was lost, however to stand in that place of devastation a few weeks after the fire and see new timber frames, some of the timber reclaimed and blackened by the fire, rising up like a phoenix was humbling to say the least.

our visit to the weekly street people meal on Saturday afternoon was yet another humbling experience and to spend time with the dear mothers and children, so skinny and malnourished was at times hard but to just be friends to these people, show them the love and care that so oft they are denied, taking up a child in your arms, playing simple sitting games and taking time to treat these people, especially the children with respect is all we could do and we're so glad of the heart that Love'ncare have for these dear people that are also blessed by the night shelter that has recently been opened by LNC.

we were wide awake at 4am on sunday morning readying ourselves for Pastor Fidi who was going to pick us up to share at his 5.30am service, we were once again amazed at the amount of people up and about at that time on a sunday morning and by the time the service had started over 750 people had joined us, filling all the ground floor and balcony seating of this large church with late comers joining outside (under cover of the early morning sun) with a video link!.....and this was the first of three services that would be held, the second starting at 7.30am with the late risers given the option of attending the one at 9.30am!we were able to encourage the congregation to attend our first leadership training session that we were going to host at the church on the Wednesday afternoon.

after a short trip home to freshen up we were soon making our way to the prison to join the inmates for our second service of the day which started at 9am, over 100 men, women and even their children joined us to offer up their thanks giving to God in both prayer and song and listen to me (Tim) deliver a 'message' of hope based around the feeding of the 5000. this was yet again another time were we felt so humbled, one by the joy that filled these peoples hearts, looking and knowing of the incredibly tough living conditions where their families and friends have to visit to provide the food for their loved one. remember this is a country where over 85% of the population live in rural areas where transport is so limited and what with those family members living on less that $2 a day they are expected to provide for those on the inside. we will share more about this when we have the chance to spend four mornings next week encouraging those very same prisoners with the leadership training!

we were due to meet up with Cho and some of the other LNC team for lunch but a spanner was thrown in the works when our car was stopped by the police who were running routine spot checks on the drivers and the vehicles paperwork. once we'd been pulled over our two Malagasy friends who were in the front seat were questioned about their credentials, and the credentials of the two white people sitting in the back of the vehicle, those being myself and Maz, where were our Visa documents? after a few minutes explaining that we didn't have them on us, mainly to do with the fact that we had just been sharing a service in the prison and that perhaps wasn't the best place to take vital documents the police man was not too cooperative and informed us that we needed to follow him to the police station to explain ourselves!..........in the end I was held there with Maz being allowed to return to our home/accommodation to pick up the documents. everything ended up ok, but our friends were so embarrassed about the situation, we had wasted over an hour of our time, for what, to prove something that the police already knew?

after a wonderful lunch with some of cho's South Korean friends at a restaurant on the beach, the Indian ocean lapping against a white sand beach where local fisherman's boats made from dugout logs sat waiting for their owners to return on Monday morning to go out searching for the wonderful selection of seafood that lays beneath the surface and which adorned our plates (this is where poverty and plenty meet), we were off into the bush with two of the LNC staff to watch their local football team take on a team from the town in a friendly match that was to take place on a flatish piece of ground set amongst the palm trees and rice paddy fields. this team had been set up as a result of the sports outreach programme which we came to share with around 20 local youth leaders two years ago. it was fantastic to see the team, adorned in their South Korean sponsored kit play some amazing football on what was a very challenging sandy pitch sparsely covered in long tufty grass. the boys encouraged each other and whilst we had to leave at half time we did get chance to see the only goal of the game scored by a very tricky left winger who finished off a well worked team move with aplomb.

the rest of our week was taken up by the long and tedious translation of the key story boards that we use to engage people with the leadership training, Maz has done an incredible job, ably assisted by young brother Theo. we go into this next week with thoughts of the training tomorrow morning, the four day training in the prison and a trip into the remote bush via helicopter with Mercy Ministries on Monday morning, but those stories will have to wait until next week!sorry about the lack of photos but our internet allowance has run out so you'll have to visit our facebook pages to see some of the photos we'd uploaded during the week, click here to see Tim's page!

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.......

First night in Madagascar

Maz outside our first
nights accommodation

I awoke to the soothing sounds of the rain forest, the melodic chirp of small insects and frogs and in the distance the call of a Lemur high up in the canopy. As I came to my senses however that idyllic dreamland vision was broken by the disconcerted thought that I'd gone totally blind such was the darkness that surrounded me. 

My mind was somewhat relieved as I caught the inconsistent blink of Maz' cell phone which I was aware of in my peripheral vision but even with that partial light I couldn't even make out the detail of the mosquito net that hung over our bed or my hand in front of my straining eyes.

Someone else who enjoys praying!

After what seemed like hours of stillness I decided to find out what time it was, I knew that my phone must be close at hand but then I remembered that I'd inadvertently dropped it onto the baked mud floor as I had drifted off to sleep in what felt hours ago. Once I'd located it I was shocked again as my eyes adjusted to the harsh light of the screen to discover it was only 11.46pm.

It was with mixed feelings that I turned over to find a comfortable position on the hard mattress, firstly I had the unexpected joy to be free to listen to this great crescendo of unfamiliar sounds for as long as I wanted such was the rest that my body had already found in those short hours of sleep but the thought of being so warm and slightly sweaty this early in the night caused my soul to long for the far off sunrise which would surely bring an even greater cacophony of noise!

our first night, in the rain forest

Our small single roomed abode with its palm reed thatched roof and adobe walls was heavy with the sweet smell of a spiral joss stick which we had lit a few hours before to ward off the attractions of the blood sucking mosquitoes that seem so abundant in the valleys and still places of the counties that sit along the equator, as I laid there as still as possible as not to wake Maz who was dreaming easily beside me my mind retraced the incredible journey that we'd been on since the last time we slept together on a cold winters night in rural England, was that really less than 48 hours ago, it felt like another world, in fact it was a whole world away from where we'll be serving for the next three months.......welcome to Madagascar!

and so the next season begins

Maz and Arron at Heathrow (actually this was taken
when we dropped Arron to catch his Thailand flight!)

as we touched down in a cold Heathrow airport following our three week trip to South Africa we were greeted by our brother-in-law (Mark) and our youngest son (Arron) who we thought we might not see before he flew off to his new job in Thailand, so that was a great surprise and one that we made the most of prior to his departure yesterday!

Trevor delivering some key points to the
Emerging Leaders leadership team.

the reason for our return to England, rather than flying direct from South Africa to Madagascar (which would not only have been the quicker option but also a much cheaper one too), was to join the team from Emerging Leaders at the event they were running for their core team in sunny Suffolk (a county on the east coast of England).

A David Beckham moment (Focus) as a leadership tool

what would seem like a long round about trip was in fact an important part of our journey and was a fitting start to our new season. it is their amazing community leadership programme that we will be using to help transform the hearts of minds of some of the most vulnerable people around the world, starting as you will all be aware in Madagascar later this month. 

Some of our African friends were a little cold

Trevor and Jane (the founders and the incredible people who have created the life changing material) had gathered their team from around the world to come together to learn from each other and share the potential of the training, encouraging us with stories of hope from the field and creating a desire to share this training with more and more people. they are keen to build a team of trainers to train other people living on the coal face of some of the worlds most challenging communities and we were so blessed to have been included as part of that team.

We were joined by Morpheus from
The Matrix (not really this is Sekou pretending!)

it was so amazing to meet up with Purity from Kenya, Joseph from South Africa and Steve from England who are the heads of their countries. Purity has been working with Emerging Leaders for the longest time and it was great to hear how lives are being transformed in some of the slums and wider communities in her country, but we were also very excited to hear about the work that is already taking place in South Africa (obviously a country very close to our hearts) however it was the stories that were shared by Steve that blew us away, Steve told us some fantastic stories of partnerships that were being developed to ensure that this Leadership programme was being accessed by some of the most venerable people in our home country (England) too.

children at Bethany in Madagascar 2014

so now it's time for us to get involved, we know that our time in Madagascar will be very different to anything we have experienced before and although we visited the projects in May 2014 living there for three months will be another ball game, however are really really excited about the opportunity we have been given and are really looking forward to be working with our friend Cho and his team at Love 'n Care Ministries again. 

Tim selfie with children in Madagascar 2014

we can't wait to blog again from that island with new stories of hope, where people are given the chance to see themselves as a leader, be that in their own lives, the lives of their families, their finances and their communities.

we'll be working with the communities along the inland
waterways on the east coast of Madagascar

we'll sign off for now, knowing that you guys will be coming along for the ride (abet from a distance) and that we will post up the stories as soon as we have a stable Internet connection be that in Tomasina or Antananarivo.  

we need a few more of these to help with the
delivery of the Leadership material

should you wish to support some of our financial costs on what is a self funded trip then please click on this link to give online and if you'd like to follow us or the Emerging Leaders team on twitter then follow these links which will take you to those twitter pages tim_at_voh and emerging leaders/leadership4hope