On the World Race we are told to not have expectations, because things can change in the blink of an eye. That’s the nature of our work.
Missionary life is just that, living in the present and going with the flow. Forget the next 5 minutes or the next upcoming week, focus on what is going on in front of you because you can miss it on the blink of an eye.
With that said, I didn’t set any expectations for Madagascar. However, I can’t tell you how many times I heard my squadmates speaking about Madagascar, before and during our trip, and how it was one of the reasons they chose this route. Was it because of the movie was my question? That wasn’t my case because I literally just watched the movie 2 days ago (watched Madagascar in Madagascar…ironically). I mean don’t get me wrong I like beautiful places with awesome wildlife too but this movie is extremely misleading.
Are people attracted to this country because of the movie?
Why do people exoticize Madagascar when it’s not even like that?
My perspective all changed when we got off the plane and we walked into the small Antananarivo terminal (the capital city). Believe it or not, I was amazed by this country instantly just by the look of the officials. Here we are in Africa, an island of Africa, but the people look very different. Coming from South Africa & Botswana it shifted my ethnic/cultural lens and it got me excited to learn more about Madagascar.
I learned that Malagasy people are super rich in culture which has been composed of diverse cultures. Immigrants from Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Arabia, Comoros, China, and Pakistan (I’m sure there are more) settled in Madagascar for different reasons such as human slavery, trading of goods, better life than their home countries, etc.
I swear each Malagasy person you see looks soooooo different from one another. You have people that look very African, others look very Asian, others look Indian, and others just look mixed. I swear I could see my cousins amongst the people here. Which reassures me of the mixture of the Latino community, I swear African and Asian equals Latino to me lol.
Nonetheless the people here are diversely beautiful. You can tell that they intermingle and they are aware of their uniqueness as people. Some of them have fro’s and some of them have long straight hair, that’s just the Malagasy people they say. I love that. I love that they are proud of their diverse culture. This is also very evident in their cuisine. There are some dishes that have Asian influences and others that are African, Indian, etc. Their food is delicious by the way!
With all that wonderfulness said, 72% of Madagascar lives under the poverty line, the literacy rate is at 65% and is declining especially in the rural areas and 10% of the people have an intimate relationship with God.
These statistics are absurd right?!
How come we don’t see that in the Disney movie?!
Try seeing it every single day.
Try walking by it every single day.
Try smelling it every single day.
Madagascar is in a state of an emergency in my opinion. I’m not exaggerating either.
Many people don’t have direct access to clean water, or like us, only have running water at night, yes in the capital city of Antananarivo. Thus, you see people washing their clothes in dirty water next to the road and drying them on the grass area.
People are wearing American thrift store shirts. Apparently, the American embassy sends Madagascar used clothes through partnerships with American thrift stores and people sell them on the streets.
Maybe the clothes you donated to the Salvation Army is being worn here?
There are literally hundreds of stands on the street selling used clothes. I’ve seen shirts that say, Compton, Atlanta, Maine, Ohio State, Crossfit, Aspen, lots of sports shirts. It’s become a form of entertainment for my team when we’re on our way to ministry, to see what shirts we see from back home. Healthy entertainment I call it lol.
Madagascar is by far a naturally rich country through its people but the richness is mostly in its landscape & land stock. The soil here is rich and fertile. People in rural areas grow rice, cassava, bananas, etc., and transport it to the city to sell. There are hundreds of stands selling fresh fruits and veggies. So much that it’s sold so cheaply. Eating healthy is doable here.
There is so much potential for this country. However the current conditions appear so far from being attainable. The social implications of this country are being ignored and need to be addressed.
I’m not talking about foreign aid. Because to be honest foreign aid by developed countries are like bandaids, not curing the actual wound. So this change needs to happen within the Malagasy people. The younger generation ought to organize themselves and fight for their country. However, I know they can use some support/trainings to do that. Community organizers are needed here. Social Justice leaders are need here. Missionaries are needed here.
In only 8 days of doing ministry (from prison ministry to homeless ministry visiting slums), I have seen more in 8 days than I have seen in my last two & half months on this trip.
Was this what my squadmates expected?
Is this what people would expect based on what they watched in the movie?
Madagascar needs your help, Madagascar needs your prayers.
Pray for the young generation to rise up for their country.
Pray that the Malagasy people seek an intimate relationship with Jesus.
Pray for Madagascar, the country.
