Madagascar 2018!
This is where you'll find more information about our 2018 Madagascar outreach.
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Madagascar is a country that we never would've imagined as a mission. It isn't that there's no need. But this island nation simply doesn't come to mind often. It's often a forgotten place. Still, God called us to do a mission there in June 2018.
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We will post specific stories and photos of the Madagascar mission in the blog that is on this web site. So please visit there regularly.
Information about Madagascar
Madagascar is an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo.
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Although located some 250 miles (400 km) from the African continent, Madagascar’s population is primarily related not to African peoples but rather to those of Indonesia, more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) to the east. The Malagasy peoples, moreover, do not consider themselves to be Africans, but, because of the continuing bond with France that resulted from former colonial rule, the island developed political, economic, and cultural links with the French-speaking countries of western Africa. The animal life and vegetation of the island are equally anomalous, differing greatly from that of nearby Africa and being in many respects unique. Although the coastlands have been known to Europeans for more than 400 years and to Arabs for much longer, recent historical development has been more intense and concentrated in the central plateau, which contains the capital city of Antananarivo (formerly Tananarive).
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More than nine-tenths of the population is Malagasy, which is divided into about 20 ethnic groups.
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Most inhabitants of Madagascar speak Malagasy, the national language, which is written in the Latin alphabet. French is also widely spoken and is officially recognized.
Here is the national flag of Madagascar.
Laurel Tessier, Dawn Schallock, and Scott Schallock travelled from southern New Mexico to Madagascar. In case you're wondering, the flight time was a little over 30 hours to the city of Antananarivo. Then, after a night's sleep, it was another 10 hour drive to the city of Mahajanga. That's not exactly a drive across town.
A Different Place
To say that Madagascar is a different kind of place might be an understatement. I snapped the photo above while we were traveling from the city of Antananarivo to Mahajanga on a drive that would last for almost ten hours. The city was different than I'm used to and I'll share more about that. But the countryside was more of what I had seen as I browsed online photos and stories of Madagascar before our trip.
This scene shows a simple life. The structure where you see several people gathered is not likely to be a house. It's more likely, with the table set on the outside and the open airways, to be a business dwelling. I learned to think "simple" in this part of the world. The building is made of simple, natural products along with the thatched roof. The people are often barefoot. They might have shoes, but are accustomed more often to strolling barefoot anyhow.
I'd learn later that these people might make a good part of the day of sitting and talking in places like this. The fact is that they don't have much to do, at least not when they are done working the farms for the day. So they capitalize by telling stories and chatting. Kids play with improvised toys, such as wheel rims and sticks where they can run along, prodding the rim with the stick to see how long they can keep it rolling. That type of thing seems common. But they don't appear to look like they lack. It's common to see them give a hearty greeting and smile! It almost seems like they prefer a simple life.
A Drive Through a Market
As we departed the capitol city of Antananarivo toward our mission site in Mahajanga, we were able to get a terrific glimpse of a portion of the city and this "street side" marketplace. It didn't take long before we were immersed in a culture that we haven't seen before.
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Take a look and see what you can identify as different from your home town.
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I look at the people, shops, trucks, cars, and much more and I'm captivated by how all of it merges together. It's hard to draw a line between traffic and the people and the shops. These people are so normalized by traffic. They are a part of it.
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I never counted how many vendors were on this street. But I'd guess there were a hundred or more in this location. They each had their simple "huts" for their business. The businesses were crowded and lined the street for blocks. Many sold clothing. Some sold meat of various types; beef, sausages, chicken, ducks. Some fixed shoes. They didn't have much room. Perhaps their huts were eight feet wide and the same in depth. It looks like their story is one of making due with what they have. But they don't work for a corporation. They hammer out a business for themselves. Think about that!
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These people don't have a pension in work or a 401(k). They don't have Social Security either. They need another type of security. Can you imagine?
Fuel for Life
One of the common sights along the roads of Madagascar are the "charcoal" bags. These are probably the most common form of fuel, especially in the rural areas. This is for cooking meals and, when needed, for heating their homes.
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Imagine a life with no gas stove for cooking. No microwave ovens. Needing to load more charcoal onto the fire for cooking and heat. There's no thermostat that automatically adjusts the house temperature.
Fresh Vanilla!
Vanilla. Madagascar is known world round for their vanilla beans. These beans are not grown in many parts of the world, so they can be rare. But Madagascar vanilla is reputed to be the best!
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This lady is earning her living by walking the streets near one of the grocery markets and selling vanilla, among other staples. And once you buy vanilla from her, she is likely to go find another handful of items that she will want to sell to you. She has work ethic and initiative. I'll give her that!
Look Who's Waiting!
Clinic site #1 as a school in Mahajanga.
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It delighted us greatly that, when we arrived early in the morning to set up our clinic, that this group of wonderful people were already on site and waiting for us! The people under the shelter numbered about 70 or so and there were others who were nearby. There were children, young adults, and seniors. There were men and women.
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We've had clinics at other locations and in other countries. But I've never seen a time that so many were on hand and waiting for us. This was very motivational. It's almost seemed like God brought a harvest to us! "The fields are white and ready..."
Looking Into the Eyes
Once clients are checked in, we bring them into a classroom and look into their eyes, using a Welch-Allyn autorefractor. Laurel uses this tool (above) to screen a man's vision. This tool will normally give us feedback within seconds. It'll tell us if people are near-sighted or far-sighted, if they have astigmatism in either eye, if they might have other issues, like glaucoma or an injury, and more.
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Part of our work is to determine if reader glasses are appropriate or not. We carry a bundle of readers to the site (which we purchased in America). These are usually easy to give and they can change a person's world.
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If reader glasses are not appropriate, perhaps the client needs a referral for more advanced care. We did not have an eye doctor at this site. But there are people on the ground who are working to forge connections to resources where these clients can perhaps get prescription glasses or more complicated care.
Trying New Glass Styles
The next step, for those who need reader glasses, is to see Nurse Dawn. She will review any information about their eye health from the auto refractor, offer them various styles of glasses to choose from, give them a Gospel track to read from, and perhaps give them further counseling to help them.
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There are some clients who stop at Dawn's table who don't need reader glasses. Perhaps they just have unusual conditions and need further care. Dawn is excellent at patiently hearing their need and deciding what their "next steps" should be.
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Unfortunately, obtaining further care for many of these people can be very complicated. The resources simply aren't easily available. The majority of these folks only earn a very meager income. The government isn't prosperous either, so it doesn't offer much for "free" care. The fact of the matter is that most of these people have no worldly hope of getting prescription glasses, let alone further care. Please pray for their hopeless situations, that their needs will be met. Some conditions they suffer will worsen over time if they don't receive more care.
Faces in the Crowd
Some people stick in your memory. You travel to unfamiliar places thinking that you'll remember the scenes and the landscape. Instead, you leave the sites and you can't get the faces out of your head.
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This lady was clearly not familiar with the idea of having glasses on her head. She seemed curious about what the glasses would feel like. She showed a huge smile as she found that she could read a book clearly!
This young girl (right), Ruffine, remains in our prayers and hopes for other reasons. Beyond hope before this event, she came and was cared for with the love of Jesus Christ. She reminds us that we carry much more than glasses. We do more than examine her vision. We are representatives of Jesus Christ. That isn't only by name. We offer compassion and love and hope in the name of Jesus.
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Does that seem like a big deal? I hope so. Remember, we aren't just hoping to change their lives for the next few years. This is about time and eternity!
We share a Gospel at every site, in the language of the people we serve. We had a key verse that we used more than others here; Revelation 5:5.
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"And one of the elders said to me, 'Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.'"
Harry (right) was one of our translators. He prayed over the people at our school clinic site.
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He was also blessed soon after our clinic. He got married!
Joel (left, with Scott) was our other translator.
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Both Joel and Harry did great work. You can tell that they love the people of Mahajanga!