-where most people live on a dollar (or less) a day.
-where houseguests include geckos, rats, and cockroaches the size of your index finger.
-where you eat cassava root to feel full, even though it contains new nutrients, because you can't afford anything else.
-where kids are perfectly happy playing with rocks.
-where you shouldn't drink the water but it's too hot not to.
-where the clothes people overseas thought they "donated" wind up for sale at the market.
-where mangoes are abundant, litchis are $0.25 a pound and bananas are the dessert of choice.
-where most people feel the effect of hungry season, yet everyone has cell phones.
-where the question "What church do you go to?" is as common as "What is your name?"
-where the roads are so bad in some places that you're better off walking.
-where a bucket & basin are essential for washing yourself and your clothes.
-where I currently call home.
This is it. Africa. And while many Malagasy prefer not to be called African (they take pride in their Asian and/or Polynesian descent), truth be told, Madagascar is part of Africa. All of the above statements come from my experiences the past year here in Madagascar. I frequently experience TIA (This is Africa) moments when I am riding my bike through rolling hills & rice paddies with the sun beating down on me.
Madagascar is one of the poorest African countries. I think that people sometimes forget about it since it is an island isolated in the Indian Ocean. But the facts are startling: it was one of 10 countries with the worst per capita growth rates from 1980-2002 (-1.9%). Madagascar is more poor than the continent of Africa (with the exceptions of Zimbabwe & Sudan). If Madagascar continues to experience a 6.3% economic growth rate, as it did last year, then by 2025 it will have only caught up to the rest of Africa. Sometimes it is hard not to wonder "How do Malagasy even begin the journey towards development?" But then I am encouraged by the motivation and strength of the people. Like the farmer/welder who rode his bike 80 kilometers to attend one of my trainings. Or the bicycle repairman who sought me out, wanting to expand his business to include selling spare parts, and subsequently completed a 4 page business plan in one day.
These are people that know there are opportunities out there for them and they are willing to work just for a chance at those opportunities. People that will take the initiative rather than wait for handouts that may never come. So at the end of the day, when I contemplate returning back to the States before my 27 month service is finished-tempted by images of toilets, light bulbs, and ice cubes-the people are what keep me here. I know that I'm not going to change the world, or even Madagascar, but I hope to provide, even to just a few people, the opportunities that we, as Americans, are born with.
