Farewell to Madagascar

It has been an honor to visit this fascinating country, to learn a little about its culture, and to serve with such a great team.

This thousand-year-old Baobab tree is symbolic of the ancient culture of this island nation and emblematic of its beauties.

Veloma! (Goodbye!)

The Baobab Tree

The Baobab tree grows to a height of 90 feet and has roots as deep as the tree is tall. It stores water in its trunk and may store up to 25,000 gallons. Many of the trees we saw are estimated to be over 800 years old. The tree just grows a few millimeters each year.

The fruit has a velvety shell and is about the size of a coconut. It has an acidic, tart flavor, described as somewhere between grapefruit, pear, and vanilla.

Of the nine species, six are native to Madagascar.

"I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea"

• 

  
  

  2 Nephi 29:7

  • 7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
    
    

    

    
    
    

    
    
    

    
    

The Church of Jesus Chrisf of Latter-day Saints in Madagascar

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is thriving in Madagascar.

We were able to see church buildings in several cities including in the small branch in Moramonga which was just formed a few months ago. We met the caretaker of the building and his family.

Tomorrow a beautiful new stake center near the American Embassy will be dedicated.

We had dinner with two of the young missionaries serving here. One of the missionaries who is from Tahiti told us the story of a man who was recently baptized into the church. He was a pastor in another faith. He met with the missionaries and had a witness at the time of that first visit of the truthfulness of the restored gospel.

Shortly thereafter he had a dream in which he saw himself and his wife at the temple. He  was baptized and is doing well despite opposition from his former congregation. The elders noted that often when someone accepts the message of the restoration, it happens on their first visit with the missionaries. "For mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts." Doctrine and Covenants 29:7

The Vibrant Colors of Madagascar

The poinsettia is the national flower of Madagascar. 

I have seen many gigantic poinsettia trees or bushes, including several near the Mission home. 

If you pick a leaf and turn it over, you will notice that it includes the three colors of the Madagascar flag: red, green, and white. If you fold the leaf lengthwise, it makes the shape of the island of Madagascar.

Madagascar is a country of vibrant colors, wherever you look.

HBB in Tulear

Today we taught two Helping Babies Breathe courses in Tulear which is in southern Madagascar on the Mozambique Channel. We taught 12 midwives who will become local trainers for this region.

After an accelerated course that started early in the morning, they helped us teach 50 physicians, nurses, and midwives in another course today. None of them had ever used a bag and mask to resuscitate a baby.

In addition to the course certificate, each provider received a bag and mask and a stethoscope in a small LDS Charities duffle.

Some of the participants came from very remote areas of this region where malaria is rampant and where there is no cell service or internet access, so follow up may be difficult.

The regional director for the ministry of health and the regional advisor for UNICEF attended and spoke at the closing ceremony.

www.helpingbabiesbreathe.org

www.LDScharities.org

Hospital Visit

Today we visited the maternity ward of a hospital in Tana. It is a referral hospital for 23 local health centers.

They have about 12 deliveries per day. Many of the patients are high risk since they are referred from other facilities.

These twin girls were born earlier this week.

The hospital is able to perform cesarean sections, but there is no intensive care nursery due to lack of trained staff and lack of equipment.

We were very impressed with the hard-working and capable chief doctor of the maternity ward. One of her colleagues was trained in our neonatal resuscitation course earlier this week. She will train the other providers at this hospital with the teaching kit provided by LDS Charities.

Exploring Madagascar

Between courses we were able to visit a national park and learn about the many species of lemurs that live here. Lemurs are native to Madagascar and aren't found anywhere else. We saw Raft, Bamboo, Common Brown, Brown Rufus, and Dancing or Diadem Lemurs.

The Penguins of Madagascar

We call these bulb suction devices "penguins." Whereas most bulb suction devices are disposable, the penguin can be opened up and cleaned and used over and over again. The penguin is used to suction the mouth of the baby to remove mucous and sometimes meconium prior to beginning ventilation with the bag and mask. Our penguins even have little eyes and wings molded into the silicone.

By the way, I learned that there are no real penguins in Madagascar!

First Helping Babies Breathe course

Today we taught our first Helping Babies Breathe course in Tana, the Capital of Madagascar. We taught 39 doctors, nurses, and midwives. They came from all over Madagascar. UNICEF provided the funds for their transportation to the capital. The participants were selected by the Ministry of Health. Each participant will receive a teaching kit and will be in charge of teaching the other providers at the hospital.

Views of the countryside

Madagascar: Fun Facts to Know and Tell

Madagascar is the world's 4th largest island. It is about the size of Texas.

80% of the island's flora and fauna are only found in Madagascar including lemurs (a primate related to monkeys) and the rose periwinkle plant which is the source of 2 anticancer drugs.

The 2 official languages of Madagascar are Malagasy and French. Malagasy is a mixture of Indonesian, Bantu, Arabic, and Malaysian.

Some famous Malagasy proverbs:

"Even one grasshopper is to be shared." Malagasy are prone to share, no matter what little they have.

"Foolish is he who is not better educated than his father."

"Without ancestors, the living would not exist; and without the living, ancestors would be forgotten." One way that the hearts of the children turn to their fathers is in the Famadihana tradition (turning of the bones): a family exhumes an ancestor's body to wrap it in a new red burial shroud. This is a joyous celebration with a feast and traditional music; it represents the continuity of life.

The capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo. Arivo means 1000. So Antananarivo means "city of the thousand." Actually, now there are over 2 million inhabitants.

Helping Babies Breathe in Madagascar

From May 20-June 1, I will be volunteering with LDS Charities in the Helping Babies initiative in Madagascar. 

Neonatal Resuscitation is a major humanitarian initiative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This will be my 9th time serving with the Neonatal Resuscitation program and my 6th time serving in Africa. 

Our courses in Madagascar will be taught in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar and in Toliara in the southern part of the island nation. We are grateful to provide this training as a joint venture with LDS Humanitarian Services and UNICEF.

  
Visit this link for a video which features Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles telling about the Neonatal Resuscitation Training program.

Video:
 "A Child's First Breath"

 Here is a video about Neonatal Resuscitation Training in Africa. I have taught NRT several times in DR Congo with one of the doctors in this video.

Video: 
"Neonatal Resuscitation Training-Africa"




Visit my other blogs here.