Adventures In Madagascar

Malagasy Health Care Facts

Listed below are some Health Care facts reflecting the present situation in Madagascar gathered from agencies such as WHO, UNICEF and World Development indicators.

*Madagascar at present can be still found on the list of the 50 poorest countries in the world
*Children make up more than half of Madagascar’s population of 17 million – half of whom live on less than $1 a day. Natural disasters, such as cyclones and floods, are a frequent risk
*Madagascar has one of the highest infant mortality rates (75/1000 as compared to 7/1000 in the U.S.),
*Madagascar has a low average life expectancy (57 years compared to 78 years in the US).
* Half of all children under five are suffer from some form of malnourishment.
* In rural areas only about 3 out of 10 people have access to safe water and sanitation.

Comparison between New York City and Madagascar

Population:
NYC ~ 17 million, Madagascar ~ 18 million
Life expectancy:
NYC ~ 78 years, Madagascar ~ 55 years
Infant mortality:
NYC ~ 7/ 1000, Madagascar ~ 75/ 1000
Children under 5 mortality:
NYC ~ 23/1000, Madagascar ~ 123/ 1000
Maternal mortality per 100,000 live births:
NYC ~ 23/100,000, Madagascar ~ 407 / 100,000
Undernourished people:
NYC ~ No Data, Madagascar ~ 36.6%
Access to drinking water:
NYC ~ 100%, Madagascar ~ 35-70% (depending on area)

Quick Facts
2005

Population, total ~ 19.1 million
Population growth ~ 2.6% 
Annual number of births ~ 712,000
Life expectancy at birth ~ 55.8 years
Annual number of under 5 year old deaths ~ 85,000
Mortality rate, infant ~ (per 1,000 live births) 74.0
Births Attended by skilled health staff ~ 46.2%
Literacy rate, youth female ~ 68.2 %
Access to Sanitation ~ 37%
Probability of not reaching 40 ~ 31.6%
Tuberculosis cases ~ 15.8%
Infants with low birth weight ~ 17%
Exclusively breastfed babies 6-9 months old ~ 78%
Children 20-23 months old still breastfeeding ~ 64%
Children less than five severely underweight ~ 11%
Population using adequate sanitation facilities ~ 34%

Missions Trip to Madagascar Reminder

Since the Hamiltons will be traveling back to the US this fall and winter, we have changed our trip date to July of 2008. We are going first and foremost to be a blessing to the Hamiltons. While there, we hope to put on one or more "workshops" for the midwives and other medical professionals in and around Diego. In addition, we would like to bless the medical professionals with a gift that will help them in their practice. Please pray for David, Deborah, and Kristin as they seek God's direction for the specific topics to address in the workshop(s). Also pray to see whether or not God would have you join us on this adventure. It will, no doubt, change your life as you go to serve the Hamiltons and the Malagasy people. We will have the official "sign-up" at the beginning of 2008. More details to come.

David, Deborah, MarLee and Liam Hamilton

 

Tidbits from EBONY

Traveling With Elizabeth

Girls in Candybar

Dear Charis Family,

Since I have been in the States, I have been traveling a lot lately to speak at different churches. Sometimes I feel like I am just sharing the same stories over and over again. I like to change things up just so that I will be more engaged with what I am talking about! But, I also like to connect with my audience and relate in some way to their lives. Often,  Father just gives me little insights or ideas that I can use as a "hook."

A hook is a teaching or speaking technique used to peak the interest of or involve an audience in a certain subject. I have been encouraged so much lately because, every time I have spoken to a different crowd, Father has shown up right at the beginning and allowed me to relate my talk to the listeners somehow! Once it was to mention the Georgia game of the night before! Another time, I talked to a  military crown about uniforms.

More recently, Father provided what is probably the most unique hook I've ever had. I was in Arizona this past week and approximately one hour before I was due at the  podium, the space station and shuttle were passing across the night sky all lit up by the sun and, therefore, visible to the naked eye. We were having a dinner at the church  before the service, so we all gathered outside in the  beautiful, Tucson evening air. When those two orbiting hunks of metal showed up in the sky, it was just crazy to me! I couldn't believe what I was looking at. And their path across the sky was so different from any other kind of  moving object we can usually see. I was really amazed.

We followed their orbit over our heads, as they "set" just behind the Santa Catalina Mountains.  Sometime during the adventure, the Shepherd of the church came out and told us we all looked like a bunch of "New Agers" staring up at the sky like that with our mouths hanging open! :-) As I began my talk a few minutes later, I reflected on the description of the sun given in Ps. 19-it comes out everyday like a bridegroom rushing out of his chamber. It faithfully runs its course across the sky every single day! The heavens continually, night or day, declare the glory of our Lord! Yet, we don't go outside and watch the sun or moon run it's course and comment, "Wow!" or "Would you look at that?!" We aren't amazed. Why should we be? The light is all around us. It will not fail. We see it every day. We have ceased to be amazed.

Now, I am not faulting us here for not being mesmerized with the universe. It just got me thinking as the Lord formed the "hook" for me. What if there was no light? What if we were in total darkness? What if we had never SEEN the likes of the sun-just like I had never seen the space station! As I spoke about the country of Ebony once more, I was struck anew by an awe at the power, faithfulness and mercy of our Father who says to a heart, "Let there be light!" so that someone can see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ for the first time-someone whose heart and mind had ever been blinded by the Stealer, Killer and Destroyer! Beautiful. What a beautiful hook-God's voice speaking freedom into a life bound by sin..

Update on Lawangga:
Thank you for your prayers for Lawangga, whom I have mentioned twice. A doctor in America is purchasing supplies for her treatment and sending them to the town in Ebony where I lived, Candybar. My teammates have been able to continue a relationship with Lawangga and her family. Please ask for open doors to seek our Father's healing touch and to proclaim His grace to Lily's family.

Pushpins of Ebony:
"Pushpins" is the nickname I give the ethnic people group that I work with in Ebony. I want to try to share more about them with you in each newsletter.  Pushpins have many traditional stories, both in their own language and in Persian. One story tells of a man who wanted to discover how to change his luck. According to the story, a man may be given the opportunity to experience luck, but he must have the intelligence to take advantage of it A man asked his lucky brother, "Where is good luck?" "In the forest," his
brother replied. So the unlucky man set out for the forest. On the way he met a lion. When the lion heard where the man was going, he begged him to ask why he was ill, and why nothing made him feel better. When the man had
gone a little farther, he found a horse lying down, too weak to stand. Next he came upon a tree, who asked the man, "Please, enquire on my behalf, why am I leafless?" When the man reached the place where he found his good luck,
he seized it. His good luck said, "You may have good luck, but you still do not have intelligence." The man asked the questions he carried for the lion, the horse, and the tree. His fortune replied, "Tell the lion that he should devour a fool and he will recover his health. Tell the horse that he should take a master who will ride him and he will grow strong. And tell the tree that under its roots lies the treasure of seven kings. If the treasure is dug up, the tree's roots will flourish." On his way home, the man stopped
first by the tree. He told the tree, and the tree begged him to dig the treasure from his roots. The man replied, "What good are riches, since I have my fortune." When he reported to the horse, the animal begged, "Please, sir, become my master!" But the man replied, "I have my fortune now, so look for someone else to be your master." Finally, he reported to the lion that he should devour a fool-and he told the lion all about the tree and the horse, too. When the story was finished, the lion said, "You yourself are a superlative fool!" And, with that, the lion devoured the man. He was a man of no cleverness, who could not recognize his opportunities, so his fortune did him no good.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! I will be leaving the US and moving back overseas on December 14th. Please continue to pray with me that I would be fully ready and the path would be clear for us to begin the  women's health project in January.

Love,
Elizabeth Carmichael