A letter from Dan Turk serving in Madagascar
November 2014 - New FJKM Fruits and Vegetable Project
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Antananarivo, where a few early rains have settled the dust from seven months of dry season. Now new growth is starting to turn the browns to green. Everything is green when Christmas arrives in Madagascar. It is good to be home in Madagascar after time in the U.S. getting our son, Robert, settled at college. Robert continues to do well. Thank you to all who are praying for him.
As I noted in our June newsletter, I have begun working on a new project with PC(USA)’s partner church in Madagascar, the FJKM. The new project, the Fruits, Vegetables and Environmental Education (FVEE) Project, is working with seminaries and other structures of the FJKM.
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One of two new water towers at the Ivato seminary, September 2014
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Ms. Sariaka at the Ivato seminary garden, September 2014
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Ms. Onivah Arilalao watering pak choi, October 2014
Most work to date has taken place at the Ivato and Fianarantsoa seminaries. The Ivato seminary is the main FJKM seminary for students’ fourth and final year of study before becoming pastors. It is located just north of Antananarivo near the international airport. The campus is on about 20 hectares of FJKM land, though not all of this land is available for use by the seminary. The students spend their first three years at either the Mandritsara seminary in northern Madagascar or at the Fianarantsoa seminary in south central Madagascar. In recent years the Ivato seminary has had 30 to 46 students each year. About 30-40 percent of students are women. The Fianarantsoa seminary is located approximately 400 km south of Antananarivo. The seminary campus is on a hill and occupies about 10 hectares. Water is an issue as city water is irregular and relatively expensive and bedrock appears to make putting in wells prohibitive. Seminary students spend three years there before moving to the Ivato seminary for their fourth and last year of study. There are usually about 60-70 students at the Fianarantsoa seminary at one time.
I’m happy to report that the project is off to a good start. Here are some of the project’s accomplishments to date:
• Two water towers have been built to provide water for the tree nursery and vegetable garden at the Ivato seminary. This will greatly facilitate watering the trees in the nursery and vegetable production before the onset of the rainy season in December.
• The goal for vegetable production at the Ivato seminary was to have vegetables in time to distribute to the new seminary students when they arrived in October. This was more than met as two rounds of vegetable distribution have already occurred. Vegetables in the garden include pak choi, cabbage, radishes, tomatoes, squash, peas, lettuce, onions, sweet potatoes, and yams. All involved with the project are excited about the potential for vegetable production, especially the contribution that the expanded garden will make to the students’ nutrition.
• Despite the dry season, the plants on the Ivato campus are doing well. I was especially concerned for some of the native palms planted last year, but they are thriving thanks to water, mulch, and shade to help them get through the dry season. Many of the native shrubs are ablaze with flowers, including the orange-flowered Chadsia flammea.
• Over 120 seminary students and spouses are receiving practical training at the Ivato and Fianarantsoa seminaries. We started with gardening so that the students can immediately apply what they are learning in their own gardens. This is especially important at Fianarantsoa where students often drop out of school for lack of resources to support themselves while in school. Being able to grow vegetables will help them provide nutritious food for their families and enable them to stretch meager family funds.
• The project has planted native trees and shrubs at the Tabita Women’s Center in Antananarivo. This center is a popular training site for FJKM functions. The presence of native trees and shrubs helps promote awareness of Madagascar’s unique biodiversity.
• The FVEE project has begun collaboration with the FJKM’s “Jesus Christ for Madagascar” project, which is working with synods and congregations to promote green spaces and planting trees at churches. A first step in this collaboration will entail the planting of fruit trees and native trees in large pots at the headquarters of the FJKM church before the end of 2014. Educational labels will explain the trees’ importance.
The people of Madagascar are still struggling because of the effects of the five-year economic and political crisis. Recent statistics show that Madagascar is ranked sixth in the world in terms of chronic malnutrition, with a 50 percent prevalence of stunting for children less than 5 years of age. It is the 12th hungriest nation in the world according to the 2014 Global Hunger Index.
Training pastors and equipping them with fruit trees and vegetable seeds is a way to address these sobering realities. When they begin their work with congregations, the graduating pastors bring new skills and resources to their congregations and communities. Over time the fruit trees and vegetables that the pastors share with their communities will help decrease the hunger in this nation.
I look forward to further progress in 2015. The project will continue to emphasize education and infrastructure at FJKM seminaries. We will plant a small orchard at the Fianarantsoa seminary and put in a water reservoir and pump to help with the garden and other water needs. An initial visit to the Mandritsara seminary will be done to begin collaboration there. Collaboration with graduated pastors, synods, and other church structures will continue based on interest and available funds.
I would like to thank you for your continued prayers and support for us and our ministries with the FJKM. Without your generosity important work like the Fruits, Vegetables and Environmental Education Project wouldn’t be happening. We need your continued support to be able to serve in Madagascar and carry out these ministries.
Life in Madagascar is difficult for most people now. Yet during Advent and Christmas, people are reminded in a very tangible way that God cares. Jesus was born among the poor in a stable. His birth is proof that the poor are special to God and that He will not forsake them. His birth brings hope and reminds us that peace and joy are possible.
Please join us in prayer:
• For the FJKM seminary students and their families as they struggle to balance studies amid financial difficulties
• For the FVEE project that it will help the seminary students learn skills that will bring new life to their congregations
• For healing and reconciliation in the nation
Dan
The 2014 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 147
The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 160
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