Prayer Request for Madagascar

I sent an email to family and friends on Thursday, November 29th, and thought that I would share it here, as well. 

The new President of Madagascar will be elected on Dec 19, and there are two candidates in the running: Marc Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina. There were 36 candidates to start, and Andry led the primaries with 39% of the votes and Marc closely followed with 35%. Both men are former Presidents of Madagascar, however, they come to the platform with very different backgrounds and very different goals for their hopeful role as the upcoming leader of this country (Marc wants to improve overall infrastructure and stability of Madagascar, while one of Andry’s top priorities is turning the east coast port city of Tamatave into a Miami-esque destination).

We witnessed a lot of campaigning and propaganda throughout Madagascar from mid-October to mid-November. Andry painted the country orange with tee shirts, posters, parades, and rallies (many of the participants are paid to join the efforts). Marc had less of a primary presence, but we were told that his strategy is to wait for major campaign deployment until the second round (should be starting any day now).

While Owen and I have only inhabited this land for a very short time, it has taken no time at all to acknowledge the dire need for strong moral and ethical leadership required to diminish poverty, enhance infrastructure, healthcare, and education, and to [hopefully] decrease the harmful infiltration of corruption. Madagascar’s natural resources are in limbo, its children are malnourished and their growth is stunted, and the economy has digressed over the past 10+ years. They. Need. Help.

In my humble opinion, one of the men running for President is capable of providing guidance to a better tomorrow and one is not. Madagascar needs Marc Ravalomanana to be elected for this Presidency, and we need all of your prayers. While both men have not acted perfectly throughout their lives (Marc has been faulted for spending his own money frivolously), Marc has is heart and policies in the right place, and is a disciplinarian that will work tirelessly to get this country back on track. I do not pretend to be an expert on politics or this country, but there are plenty of knowledgeable, seasoned community members that have shared substantiated reasoning that Marc is the best chance for Madagascar and its people, and I am lifting it all up.

I implore you to add this election and the Malagasy people to your daily prayer offerings and to share it with your communities and prayer requests/intentions. The catalog of prayer is never-ending, I know, but I would be so grateful for Madagascar to be added to all of your prayer lists.

If you’d like to learn more about Madagascar and this race, there are a few resources to check out (you can look up facts and figures on World Bank, UNICEF, etc., as well):