Vignette of Ambanja

I wrote a quick email to family and friends last week, and I thought I would share the bod of the email. It’s quick and to the point, but it provides a nice little vignette my trip north.

Field with mountains in the background just south of Ambanja

I was in northern Madagascar this week for my first work trip for my new job. I was there to visit our cacao farms and farmer partners, and I hired a photographer to document all of the wonders of the production to use in our marketing materials and aid in the storytelling of our company. While I performed SIGNIFICANTLY better on this work trip than I did when accompanying Owen on his work trip back in October, I am still acclimating to this life and to seeing the environment in which these people live their lives. Some folks are crushing it–our cacao farmer has seventy-eight hectares of farmland where he grows cacao and vanilla, and he has four houses throughout Madagascar–the cacao business is good! But the vast majority of the 20 million inhabitants of Madagascar work for 3000-4000AR a day ($0.83-$1.11 USD), and this is no easy labor. Despite lack of funds, the people in Ambanja (the “city” we were in) are happy, loving, kind people–they work hard, they drink cheap beer, they laugh in the streets, and they lend a helping hand to their fellow man. When I asked Lala, our cacao farmer, what he hopes for with continued growth of his farm, he said he wants to make more money so that he can help the poor people of his community. He already gives them loans, helps build roads, pays for health bills, but he wants to do more. It’s so incredible. What’s not incredible is the vast inaccessibility to proper healthcare, the corruption of the government, the presence of theft, and all of the mind-blowing inefficiencies that these people face on. the. reg. It seems like impossible odds to find success and victory in this life… but then you meet people like Lala, and your hope is renewed.

Women sorting out debris from cacao beans

It’s hard to describe what it’s been like living in Madagascar the past five and a half months. It’s hard to describe the sights, the smells, the heartbreak, the joy, the longing, the frustration. But the perspective, oh me oh my, the perspective I have gained is invaluable. I am more humble, I give more thanks than I knew I could muster, and my love for my dear, dear, dear family and friends has grown leaps and bounds.