Country Profile: Madagascar

Welcome to Madagascar – the largest island in the Indian Ocean!

Background

The Malagasy amount to around 20million people and are divided into eighteen ethnic groups, including immigrants from Africa, Asia and Arabia. Malagasy, French and English are the national languages. The Malagasy are the largest consumers of rice in the world. The country is bio-diverse, with rainforests in the east and a dry west and south. There are many lakes (of which some are regarded as sacred) and the island is very rich in natural resources, yet Madagascar is ranked among the poorest countries in the world. This is mainly because of political instability, frequent natural disasters, and the fact that the wealth is in the hands of the elite minority.

OM Madagascar

The church in Madagascar was established 200 years ago. The Malagasy Bible was one of the first indigenous Bibles to be translated in Africa, yet Christians make up only 50 percent of the population, with 7 percent Muslims and 43 percent animists and ancestor worshipers. More than 5,000 villages remain without any churches. In 2005, OM started working in the capital city, Antananarivo.

Vision

Our vision as OM Madagascar is to mobilize and equip the body of Christ in Madagascar to be part of God’s plan to reach the nations. We also want to see Christians have an impact in different spheres of society.

Implementation

We reach these goals through different ministries in partnership with churches:

• The Waves of prayer ministry informs and mobilises Christians to pray, mainly through a radio programme, text messages and a prayer letter.
• Listen to Me Islands are our annual outreaches targeting both the main and neighbouring islands.
• Other ministries are the equipping of leaders through discipleship, a youth ministry, Muslim focus and Chinese ministry.

How can you become involved?

Please have a look at OM's opportunities to serve to see how you can get involved in reaching Madagascar for Christ.

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