In Madagascar, 30 women’s lives have been changed through both missional business and new life found in Jesus – and the number’s still climbing.
It all began when Louise, a nurse working in a Christian hospital, visited some prostituted women in Mandritsara, a city in northern Madagascar. At each visit, Louise and her Malagasy friend – who had a heart for these women – would tell Bible stories, sing Christian songs and dance together.
But Louise felt burdened to do more. The pair wanted to help the women escape their way of life, and an idea to create a school to give them new skills came to them.
In time, released prisoners were also able to take advantage of the project.
In 2024, the New Life Raffia Project started to take shape. Louise helped to train up two local Christian women to make products out of raffia, a versatile material local to Madagascar that can be used to make things like baskets, home decor and sun hats.
The group started small, with three students taking part in a three-month course. As part of their training, they received a rented room, basic food and a small bursary, plus all the materials they needed. After the course, the students continued to have their rent paid for a further three months, and they were given all they needed to start making items to sell.
A year later, the project grew to the point that they were able to open a shop to sell the different creations, with all but five percent of the price going directly to the woman who made the product.
Soa* and Louise first met when she worked as a prostitute, where she asked if she could join the New Life course. Soa had an abusive family background, was sold as a teenager to an older man and entered into an abusive marriage. After having two children she ran away, but with no education or skills, she ended up being sexually exploited.
Soa soon became a keen student, and through the project she came to faith and got involved with her local church. The team could see a clear difference in her, and she recently became an employee of the project – helping to care for the school and students. Her daughter, currently also working as a prostitute, is hoping to join the next cohort of students.
“I have come to faith and to know Jesus. And now, I can also make raffia goods,” shares Soa.
30 women have now been through the course – 30 lives that have been changed through missional business. And they don’t just make and sell products, they also do daily devotionals, receive Bible teaching, and share life with one another.
Several of the women have become Christians during their time with the New Life Raffia Project. At least six of them are now making a living making items, and other have received help to set up their own businesses, such as a café and small shop, as they have been led out of their old lifestyle.
As the number of women making items increases, there’s a need for new means to distribute goods. Next steps planned involved making a website and arranging the export of goods so they can sell them further afield. If you think you could help with this, please get in touch: [email protected].
Please pray:
- that more women would be able to leave prostitution and join the course, where they can learn not only about business but about our one true hope: Jesus;
- for Soa and her daughter – that Soa would be strengthened in her faith, and her daughter would be able to follow in her mother’s footsteps and leave prostitution;
- that the right people would be found to help the New Life project team build a website and export goods.
*Name changed to protect identity