For Pastor Helivao Poget, the situation was familiar. Poget is the director of the National Chaplaincy Program for the 6-million-member Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, a PC(USA) global partner, which goes by its Malagasy acronym, FJKM. A social worker and a missiology lecturer at one of FJKM’s theological seminaries, much of Poget’s ministry has been with marginalized people, including those exploited by labor traffickers and Madagascar’s sex tourism industry.
During the last two years of Covid and other global crises, progress against the HIV pandemic has faltered, resources have shrunk and millions of lives are at risk as a result. This year, UNAIDS is challenging us to tackle the inequalities and inequities in HIV prevention and treatment. Inequity exists between countries and within countries. In Madagascar, only 15% of those infected with HIV know their status while in the U.S.A., 87% of those infected know their status. Both countries are striving to reach at risk populations.
The Presbyterian Peacemaking Program is resurrecting a 40-year tradition by hosting a series of International Peacemakers to visit churches and faith organizations across the country.
Seeds planted by mission co-worker Dan Turk and the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), a longtime global partner of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) World Mission, are beginning to bear fruit.
Seeds planted by mission co-worker Dan Turk and the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), a longtime global partner of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) World Mission, are beginning to bear fruit.
Mission co-workers Dan and Elizabeth Turk, who have served in Madagascar for more than 20 years, continue to shelter-in-place in Florida, but are working daily with global partners through Skype, Zoom, and WhatsApp to address the growing twin pandemics of COVID-19 and severe food insecurity facing the world’s fifth-largest island nation and one of the world’s poorest countries.
Ministering faithfully in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has called for creativity and solidarity. Who would have predicted that producing masks would be a part of fighting HIV and AIDS? The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), the PC(USA)’s partner church, has been committed to fighting HIV and AIDS since 2001.
Church leaders, mission co-workers, global partners and supporters around the world will connect online during the 2020 Madagascar Mission Network virtual gathering Nov. 12–14. The gathering will cover highlights of mission and ministry alongside the nearly 6- million-member Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM).
People from around the globe, including some members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), will take part in online prayer services Friday, Oct. 16, in honor of World Food Day.
