(Jan. 27, 2017 - by Harold Goerzen)  Over 100,000 people in a remote corner of Madagascar, an island nation 250 miles off the coast of East Africa, can hear Christian broadcasts for the first time as the result of a six-year cooperative effort and countless prayers.

“The feedback from our listeners is very encouraging,” said Thomas who serves with two organizations (International Christian Aid and All Nations). He worked in partnership with Radio Africa Network (RAN), Reach Beyond, TWR and local believers to make the station a reality.

“Four people have already been healed through prayer over the air, several marriages have been restored, and many lukewarm Christians have been encouraged to make new beginnings with Jesus,” he related.

The new station is a change from the lone government outlet that carries mostly political news and local music.

“The demand for Christian content, education, medical information and topics from everyday life is huge,” Thomas said. Programs air 16 hours a day, mostly in the local Malagasy dialect.

Alfred, the pastor from the nearby Assemblies of God congregation, starts broadcasts at 5 a.m. with local Christian music. At 6 a.m. he prays on the air for God’s protection on local businesses and the people.

“Messages come in saying that people wait for this prayer now before opening their stores and starting their day,” Thomas noted. Broadcasts conclude at 9 p.m. each evening. This is the fifth partner station established in Madagascar with Reach Beyond’s help since 2007.

Listenership Over 60%

Thomas estimates that 60 percent of the residents in the town of 22,000 are tuning in to the station, called Radio Feon Janahary (Radio the Voice of the Creator God), but listenership could reach 80 percent among the 80,000 people living in the surrounding villages within a 40-mile radius, most from the Betsimisaraka North and Tsihimiety tribes.

Listenership is expected to go even higher after 1,040 solar-powered, fixed-tuned SonSet^® radios provided by Reach Beyond are delivered by boat to the community next week. The sets, released from Madagascar customs earlier this week, only pick up the new station.

Maroantsetra is so isolated and sailing conditions so unpredictable that the newspaper from the capital city of Antananarivo can take a week to arrive, and it’s so expensive that few can afford to buy a copy.

“This area of northern Madagascar may be described as isolated and subsequently quite insular,” described Lisa Balzer, a Reach Beyond radio trainer based in Southeast Asia. “Other than boat access, there is one dirt road out, and for much of the year it is impassable. Most of the residents live in tiny homes at poverty level. Unusual drought recently caused the lychee crop to fail.”

Official Inauguration

Thomas said the station’s opening ceremonies in early December resulted in “much favor from the authorities, and people are so excited and grateful to have the radio—especially in the surrounding villages.”

“The officials who attended publicly stated that they were pleased with the radio and can be called upon for their support,” he continued. “They were impressed that the name of the station is in the dialect of the local people and encouraged the station to keep catering to the community.”

The station even piqued the interest of the local Muslim religious leader who was invited to attend the inaugural event. After hearing the clear presentation of the gospel, he requested a copy of the Bible.

According to Operation World, 8 percent of Madagascar’s population follows Islam, but “animism prevails with a strong Muslim influence in the north and the northwest…. Inaccessibility is the greatest challenge, and missionaries have thus far failed to penetrate these regions effectively…. Shaman healers and witchcraft abound, and demonic oppression is common.”

While 54 percent of Madagascar’s population claims to be Christian, only 12 percent of the country’s 23 million people are evangelical, states Operation World. “Witchcraft and animism are deeply rooted in the culture, and even those who have come to faith in Jesus struggle to let these practices go,” Balzer added.

Overcoming Hurdles

The radio station is the culmination of a dream dating back to 2010, and organizers needed to overcome numerous hurdles along the way such as a lack of funds, political challenges, power outages and delays in getting the broadcasting license.

“At the beginning of August 2015 we were sick and tired of waiting for the license, and as a radio team we decided to start a focused prayer and fasting time with the aim to have the license by Oct. 15, 2015, at the latest,” Thomas recounted.

“Then on Aug. 24 we were told by one of our intercessors, ‘The fight is over—peace!’ That very afternoon we received the message that the license was ready for signing by the Minister of Communications, and a few days later we got our frequency of FM 104…. This was the first radio license legally issued in the country since the coup in 2009.”

Construction of the radio studios began in December 2015, and the project, including the installation of six large batteries to keep the station on the air during power cuts, was completed in November 2016.

Radio Training

Balzer, together with Alex from Reach Beyond/RAN in Cape Town and Graham Kimber from TWR in Swaziland, traveled to Maroantsetra in October to teach the basics of broadcasting to 16 volunteer announcers. The two men also helped install the transmitter, studio equipment and antenna, a process that required a second trip by Alex in November. He also presented the students with certificates for completing the training.

During the five-day course, participants studied topics such as good communication, getting to know the listener, speaking on the radio, content preparation, software and equipment, and what it means to be community-centered.

“God brought together many people from organizations in many parts of the world who worked together, under His direction, to bring this radio station about,” concluded Sandy Day of RAN. “How wonderful! We’re so excited to hear how it is having an impact on the community of Maroantsetra for Christ.”

*Surname omitted for security reasons.

Sources: Reach Beyond, Operation World