by David Mann (FOMT Trustee)
The central northern part of Madagascar is remote, rural, and you might think rather sleepy. After all, the name of the main town, Mandritsara, means “Sleep well!” and the neighbouring town, Befandriana, means “Many beds.”
But it is the remoteness which is most striking, as Mandritsara is literally at the end of the tarred road. People come to Mandritsara – for example for the fortnightly cattle market. But no-one comes through Mandritsara except those who live in the surrounding villages. Mandritsara just has the one made-up road (as opposed to bush tracks) and it comes from the north. Befandriana is the next town, 70 miles north of Mandritsara. It also has a fortnightly cattle market. But it has two roads leading to/from it – one going south to Mandritsara, and the other going north to Antsohihy and from there to the rest of Madagascar, north or south. So Befandriana has traffic going through it as well as to it.
In 2007, life changed for a little family whose house was next to the main road on the northern outskirts of Befandriana. 5-year-old Brigia lived there with her mother (Maman’i Brigia) and father (Papan’i Brigia) and various other relatives. Now main roads in rural Madagascar do not have a constant stream of traffic, indeed vehicles are few and far between. But one of the consequences of this is that children often play on the road.
That is what happened to Brigia on that day in 2007, and sadly, she was knocked over by a motorbike. She sustained severe injuries, breaking both legs and her jaw in multiple places. Her distraught mother found her lying on the edge of the road in a pool of blood and in severe pain. Seeing the extent of her injuries, Brigia’s mother was sure she would die. Brigia needed to go urgently to hospital to see if her life could be saved. Her mother had heard of the Good News Hospital in Mandritsara and determined to try to get Brigia there. It was a long way – but there is no other similar hospital any nearer. Brigia’s mother found a pick-up bush taxi preparing to leave for Mandritsara with a crowd of people, and managed to get a place for Brigia and herself – with Brigia lying on sacks between the other passengers’ feet.
Brigia in hospital 2007
Brigia in hospital 2007
Brigia getting better 2007
It was an agonizing journey of several hours, but when they arrived at the Good News Hospital, Brigia was given urgent care and then taken straight to have Xrays and to have her wounds cleaned up and repaired. Then she was placed in a bed and her two legs attached to weights hanging over the end of the bed – traction – pulling her legs straight while the fractures healed. It was a terrible ordeal for little Brigia, but she was wonderfully looked after by her mother, and cared for by the devoted nurses and staff. Gradually everything healed up and after several weeks Brigia started learning to walk again along the hospital verandah.
Every morning, and every evening, one of the staff would read the Bible and pray with the patients in the ward, and they would all sing hymns together. And during the day, the nurses would tell Bible stories to Brigia as they worked, and with her mother also taking it all in.
Finally the day came when the doctor said to Brigia and her mother that they could go home now. Her mother then said this to the doctor: “Doctor, when we came her, I thought my daughter would die. Her wounds and broken bones were so terrible. But God had mercy on her, and now she is ready to go home. While we have been here we have learned so much about God and are so happy. But now we are going home, and who will help us to know more about God now? Will you come to Befandriana and start a church there so that we can continue to learn more about God?” This was not just polite words. This was a serious plea from the heart.
The church in Brigia's house 2009
So from then on, a group from the hospital started to visit Befandriana every two weeks on Sunday mornings to hold a little service in Brigia’s parents’ house. In the course of time, Brigia’s mother and others were baptised, and Brigia too, some years later.
Brigia - 2016
Since then, the church has had its ups and downs. Teams from Mandritsara have visited from time to time to encourage the church and attempts have been made to place a pastor there, but without lasting success. But Brigia and her mother and three others have pressed on faithfully from the beginning.
For the past year, Matio, a man in his sixties from Mandritsara, who works as a volunteer in the hospital evangelism department has been visiting Befandriana most weekends and staying a couple of nights to help the church, and this has been very encouraging. There are currently about 30 adults attending the church each Sunday and 25 children. 8 new believers have been added this year and a baptismal service was held in July. They are now meeting in a building that they are renting.
Praise the Lord for His work in Brigia and her mother and for the church in Befandriana. God is faithful!
Brigia and her Mum July 2025
Prayer Points
Please pray for this little church, that the Lord might:
Bless Matio and his faithful service there
Strengthen the church members in their faith
Draw new souls to Himself
Raise up future leaders
Make the church a living and lasting witness in the region
There is a young man that the church would like to send for training at the Baptist seminary in the south of Madagascar in the hope that after finishing his training (4 years) he would come back and pastor the church. This is a big decision, and it may be better for him to study locally for another year. Pray for guidance for the church.