Rising Light of Madagascar

Serving Madagascar since 2015

A birth certificate. A desk. A teacher who stays.
Light, one village at a time.

Rising Light of Madagascar brings education, practical leadership and the gospel of Jesus Christ to the most vulnerable communities across the island.

Give to the mission See where the light reaches
“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
3,441birth certificates
15school buildings
100,000+people reached in 200+ churches
60,000+miles traveled inland

Who we are

Good citizens, free from poverty, under the light of the gospel.

Rising Light of Madagascar (RLOM) envisions the country’s welfare manifesting in the alleviation of poverty and the nurturing of good citizenship under the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We advocate for and support educational programs at all levels that have the potential to impact the most vulnerable people in the community. We also promote practical leadership and sustainable self-reliance, both within and outside the church.

1

Education

Gospel-centered, relevant education for children and youth, helping them develop love, exploration and care for the world.

2

Leadership

Capable, accountable leaders who reliably open the way to peace and community thriving.

3

Sustainability

Communal self-reliance projects equipped with what they need to last.

Where the light reaches

It starts with a visit.

Pastor Edmond and Pastor Arlette travel inland for months at a time, on dirt roads, by ferry and on foot, to reach churches, schools and villages most maps leave out.

3,441 people, officially known.

Without a birth certificate a child cannot study past 5th grade, and an adult cannot get a national ID. In 2026 alone, 2,161 people in Bemanonga, Mahabo and Andoharanovelona received theirs.

15 schools built and repaired.

Roofs after Cyclone Gezani, metal walls where palm trunks let in the dust, and 200+ desks for children who sat on the floor.

Pastors equipped to go further.

126 bikes, 450 seminary books, 150+ leadership sessions and 2,000+ seminary students taught, so the work keeps going between visits.

60,000+ miles. 200+ churches.

From the capital to the deep south, the light of the gospel and the practical help travel together.

Antananarivo

Our work

Five Es of mission

Ed

Education

Birth certificates, literacy programs, student scholarships and seminary courses.

Eq

Equipping

Pastors, schools, orphans and healing centers, with what they need to serve.

Ev

Evangelism

Children and unreached people: Vacation Bible Schools, house-to-house visits, the Jesus film in Malagasy.

Em

Empowerment

Youth, women, church leaders and whole communities, from sewing machines to chicken-raising training.

Ec

Ecumenism

Partnership between traditional and emerging churches, across denominations.

Impact, 2015 to 2026

What faithful giving has already done

Education

  • 3,441 birth certificates in 13 locations
  • 3 literacy program locations
  • 5 university scholarships
  • 2,000+ seminary students in 4 locations
  • 150+ students helped to enroll

Equipping

  • 126 bikes for pastors
  • 15 school buildings, 200+ desks
  • 450 seminary books and Starlink internet
  • 400+ orphans cared for in 3 locations
  • 3 healing centers supported monthly
  • 300+ backpacks, 2,000+ notebooks
  • 1 house and a rickshaw for a widower’s family

Evangelizing

  • 1,500+ children at VBS in 22 locations
  • 150+ unreached locations visited
  • 100,000+ people in 200+ churches
  • 60,000+ miles traveled inland

Empowering

  • 5 pastors’ annual salaries
  • 22 teachers given stipends
  • 150+ leadership training sessions
  • 14 youth culture exchanges
  • 8 sewing machines for women
  • 3 people with disabilities assisted

Stories from the field

What a visit makes possible

Andoharanovelona · August 2026

Sixty names, finally on paper

Families walked for hours to a primary school yard. After a short worship service, a judge, doctors and the mayor worked through the paperwork in a classroom. 1,825 people received birth certificates there. One grandmother, a mother of 23, came to collect 60: for herself, her children and her grandchildren.

Ambovonomby · 2026

A pastor couple’s whole salary

A rural pastor couple spent their entire year’s pay building two schoolrooms out of palm trunks. The wind and dust kept stopping class. Donors funded metal-walled rebuilds, and enrollment grew from 95 to 160 children.

Andromivonga · September 2026

A teacher with paper folders

The school is a rented house with no windows, because windows let bandits in. There is no blackboard and children sit on the dirt floor. The one teacher came from far away and could earn more elsewhere. She teaches with paper folders, and she does not give up.

Bealanana · July 2026

Three bikes, seven hundred witnesses

At a gathering so full the benches were carried out, three pastors, two men and one woman, received bikes for the long distances of their ministries. 126 pastors have one now.

“Even though I am physically exhausted, deep in my heart, I still want to do what I can for the cause of God’s kingdom in this country.” Pastor Edmond, September 2026

2026 needs · $100,000

Choose what your gift does

Every line of this year’s budget has an item number. Pick one or more, and put the item number in your memo so your gift goes exactly there.

Ways to give and get involved

Pray. Give. Come and see.

Rising Light of Madagascar is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 33-4862958). Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Zelle

Send to Rising Light of Madagascar

risinglightmada@gmail.com

Check or money order

Payable to Rising Light of Madagascar, memo “Madagascar Mission” and the item number.

3341 Burritt Way
La Crescenta, CA 91214

Venmo

Send to Arlette Razafimanantsoa.

Pray with us

For safe travel on hard roads, for teachers who serve far from home, and for the victims of Cyclone Gezani.

Buy, host, share

Purchase Malagasy arts, host an event, or tell a friend about the mission.

Join a mission trip

Trips run at least three weeks, between July 21 and December 31. Write to us to plan one.

Ask about a trip

Our story

A family sent, and sending

Pastor Edmond Razafimanantsoa

Born in Ivato Centre and raised in Fianarantsoa, Edmond leads the work on the ground. He serves on his denomination’s national committee for theological education and speaks at pastors’ conferences across the country, preaching in his own tribal language when he comes home.

Pastor Arlette Razafimanantsoa

Arlette co-leads the mission, teaches and preaches on every trip, and keeps partners in the United States connected through reports and newsletters. One of today’s presbytery leaders was her seminary student thirty years ago.

Nomena Razafinamatsonaina Gallegos

Nomena, their daughter, serves as CEO of Rising Light of Madagascar in the United States. She has traveled to Madagascar to lead women’s leadership development, including in Sahambavy.

Board

Sarah Won Lee

Board Member and Secretary

Sarah has traveled to Madagascar with the mission four times.

Updates

From the latest mission reports

July–August 2026

The amazing outcome of our visit

2,161 birth certificates, four schools rebuilt, and 3,000 more miles of leadership visits.

Read the newsletter → June 2026

The gift of visit

“The one who visits often is loved by relatives.” Notes from the June mission trip.

Read the report →