My first lesson arrived within an hour of landing.

My driver from Majunga Airport to Antsanitia was Antonio, a well-educated 32-year-old. My Malagasy is nonexistent, and Antonio’s English was limited, so we relied on improvised French during the bumpy one-hour drive.

When I asked about his family, Antonio shared that he lived with his grandfather and his three-month-old son. I asked—naively—whether the baby’s mother lived nearby.

“Non, malheureusement, elle est morte,” he replied.

Unfortunately, she had died—three months earlier, less than a year after their marriage.

Madagascar has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. I knew this in theory. But encountering it so personally—within my first hour in the country—was profoundly different. Antonio summed it up quietly:

“Douloureux… mais c’est la vie.” Painful… but that’s life.

What struck me most was his acceptance. Only weeks after losing his wife, his stoicism suggested that this tragedy, heartbreaking as it was, was not uncommon—it was woven into daily life for many families in coastal Madagascar.

Later that week, I visited Sarobidy Maternity Center, another partner nonprofit in nearby Mahajanga. That earlier conversation with Antonio made the experience deeply poignant. It also reinforced how essential community-based healthcare is to long-term conservation success. Healthy families are better able to steward their land, participate in restoration work, and build resilient futures.

Community-based mangrove restoration in Madagascar depends on deep local knowledge—of tides, salinity, soil conditions, and species behavior—that has been passed down through generations.

Our nonprofit’s partnership with VOI Taratra supports large-scale mangrove restoration by ensuring that local teams are trained, paid, and equipped to lead every stage of the process. The work itself is guided entirely by Indigenous ecological knowledge.

During this visit, VOI President Papa Eric invited me to join the team for a day of planting. Before we set foot in the mud, there were two essential lessons in mangrove biology to understand.

First, mangroves reproduce through propagules—elongated seedlings that begin germinating while still attached to the parent tree. While nature produces many propagules, only a small percentage survive due to overcrowding and shade.

Second, mangroves are among the few plants that thrive in saltwater-saturated soil. Each species has a specific salt tolerance, determining where it belongs within the tidal zone. Successful restoration requires planting the right species in exactly the right place—something local communities understand intuitively.

My day began by sorting propagules by species, following practices refined over generations. Then came the real work: wading knee-deep into nutrient-rich mud to plant them by hand.

On my final full day, I attended a VOI meeting at the community’s open-air office. As the discussion wrapped up, Papa Eric asked a simple, unexpected question:

“Do people in rich countries know that there are people who live like we do?”

Honesty was the only appropriate response, but I struggled internally. How could I be truthful while also conveying hope?

Through a translator, I shared that most people are aware—at least at fleeting intervals. But daily pressures often push that awareness aside. That, I explained, is precisely why visits like ours matter so much. Personal relationships don’t fade as easily. They inspire sustained action, deeper engagement, and a desire to educate others.

When people connect personally, awareness turns into responsibility. So, these firsthand experiences also become the most powerful tools we have for raising awareness and building broader support.

In that moment, Papa Eric helped crystallize the importance of Purpose on the Planet’s dual mission. Supporting local communities and biodiversity hotspots remains our core focus. But education and outreach are equally essential. Lasting change requires winning hearts and minds—and one of the best places for that to start is by sharing stories that connect people across vastly different worlds.