From August 2 to 9, 2026, the South East Madagascar Conference (SEMC) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church held its first camporee. About 1,700 young people camped in Sahambavy, in the Lalangina district of the Haute Matsiatra region, according to the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID). The theme of the Madagascar Pathfinder camporee was Moving Forward with Confidence, inspired by the story of Moses.
What happened at the Madagascar Pathfinder camporee in 2026?
The official report came out on August 18, 2026, on the SID news site, written by Fenitra Arri Anne of the conference itself. According to the report, the eight days alternated between moments of spiritual growth and outdoor activities, with room to learn, work as a team and build a stronger sense of community.
On August 23, the Adventist News Network (ANN), the news agency of the worldwide Adventist Church, republished the report and presented it as the conference's first Pathfinder Camporee. The body of the ANN story keeps the figure of about 1,700 participants; only the subtitle sums up the crowd as over 1,000 young people. The two numbers do not contradict each other, and this article uses the more precise one, from the SID.
What was the theme of the South East Madagascar camporee?
According to the SID, Moving Forward with Confidence grew out of the story of Moses, the leader who brought Israel out of Egypt. The report cites no Bible verse, but the phrase recalls Exodus 14:15, when, at the Red Sea, God tells Moses: “Tell the children of Israel to go forward” (NKJV). That link is Desbravai's own reading.
Pastor Jean Francois Ramandimbiarison, Youth Ministries director of the conference, turned the theme into a challenge: according to the SID, he urged the young people to move forward with confidence and fulfill the mission entrusted to them.
Who are the leaders known by Pathfinder club names?
Among Pathfinders, Pastor Ramandimbiarison is known by the club name Chief Babouin Inébranlable, which the report renders as “Chief Unshakeable Baboon.” The Youth Ministries director of the Indian Ocean Union Conference, Pastor Haja Raharijaona, goes by Chief Espadon Fulgurant, which the SID translates into English as Chief Lightning Swordfish.
After Chief, both names pair an animal with a quality, in French. The SID does not explain where the custom comes from. In Brazil, the animal usually gives its name to the Unit, as our guide to Pathfinder Unit names shows; in Madagascar, judging by the SID report, it ends up in the leader's nickname.
Read alsoLomé hosts the first major West-Central Africa Pathfinder camporeeWhat is OneVoice27, mentioned at the camporee?
Pastor Raharijaona used his message to look beyond the walls of the church. According to the SID, he noted that Pathfinder clubs are reaching further and further into the community and asked the young people to add their voice to OneVoice27, so that youth and church become one voice in the Adventist witness across the Indian Ocean and beyond.
OneVoice27 is a worldwide initiative of the Adventist Church, presented to the General Conference Annual Council on October 11, 2025, and approved the next day, according to ANN. The plan sets a coordinated evangelism emphasis for September 2027, designed to connect the church's media with more than 180,000 local churches and companies. One reason for the date, explained Vyacheslav Demyan, president of Hope Channel International, is that 2027 marks 2,000 years since the baptism of Jesus.
What are the numbers from the camporee in Sahambavy?
All the public data come from a single origin, the SID report republished by ANN. For a comparison with a division-wide gathering, see our coverage of the 4th Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division Camporee, in Zimbabwe, held in 2025.
| Item | What the sources report |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 2 to 9, 2026 (eight days) |
| Location | Sahambavy, Lalangina district, Haute Matsiatra region |
| Participants | About 1,700 young people (SID); ANN repeats the figure in the body and says over 1,000 in the subtitle |
| Not reported | Number of clubs, split between Pathfinders and leaders, baptisms |
Source: SID News (Aug. 18, 2026) and Adventist News Network (Aug. 23, 2026).
What is the history of the Adventist Church in Madagascar?
According to the SID, the South East Madagascar Conference is the newest Adventist administrative territory in Madagascar and belongs to the Indian Ocean Union Conference, alongside conferences such as Central, East and South West. The union is part of the SID, one of the world divisions of the Adventist Church, which serves 18 countries, according to the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists.
Young people helped too: between 1972 and 1994, according to the same encyclopedia, the former Central Malagasy Mission sent Missionary Volunteer (MV) youth to new regions to plant churches.
What does a first camporee mean for Pathfinders?
The SID treats the debut as a milestone in the conference's growing engagement with its young people. First editions tend to stay in a club's memory, as we told in our coverage of Malaysia's first Pathfinder camporee, in Sabah, in 2024.
Pastor Raharijaona's appeal also holds on this side of the ocean: a Brazilian club that takes service outside the church, with a project in the neighborhood or a visit to someone who lives alone, is answering the same call.