Highlighting Heroes Series - Alex Jean
At NET Development, one of our favorite things is networking with amazing people who are knee-deep in making the world a better place. In the next several posts, we’ll be highlighting some of the heroes we’ve met along the way.
Alex Jean with his wife and three kids.
First, we will travel to Toamasina, Madagascar, where our colleague Alex Jean is in the thick of a major disaster relief effort. On February 10th, Category 4 Cyclone Gezani ripped through his city, devastating the lives of 250,000 people. When natural disasters happen in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, whole communities collapse, leaving people homeless and without a way to provide for the basic needs of water, food, and shelter. It’s a desperate situation.
Friends snag a photo with Alex and another chaplain outside Bethany Hospital.
Alex is a man whose character shines in times like this. We first met Alex Jean eight years ago when we sponsored a micro-business training designed to give entrepreneurs creative ways to provide for their families while ministering to the needs of their communities. Alex was one of the participants who immediately put what he had learned into action, starting a small yogurt business. Today, he serves as a volunteer coach for the Young Optimists Athletes soccer team and as a chaplain with Mercy Ships when they are in port. Since the cyclone, he has served as a chaplain at Bethany Hospital and as an emergency relief mobilizer for cyclone victims.
Alex’s home after Cyclone Gezani struck Toamasina, Madagascar
After the storm hit, Alex took action. He had to—his home was destroyed. And before he and his family could even clean up their own mess, his soccer players started calling.
“Coach, what do we do? Our rice is ruined, and we’ve been up all night because we don’t have a dry place to sleep,” a desperate voice said.
Alex told the player he wasn’t sure how he could help yet because he was in the same situation. But he encouraged the young man to trust that God would somehow make a way for them all
Later that day, Alex messaged me. And, for the first time in eight years of our friendship, he asked for help. He sent a picture of the rubble that used to be his house and, in so many words, communicated, “Our situation is desperate.”
I frantically searched through messages and posts to see if all “our” people were okay. They were, but it broke my heart to see the state of the situation, the scope of the damage, and the impact on countless people in the community.
The street we lived on the summer of 2022.
The next day, when I checked for any news from Alex, I expected to see more heartbreaking updates. Instead, I saw his Facebook post with photos of his soccer team in action—doing whatever they could to help others. They started that day and haven’t stopped since, working together to rebuild makeshift shelters and provide food and basic supplies, beginning with the most vulnerable.
The Young Optimists rebuilding after the storm.
In the wake of their own devastation, Alex and his team have found their footing and chosen to serve others. The best kind of hero lives a life poured out for others—while inspiring and mobilizing those around them to do the same. We are privileged to work with Alex Jean and several other men and women like him who are doing what they can in this time of crisis.
Your support is empowering Alex and others to show up for “the least of these.”