Father Pedro Opeka - "Work, education and discipline are the way out of poverty".

This article is taken from the "Issues" section of the September 2024 issue of Omalius magazine.

Akamasoa, which means "Good Friends" in Malagasy, was born out of our revolt at the inhuman situation in which thousands of outcasts found themselves in the streets and on the edge of a rubbish dump in Tananarive. At the time, our aim was the social reintegration of the homeless in and around the Malagasy capital. Today, our main objectives are to provide emergency aid, accompany families wishing to return to their place of origin, send children to school, provide health care, build decent housing, create jobs, provide vocational training, welcome the homeless, provide access to drinking water and energy, respect the environment, ensure hygiene and cleanliness, organize sports activities... finally, we invite the people we welcome to rediscover the power of the Spirit. Today, Akamasoa represents 35 years of fighting extreme poverty and defending human dignity. All this could only be done with faith, passion, strength and perseverance.

Education is essential. It's at school that we learn how to live together, the art of respecting each other, helping each other, forgiving each other, working.... In Madagascar, we have a proverb that says "Ny fanahy no mahaolona", which means "it's the spirit that makes the person". It's not wealth, knowledge or diplomas. It's the spirit that makes each person unique. Without that spirit, we are empty. At Akamasoa, school is compulsory for all children. We instill in them fundamental values such as hard work, education and discipline, which are essential for integrating into society and breaking out of poverty. By giving them the keys to education, we offer them the opportunity to build their own future and become agents of change.

I'm revolted. How can I not be? How can you not be outraged to see children's rights trampled on? Who isn't outraged to see malnourished children wandering the streets hungry, children who don't go to school, who can't take care of themselves, who don't have a decent home? But when I'm faced with thousands of children, each more beautiful and smiling than the next, I can't be discouraged. I'm here to help the generation that will follow us to live with more dignity. As long as I can do something, I want to take part in everything that makes up this social life. I've realized that where there's will and faith, there's also a solution.

We are citizens of the same land. Our Malagasy and African brothers and sisters are sometimes out of breath. That's why they're invading the citadel of Europe. It's up to us to react, to know how to welcome with a brotherly heart all those people of good will who respect the country they arrive in, who come in all simplicity to build a better life in the Earth that God created for all humans. It's never easy to come out of our ivory towers, where everything is easy and clear. Certainly sharing life with people from other civilizations, religions and customs, won't be easy.

But we're all human first. Before being citizens of a particular country on Earth we all have the right to freedom, equality and happiness. Together we can build a world in which, in a few centuries' time, it will be totally natural to say: I'm from planet Earth. You who are listening to me testify to this experience of daily struggle, you have the power to do this where you live, where you work, in your usual place because that's where the truth that's inside you will express itself.

In 2018, I had received the insignia of Doctor Honoris Cause from the Private University of Argentina. So this is the second time for me, but I'm no less surprised that people are interested in our work. It is to the Malagasy people, who have welcomed me as a brother and friend, that I want to dedicate it as a sign of friendship and in a spirit of fraternity.