jueves, 17 de marzo de 2016

Akamasoa and the most successful economic model in the history of mankind!!!




In the city of Antananarivo in Madagascar, one man made the impossible happen. With only the only support of his faith in God, one man accomplished the unthinkable: he lifted a whole city out of poverty. No resources, no money, no institution behind him. Father Opeka[1] is an Argentinian Priest of Slovenian origin born and raised in Argentina who belongs to the Order of Lazarus. At age 20 he travelled to Ljubljana in Slovenia to complete his training, finishing his studies in the Catholic Institute of Paris. He wanted to help his fellow brothers, from any nationality, but Argentina was NOT a poor country, poverty levels reaching 3% in the 1960s. In 1975 he was ordained priest in Buenos Aires and was nominated responsible of area of Vangaindrano in southeast Madagascar. In 1989, he was nominated director of a seminary in Antananarivo, the capital. That is when his legend began.
When arriving at Antananarivo, he was touched by the misery and poverty of the people living in the area. The people were sharing survival efforts with dogs, pigs and other animals, a revolving image. Father Opeka knew that he could not talk, but act. Garbage, cans, used batteries, everything was recycled from the slum by the local inhabitants and sold in the main streets of the capital city. Father Opeka asked God for help to do anything for these children. He did not know how, but he knew that he had to take these children away from hell. They started with nothing but the passion and the Faith that God would not allow something so monstrous to happen. From the 800 families that existed in this place, there were up to 7 deceased children per family.
Being white was the first obstacle. Years of slaughter, persecution, repression towards the black race made it difficult for white people to be accepted. Through football, Father Opeka gained the trust of the inhabitants of the village. The celebration of the goals and team spirit brought the people together, bringing happiness and joy. He gave the example, by getting in the mud to work in the rice fields side by side with the people, pushing forward the value of working. He ate and drank with them, and developed many sicknesses due to bacteria. It was very strong to see the image of people dying from deceases. He defended justice and the right to live, and convinced the people that God had not abandoned them. Work, schooling and discipline was his recipe to fight poverty.
He founded Akamasoa: the good and faithful friends. It is a place for the poor built by the poor. He surrounded himself with 412 collaborators, almost all from Madagascar. No money, but a lot of faith. He appointed a team of staff helping him to manage the daily activities and provide continuous support to people. Father Opeka was a bricklayer, handicraft which he learned from his father. He challenged his collaborators to turn a mountain of granite into stone and bricks: materials that could be used in construction.[2] 2500 people that were on the street and lived off garbage began to work on the project. Then he proposed to build a landfill as a source of work, and created a company selling natural fertilizer. The organization was consolidated with housing construction. First it was forbidden to live within the landfill and precarious boxes rose at the edges of the landfill, to reduce the health risk. Then, the shanties were being replaced by brick houses, two stories, that he was rising, at the same time taught how. He built a community, were an acceptance process must be passed before moving to real housing. Those that want a place in the community must work, educate and feed their children, and have respect for the “Dinah”, a letter that defines the rules of life. The inhabitants work in job positions they themselves have created. Everyone has a job, when a man works, he is part of the society, he feels proud, he has honor and dignity. A part of the effort is destined to the village, and another part is destined to their families. It is through work that poverty is fought.
A house is built every four days for the community. The goal is that the families have a place that they can call their home, their residence. People pay a mortgage on their house which is adapted to their salary. The essential is for people to participate, nothing is given away for free. When the people that were poor and excluded feel they have their own home and residence, they feel pride, and so begins their life to change. Father Opeka provides tools for the poor people so that they can themselves come out from poverty. It is about fighting poverty and beating poverty. Akamasoa is 75% self-sufficient in revenue, due to the creation of stone and gravel quarries, to the craft and embroidery workshops, to a compost center next to the public rubbish. Thanks to the workers, the benefits they generate and some external donors most of Akamasoa’s public services are financed, including their health system. Today 82% of the students in Akamasoa finish high school, and most of them continue through to University.
Akamasoa has in 20 years grown to become a real city. It is formed by 5 urban cores divided in 17 neighborhoods, the population is 17.000 people, from which 60% is under 15 years old. All children go to school. Besides the kindergartens, Father Opeka has raised 4 primary schools, a bachelorship for the older, and 4 libraries. 10.000 children are going to school. When the young are finished with their education they can choose a craftsmanship, like carpenter. The older can take a position as trainer to teach the younger. The Saint Pierre Stadium in Akamasoa was built to stimulate the younger to practice sports. Basket and Volleyball is practiced for girls. There are also 3 additional courts for football practice and 11 courts for Basket and Volleyball.
In 2012 Opeka was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize united by Slovenian European Parliament Representatives Regardless of political party. With no resources, no money, no skilled people, just sheer raw leadership, one man achieved the impossible: he took thousands of people out of poverty. His economic model proves that development can be reached by high levels of trust and collaboration, by setting a set of common rules that will work as group values. This did not come without resistance from government officials, who initially opposed his work but eventually had to accept it due to his rising popularity. Taking this example into account, my skepticism lies with the catholic church. Father Opeka did his work outside the ecclesiastic hierarchy, and with no support from it. His theory, and success, lies in understanding that the human being needs to work to fill like a useful and valuable member of society. He considers that the worse that can be done to the poor is to have them living on welfare.
So the question is, why has the Catholic Church not replicated his model amongst the regions or communities under it’s influence? Father Opeka proves that, with the right leadership, people do want to work, be included and have the possibility of living a valuable and meaningful life. Whatever culture they belong to, people need hope and a future to look forward to. By getting in the mud and working together with them, he inspired the poor and got them to achieve the impossible: to take responsibility of their own lives (and destiny).


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