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).
