Pater Pedro / Father Pedro#

Quelle: Gert Tillich, Redaktion: H. Maurer

Madagascar is a poor country. Father Pedro (really Pedro Pablo Opeka born June 29, 1948 in Argentina) decided to become a priest and enter the seminary of the Lazarists in Buenos Aires. He went to Madagascar where he worked as a bricklayer in the parishes of the Lazarists in 1970. He finished his studies at the Catholic Institute of Paris (1972-1975). In 1989, his Lazarist superiors nominated him director of a seminary near Antananarivo, the capital of Madgascar. When he saw the dump from the hills of the city, he discovered people rummaging among garbage to find something to eat while sleeping in huts between mountains of waste. Father Pedro began to convince them that they could leave that misery and abuse, for their children.

He created a local non-governmental organization called Akamasoa (the good and faithful friends) in December 1989 to continue his work. He managed to get major charity organisations like Kiwanis to support this project. Today Akamasoa sustains about thirty thousand people in 18 villages, ten thousand children in these villages, who all go to school, following the building of 37 new schools over the years.

Akamasoa is building each year new schools, clinics, and centres for training and production. Over 3,600 jobs have been created for the villagers. Akamasoa is now partly self-sufficient in revenue, thanks to the creation of stone and gravel quarries, to the craft and embroidery workshops, to a compost centre next to the 'Tana' public rubbish.

In 2004 a hospital was opened. Monika Stickler, then Austrian Kiwanis Governor, helped the project along including some 120.000 Euros in donations. The project is very much alive, still supported by Kiwanis Austria.

For the 25 year celebration of Akamosa in 2014 an Austrian delegation visited again, amoung them Gert Tillich. He is the one who has providead all pictures below (public domain) and got hold of a clip on Father Pedro, see link at the end.

Im Jahr 2004 wurde in Antanarivo in dem Stadtteil, der durch Pater Pedro betreut wird ein Spital eröffnet. Monika Stickler hat in der Zeit als Austrian Kiwanis Governor dieses Projekt in die Wege geleitet und die Finanzierung von ca.120,000 Euro sichergestellt. Eine Delegation aus Österreich war dann 2004 zur feierlichen Eröffnung gekommen.

Zur 25 Jahrfeier von Akamasoa, das ist die Stiftung des Pater Pedro, waren Vertreter von Kiwanis Östererich wieder in Madagaskar und konnten sehr große Fortschritte bewundern: Inzwischen ist alles wesentlich größer geworden,das Krankenhaus modernisiert, neben Mittelschulen wurde auch eine Universität gebaut, usw.

Das Projekt lebt und wird auch weiterhin von Kiwanis Österreich unterstützt. Alle untenstehenden Bilder stammen von Gert Tillich, Präsident Kiwanis Graz 2018/2019 and can be used freely. He also managed to get a clip on father Pedro, as attached.

Die erste Folge von Bildern unten zeigt, wieviel erreicht worden ist gefolgt von einigen Bildern der 25 Jahr Feier. Der zweite Teil zeigt wie schön Madagscar ist, aber dass auch noch viele Probleme zu bewältigen sind. Am Ende ist ein Link zu einem Film über Vater Pedro.