The Akamasoa Association in
Madagascar: a city of friendship and hope
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| Fr.Pedro Opeka with members of the Akamasoa Association |
On his second day in Madagascar, Pope Francis visits the
Akamasoa Community, the “City of Friendship”, founded 30 years ago to help poor
people help themselves.
By Seàn-Patrick Lovett
In the Malagasy language, “Akamasoa” means literally “good
friends”. Which is why the Community, founded by Fr Pédro Opeka in 1989, is
called the “City of Friendship”.
Fr Pédro Opeka, CM
71-year-old Fr Pédro is a missionary priest of the Lazarist
or Vincentian Order. He studied theology under the future Pope Francis in
Argentina, before moving to Madagascar in 1970 and dedicating himself to
helping poor people he saw living on garbage dumps and on the streets of
Antananarivo.
During a visit to the Vatican last year, Fr Pédro invited
his former professor to come and see Akamasoa for himself. Not that he ever
thought the Pope would actually accept.
The Akamasoa Association
The Akamasoa Association sets out to engage poor people in
creative ways, helping them to build a dignified lifestyle for themselves.
Dignity, according to Fr Pédro, means providing shelter, employment, and
education. It means breaking out of the cycle of crime, violence, and
hopelessness.
Helping not assisting
“Helping but not assisting” is one of Akamasoa’s mottos. The
Assocation works alongside and together with poor people, helping them build
necessary structures, like schools, work places, and healthcare facilities, so
that they can prepare a future for themselves and their children.
Acting not talking
“Acting and not talking” is another of Akamasoa’s mottos.
The results of that action are impressive. Since its
foundation 30 years ago, the Association has helped create housing for over
25,000 people, giving rise to 18 villages, complete with dispensaries and
schools that provide education for some 14,000 children. In total, around
500,000 Malagasies have befitted from emergency help in the form of food,
clothing, and health care.
In a country where nine out of ten people live on less than
$2 a day (below the poverty line, as defined by the World Bank), those numbers
can really translate hopelessness into hope.
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