Born Pedro Opeka, this Lazarist priest of Slovenian and Argentine origin arrived in Madagascar in 1969 and settled in the southeast. In 1989, witnessing the large number of homeless people in Antananarivo, known as Quatr’mi (slang for “four friends”: rat, garbage, man, dirt), he and other religious figures founded the Akamasoa (“Good Friend”) movement.
His work began on Andralanitra Hill, a 2-hectare public landfill, where he provided shelter for 4,000 families and developed housing, infrastructure, and job opportunities, particularly in stone quarrying and compost production. Other villages, such as Ambaniala and Antaninarenina, soon followed.
With financial support from many countries, he insists that all his collaborators be Malagasy. By 2001, his villages were home to 17,000 people. Father Pedro continues to be a powerful voice on the global stage, urging the international community to take action on Madagascar’s humanitarian crisis.
