Father Pedro Opeka traveled to Reunion Island this week to share his testimony as a missionary and to raise awareness in the world of the opportunity to eradicate poverty.

“The poor have evangelized me!” exclaimed the Argentinean missionary priest who works in Madagascar.

Fr. Pedro is giving talks in the island this week entitled, “Overcoming poverty: the testimony of Fr. Pedro.”
Fr. Pedro explained that he wants to send the message of the Gospel to the world so that “everyone on this earth, everyone on this planet, will be brothers and sisters and (will) help one another.”

“In this world where there is so much wealth, there should not be thousands of people who live in hunger.  This is an injustice that cries out to heaven.”

Africa and Madagascar is a continent of great suffering, said Fr. Pedro, who has been working in Madagascar for 40 years.

“My message is one of solidarity, of sharing what we have, because the wealth we have has been given to us to share, because what I don’t need goes to waste.”
There is an Indian proverb that says, ‘Why save something when there is a neighbor who needs it?’ the priest said.

Fr. Pedro said poverty can be overcome by imitating Jesus Christ.  “I can say today, it is possible to overcome poverty. It is possible to return to the poor their dignity as children of God. I live amidst a people in poverty, a people living in extreme poverty, and with dignity, faith and compassion we lift ourselves out of this extreme poverty,” he said.