On the program “Greece in the World”, presented by Giorgos Dionysopoulos on Voice of Greece, His Grace Prodromos, Bishop of Toliara and Southern Madagascar, who has served in the region for the past six years, was a guest.
The Bishop described the inhabitants’ difficult daily lives and the desperate situation in the critical sectors of health and education, emphasising that “when you live in these areas, you cannot remain indifferent to the pain and misery of these people”.
With the love and support of many people, he said, they have managed, over the past six years, to establish 12 schools – including elementary, junior high and high schools, as well as an IT and an English language school. These schools provide free education to 7,500 students. In the health sector, they have set up a clinic staffed by doctors and nurses of all specialties, which provides medical care to 3,000 patients per week. They have also implemented a special program to help malnourished children.
The charity work continues in the prisons of Madagascar and around the world, digging wells, providing clean water, and purchasing a water tanker that transports clean water to villages every day.
The Bishop also referred to a local custom in the Manatzari region, whereby the birth of twins is considered unlucky and the children are not allowed to grow up together. This often results in one of the twins being killed immediately after birth.
“When I first came to this area as bishop and was trying to get to know my entire province, I arrived at that place and when I heard about this custom, I was truly shocked. From that moment on, I felt a desire to save these children,” the Bishop emphasised.
The result of this initiative is an orphanage for 100 children. The Bishop pointed out that this project could not have been realised without the generous support of a Greek philanthropist who wishes to remain anonymous.
In closing, Bishop Prodromos pointed out: “The state and the people here in Madagascar recognise our efforts. What touches these people is that, as the Orthodox Church, we never ask what anyone believes in. We only see them as people. The issue of faith is purely a matter of freedom, and this touches people here deeply.”