Jesuit working for literacy in India wins $1 million Opus Prize

Published: 2005-10-24

MILWAUKEE (CNS) -- A Jesuit priest working in India to bring books and teachers to the desperately poor is the 2005 recipient of the $1 million Opus Prize. Jesuit Father Trevor Miranda heads Reach Education Action Program, founded in Mumbai, India, which has opened more than 450 literacy centers in just six years. The organization's goal, the priest said, is to bring literacy to "every street, pavement, slum, hilltop (and) tribal village, to bring about social transformation." The Opus Prize is given annually to individuals or organizations of any religious background that demonstrate innovative strategies to solve deeply rooted community problems in a way that fosters personal responsibility and independence. The foundation is a philanthropy established by the Opus Group, a commercial real estate development company based in Minnetonka, Minn., that contributes 10 percent of its pretax profits to community and religious organizations.

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