Carlos Orlando Villarraga Benavides (photo), a chemical engineer, is president of Divino Mestre Spiritist Centre and of the Célio Lemos Social Project, in the Brazilian city of São José dos Campos (São Paulo state). In this interview he talks about the importante social project he coordinates: 

Please explain to our readers what is the Célio Lemos Social Project, known by the acronym, OSCL.

It is a Spiritist organisation that aims to help communities in the city of São José dos Campos in a number of áreas, including childcare for children aged from 4 months to 6 years, assistance to pregnant women and providing help to homeless people.

When and by whom was it founded?

It was founded on October 16th 1970 by a group of about 30 people. Célio Lemos was the presidente of the old Municipal Spiritist Union. He was a dedicated volunteer, working on social projects, and played a key role in the formation of this organisation. He died young and to honour his work the organisation was eventually named after him. We attend and educate full-time 110 children aged between 4 months and 2 years and 180 children aged between 2 and 6. To be selected the children must be from a low-income family and the mother must work. We have a separate project that provides assistance to 80 pregnant women twice a week and, on Tuesday nights, helps 180 homeless people.

How do you manage fund the organisation’s many activities?

We have a partnership with the City Council of São José dos Campos, which covers 70% of the budget of the childcare department, where 57 people are employed. We do a number of fundraising activities to cover the rest of the budget, and we get monthly donations by a group of members. The other projects are funded entirely through volunteer work and donations we receive.

What is your vision of the organisation?

By 2020 we want to be recognised as primary school with excellence in education.

Is there anything you would like to say about your focus on sustainability?

Two pillars of our organisation must be highlighted: the financial one and the environmental one. We have managed our accounts very well for many years. Many similar organisations in Brazil have closed or are facing serious economic troubles amid the current economic crisis our country is going through. The other pillar is the environmental one. We provide environmental education to the children, who take part in our production of organic vegetables and fruits. We use rainwater in the garden and to flush the toilets, we use LED lights and have solar energy, which heats the water for showers and for the kitchen. We have also planted here native species from the Atlantic Forest.

What are your best memories of the organisation?

The honesty, energy and affection that we get from the children every single day.

How well integrated is the work of the Célio Lemos with the city and what is the feedback you get?

An opinion poll carried out in 2015 with the families of the children showed that 93% of them rated Célio Lemos as excellent. They praise mostly the capacity of the educators, the food, the care with the children and the families, cleanliness and the facilities. A total of 177 people answered to the questionnaire.

Is there anything else you would like to add?