The thought above is by our fellow Spiritist, Rogério Silva Fort (photo), who was born into a Spiritist family in the Brazilian city of Valença, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. He is the founder and president of the Lar Meimei Spiritist Group, an organisation that plays an important social role in the city. He is a chef and a restaurant manager. In this interview he speaks about the organisation he directs and how it was selected to begin receiving grants in 2019 from Criança Esperança, a major charity programme in Brazil.

When and how was the Lar Meimei founded?

Our group was founded in June 1984, from a healing treatement that was being carried out at the Joana d’Arc Spiritist Centre. We were helping a family that was in desperate need of material and moral assistance. We began helping them without really planning our actions. With courage, faith, perseverance and resignation we have managed to build the core of the Lar Meimei. It was born from a strong determination to help others and serve. We inevitably began to link our social programmes to the Spiritist Teachings, which are aimed at the moral and intellectual development of all human beings.

What is the main aim of the organisation?

The dissemination of Spiritism.

What are the facilities like and what services do you offer?

We have our own building, which was built after two of the founders donated a plot of land in 1990. We built it thanks to the generosity of some friends and a donation from a programme broadcast by SBT television. We offer a number of services to those in need. We have 78 children aged from 4 to 14 enrolled in our school. They stay with us from Monday to Friday, from 12:00 to 18:00. We raise money for our activities through donations, the sale of Spiritist books and also the sale of used cooking oil. We have a number of other activities, which include: school tutoring, religious education, yoga, music lessons, access to the internet, psychologists and assistance for people suffering from substance abuse.

What are your main challenges?

We are short of volunteers for our social projects.

What is your main memory from all these years?

It was the recovery of the first family we treated. We have solved many cases during the Late Night Sessions we’ve been carrying out for the past nine years. We have prevented a suicide, the passing of three people who were in alcoholic coma and we have helped locate a new-born baby who was missing and was eventually returned to his real mother.

How is your interaction with the government and the city’s residents?

We have excellent relations, as our social projects and our work in defence of the environment are well known and well documented. I remember having receiving twice donations from Catholic churches. Those who want to help can donate used kitchen oil, or become members or make a monthly donation to our bank account: Caixa Econômica Federal – agência 0945 – Operação 003 – conta corrente 000606 – 0. CNPJ 27.964.626.0001 - 74

Tell us about the organization prize at the Criança Esperança project.

Last year, our Spiritual friends worked hard so that we could apply for a grant with the project. They were aware of our determination to help others and also of our financial troubles and made sure we met along the way people who played a key role in the application process. I had almost lost all hope and began considering cutting down the number of children we helped. I then had the idea to put my mobile number on Facebook, for those interested in finding out about Lar Meimei. Two days later, someone phoned, asked if it was from Lar Meimei and much to my surprise said: ”We’ve been trying to locate you for the past 20 days”. Fifteen days later, my mobile rang again and someone said that we had been selected to take part in the project. I began to cry. We will get 120,000 reais ($32,000) in three instalments. That money must be used only for children assistance, for food, and to pay the salaries of a teacher, a social worker and a cook.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

If my determination and perseverance can serve as an example, I would like to say that I have defied the diagnosis of many doctors, who said I would never walk again and would be on wheelchair for the rest of my life. I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. My efforts and determination have changed the course that was perhaps set for my current incarnation. To serve, to help others, feels great. And by helping other people we become strong enough to accept things we cannot change and we gain the courage to change ourselves first.