The quote above is part of this interview with José Henrique França Campos (foto), founder of the Salve a Si NGO (Save Yourself).

He was born into a Catholic family in the Brazilian capital, Brasília, where at the age of 12 he first became interested in Spiritism. He attended a Mediumship course at the Brazilian Spiritist Federation (FEB) in 2016 and later joined one of the groups of mediums working to help disturbed discarnate Spirits.

In the following interview, he speaks about his life and the goals of the Salva a Si NGO.

Tell us a bit about your life.

I was born in Brasília, the son of parents who moved here with my grandparents to build the new Brazilian capital. To sum it up, I am the son and grandson of alcoholics and at the age of 11 I tried cannabis for the first time. I was a medium and began suffering the consequences of chemical dependency. It was clear for me I was suffering the consequences of errors committed in previous incarnations. Aged 18, I left home to live with drug traffickers. I abandoned my family and turned my existence into a mix of chaos and pain, amid all sorts of addictions. During a brief period in 2000 when I controlled my addiction, I founded the Salve a Si NGO. I was aware of my mission, which was to help other people overcome their chemical dependency. But I relapsed several times and in 2003, at the age of 28, I was arrested and sentenced for drug trafficking in Paris. I was freed in 2006, returned to Brazil and two years later I went through treatment and was able to finally find myself. I began looking after other people who had the same problems as me and started working full time at the NGO.

How is your current work in the Spiritist Movement?

I give talks in many Spiritist Centres about drugs, the problems we face in the physical world as a consequence of our addictions and how drug users suffer when they pass away. The basis for my talks are the books of Allan Kardec. I am also a medium.

What was your main motivation to found the Salve a Si NGO?

What really motivated me was the need to regulate my mediumistic faculties and the desire to remain sober. I knew that the only way to achieve that would be by putting the principles charity into practice and by handing out to others what I had been given: the capacity to be sober, serenity and inner peace, marching daily towards recovery. I was helped by a couple who let me use their farm and eventually allowed me to buy in instalments. But no one has helped me more than my wife, Alexsandra, who has been by my side through the biggest setbacks and joys of this journey.

What are the main aims of the organisation?

The main aim of the Salve a Si NGO is to help people with chemical dependency recover their moral, behavioural and spiritual values. All that must be achieved in a welcoming atmosphere, during a period of six months to a year in which the person lives with us. We also carry out work with crack addicts and people living in the streets, as well as universities, schools and private companies. We give advice on how to prevent the problem of chemical dependency and how to rehabilitate families. Charity and solidarity are at the centre of all our actions.

What have you learned from your work at the NGO?

That tolerance, indulgence and unconditional love, with the dissemination of the Gospel of Christ, enable people suffering from chemical dependency to make an effective change. They will become a new person, who will be liberated from the dark valleys of incomprehension. That is the main reason why people try to fill that emotional void with drugs.

What have been the main challenges you have faced?

Prejudice from all sides; problems to raise funds to carry on with our work; attacks from the Spirits still living in darkness; the hatred that generates segregation, coming from those who haven’t yet understood that the Gospel is the only way towards our true moral evolution; and finally, the ingratitude of many which come from feelings of envy and pride.

What guidance can you give to the families and friends of people suffering from chemical dependency?

As soon as you realise that someone is abusing drugs or alcohol, seek professional help and look for guidance from therapeutic communities, which generally achieve the best results. That is the case of the Alcoholics Anonymous or the Narcotics Anonymous. Bear in mind that this is biopsychosocial and spiritual illness, which as such demands the highest level of support and understanding. Don’t consider individuals suffering from chemical dependency as people with low morals or hopeless. The last thing they need is your judgement and disapproval. We know that for each person using drugs there are at least another 10 discarnate Spirits sucking their energies like vampires. Welcoming and understanding gestures, along with a great deal of love and tolerance, will lead people to seek change and their inner reform. For all questions asked, after all, there is only one answer LOVE. It has made me change and will certainly have the same effect on other people suffering from alcohol and drug abuse.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I have been sober for more than 11 years, after suffering for 23 years. I am now 44 and I am looking after many brothers and sisters who suffer from the same illness, which could be considered “the evil of the century”. Brazil is the home of the Gospel and, yet, it is the world’s largest consumer of crack in the world and the second in cocaine. In Europe and the US, heroin and other drugs, alongside with alcohol, have been speeding up the deaths of brilliant Spirits who haven’t as yet learned how to deal with their vicissitudes.

If you, my dear reader, have no addictions and work for the general being of your community, try to follow my example: join the battle to prevent our young men and women from entering this painful world, which destroys dreams and families. Dedicate your life to the charitable task of protecting our children. Prevention is, after all, better than any form of treatment and every single life deserves to be rescued.

I wish you much love and sobriety always and may the promises of Spiritism, the great consoler, be always in our hearts, guiding us on the journey ahead, which is based on the principle of charity towards other people. Peace and light, always!