Andréia Cristina Cirólli Ribeiro Inácio (photo) is our guest this week. She was born in the city of Cafelândia and lives in Marília, both in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. She has a degree in Education and works in Logistics. She is also a volunteer worker at the Luz, Fé e Caridade (Light, Faith and Charity) Spiritist Centre and is the current vice-president of the social project it keeps, named after Dr Bezerra de Menezes. In this interview, she speaks about the social work that benefits hundreds of people in Marília.  

When and how did you become a Spiritist?

In 1998, an uncle of mine who was like a second father to me had a heart attack and suddenly returned to the Spirit World, leaving us in immense sadness. My mother, despite being a practising Catholic, began attending the Luz e Verdade (Light and Truth) Spiritist Centre here in Marília, where mediums received messages from Spirits every Thursday after the study group meetings. I was 16 at the time and I must admit that I was quite scared then. That was my introduction to Spiritism. But soon that became the highlight of my week and I couldn’t wait for Thursday to come up so I could go to the Spiritist Centre. I thought the messages were so beautiful and they really touched my heart. I became a volunteer worker there, then I stopped attending in 2000 and then returned in full strength to the Spiritist Movement in 2009, when I joined the Luz, Fé e Caridade Spiritist Centre.

Which aspect of Spiritism strikes you the most?

I am fascinated by Spiritism in all its aspects. It is indeed the Consoler that Christ promised, bringing us so much enlightenment and prompting us to carry out our inner reform. These beautiful teachings show us clearly that we must treat the cause of our afflictions and not only deal with their symptoms. The great benefactor, Joanna de Ângelis, explains that well in her series of books focusing on psychology. She teaches us that there is no salvation outside charity and that I am the result of what I do to myself. During the most challenging moments of my life, these amazing teachings reminded me that there are no victims in this world and that Jesus will always provide the tools we need to come out of all situations, enabling us to leave desperation behind.

Tell us a bit more about the Spiritist Centre where you volunteer.

It is a great source of joy for me to speak about this Spiritist Centre, of which I have been a member for 11 years: nine years attending its activities and as vice-president for the past two years. The Luz, Fé e Caridade Spiritist Centre was founded 92 years ago. It is the oldest Spiritist institution in Marília. For more than nine decades, it has provided consolation and Spiritist education to anguished hearts across the city. It also maintains the Dr Bezerra de Menezes social project, which provides daily meals for 130 brothers and sisters who live in the streets and 25 food and hygiene kits for 25 families in need. We also offer showers, barbers and launderette for the homeless as well as regular sessions on the Gospel of Jesus for all of those we assist.

What are the most demanding material needs of the people you help?

They have many urgent needs. Each situation is unique and deserves to be looked into with a lot of love. In the case of our homeless brothers and sisters, they basically need everything: food, hygiene and clothing. Some of them have families elsewhere, but their relatives have already given up on them because of their addiction to drugs or alcohol. In the case of those who sleep rough with their families, they require food, medication and furniture, as many of them sleep on cardboard.

How about their emotional and spiritual needs? What are the most common demands?

They also have a wide range of immediate needs. They have emotional needs, many feel they have been abandoned (especially when their family has given up on them after making all sorts of attempts), they suffer from violence and depression, as well as spiritual attacks. That is why we always take the Gospel of Jesus to them, whatever the nature of the assistance we provide. We hand out reading material, but also read and comment with them a passage of the Gospel. And we always pray together.

Which criteria do you use to select the people who will receive material and spiritual assistance?

There is no specific criteria. Most of those who come to us are extremely vulnerable people. An important point to mention, though, is that if they arrive with a violent or disturbed attitude, we first try to calm them down before we proceed with the assistance. We offer them, for example, the opportunity to first have a shower or a meal. Our principle is always to help without discriminating against anyone.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Please bear in mind that there is always an opportunity around you to help, however challenging the situation may look. Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, we’ve had to suspend many of our activities and we’ve been forced to rethink the way we work. As the local government has been providing meals for the individuals and families in need, we changed our focus to the hygiene aspect, which is their main need at the moment. With the grace of God, we have been able to hand out almost 800 hygiene kits. All the food we had stocked was donated to other organisations that were able to carry on with their meal programmes. We also have begun sending food packages to a company that made deals with their employees, helping this way save the jobs and livelihoods of 17 families. We have also supported a group that gives 100 meals to our brothers and sisters in need every Sunday. As we are going through a period that demands so much solidarity from everyone, we have been trying to do our part, bearing in mind that we are all children of the same Father.