A successful experience of post-pandemic adaptation

Grazielle Muzitano (above) Aline Braga (beside)

Aline Braga e Grazielle Muzitano, from Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, are our guests this week. They work as volunteers at the Amazonas Hércules Spiritist Centre (CEAH), focusing on the evangelisation of children and young people at the Canal do Anil neighbourhood, in the Jacarapeguá area of Rio. They have spoken to us about their experience during the coronavirus pandemic, when Spiritist Centres had to adapt to the new restrictions. They share here the lessons they have learned. 

Could you start by explaining how the evangelisation programme at Casa Espírita Amazonas Hércules worked before the pandemic?

Before the pandemic our programme for children and young people consisted of classes every Saturday afternoon. We had several forms divided according to their age groups. Our Spiritist Centre, the CEAH, is located in the middle of a very poor neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro. That means that, along with the classes that teach the children about Christianity and Spiritism, we also feel the need to carry out a social programme to help provide for the families, which includes a food bank. But the vast majority of the children who came to us couldn’t read or write properly, despite being at school age. So we devised strategies to include everyone, relying on games, music, theatre and other techniques. 

Initially, we didn’t have much contact with the parents, as most of the children arrived at the Spiritist Centre by themselves. But in the past few years, we started a campaign to collect data and information about the families so we could provide all the assistance required. 

How did you structure your online programme during the pandemic and what were the main challenges faced by the group?

When the pandemic began, we were forced to suspend the evangelisation classes for a while. We then came up with the idea of trying to do something online. We contacted other Spiritist Centres to find out how they were dealing with the situation. The main problem was the fact that most people in that poor community didn’t have access to the internet and, therefore, the idea of using platforms like Meet or Zoom was discarded. We decided instead to use WhatsApp, which is more accessible and widely available in Brazil. 

We planned the lessons for the first month and prepared all the material beforehand. The material was handed out to the families on the first Saturday of the month. We provided a password to the families who were registered with us. We used the phone numbers we had collected to communicate with the families, and more and more people asked us to get on the list. 

We started our online lessons every Saturday afternoon. We opened each lesson talking about the material we would use during the lesson, the message of the day and the opening prayer. The second part consisted of digital resources, like games and chats, to our programme. The third part was based on the material that the families had been handed out previously. At that stage, the families interacted a lot, posting pictures of the children while they carried out their tasks. And finally, we had the closing prayer and the registration, when the families posted a picture of the activity of the day with the name of the child and the family’s password. 

The biggest obstacle we faced was the fact that some families didn’t have any access to the internet. But they found ways around that, by getting more than one child together in one home. Also, we were short of people to teach, as many people refused to do it online. They were against it.

We knew we needed to continue planting the seeds of the Gospel of Jesus during the pandemic. We got together and we found ways to do it. Love and faith were indispensable tools in that process. 

How was the participation of the children in this new scheme?

All the children are very enthusiastic and their families have got more involved in the evangelisation process and the overall activities of the Spiritist Centre. During the pandemic, there was an increase in the number of families taking part and we then decided to begin hosting a monthly Gospel in the Home and storytelling activities. We also created new projects, such as Art in Family and Christmas Advent. 

How do you see the future of online activities in Spiritist Centres as the pandemic recedes?

Online activities are of great importance for the future of Spiritist Centres, as they give a push to our activities and enable us to offer a wide range of options for everyone. We believe that it's important to continue encouraging our normal activities with the presence of people at the Spiritist Centre, but we can’t give up on the online presence that we now have. 

Online tools are essential to strengthen the links between the Spiritist Centre and the families. And they work as very effective communication channels between all sides.