Rubens de Castro Silva (photo), a journalist and press assistant, was born and brought up in the city of Uberlândia, in the state of Minas Gerais. He is a member of the Spiritist Group Vinha de Luz, where he is in charge of one of the weekly public meetings and mediumship groups. Rubens was a founder member of Radio Fraternidade, which broadcast through the Internet 24 hours a day.  Tell us about Radio Fraternity. How do you access it? Only through the Internet?  Yes, we use the global computer

network. You can access our web radio station on the address: www.radiofraternidade.com.br.   Where did the idea come from?

The two regular programmes we broadcast on a commercial radio in Uberlândia were discontinued in 2008, after 10 years on air. Some time later I woke up with an idea, to set up a web radio station. Not only that, I had it all clear in my mind, including the name for the new station. It should be Radio Fraternidade. I felt like I had just come back from a meeting in the Spiritual World. Then I thought to myself: how do you set up a web radio? It was a big challenge. Once I realised that the name was available, we registered it as soon as we could. That was in December 2008. We struggled a lot until we found the way. We were running pilots for a month and a half and went on air officially for the first time, with a 24/7 schedule on February 1^st 2009. 

What are your operating costs? Where do you get the money from? 

The operating costs of a radio on the Internet are very low. I would say, based on our experience, that you need a live Internet point in the radio studio where the programmes are broadcast from; you need a streaming provider; the website host; people to produce the webpage; microphones and the mixing desk, which can be a pretty basic one. That’s about it. For the live broadcasts, you need 3G Internet and a notebook or laptop. Many friends volunteered to help in the beginning. We have now newsreaders who are volunteers, who do everything, including recording promos, for free. That is a big help, especially when you think that we were so few in the early days. As for costs, we share them among those who are part of the team. Each one gives what they can. The big help we have asked everyone really is to publicise the radio and made its existence known to the wider public. 

What are the main obstacles when it comes to keeping a regular radio schedule? 

Putting a radio on air 24 hours a day, seven days a week, demands very hard work. I would say the early days were quite tough, especially as we had to master the technical resources. Added to that, we had the problem of shaping the schedule, deciding what goes on when. It is a job that cost us many nights and many days of leave. We now have contributors who help us from all over the world. We have friends who record their own pieces, entire programmes, in their own computers and then send them to us. I think the major challenge is to come about this job with the rigour and discipline demanded from all of us from the Spiritist Doctrine. In that aspect, it is just like the volunteer work – assistance, healing etc. – we carry out in Spiritist Centres. I would say love is the essence when it comes to any job like that. 

Do you get any feedback you get from listeners? 

We get huge feedback. One comment that touched me in particular was that from a listener who, from the other side of the world, in Japan, wrote to say that he heard the programme from his i-phone. In other words, he listens the radio on his mobile as he commutes to work. Can you imagine that? That is simply fantastic. There is another case, a message we received just before the radio’s second anniversary, last January. We were going through a difficult patch, struggling with some technical issues and we received an email that shows that our words go much beyond the Brazilian borders. It said: “Hello, Radio Fraternity. I am Brazilian, 73 and lived in Sweden for 33 years. I lost my husband three years ago and moved to Portugal. I feel now very ill and sad. But I thank God, who allowed me to enjoy the company of Radio Fraternidade. For that, I am greatly thankful.” These words were very important, as they arrived in a very delicate time for us. 

So you have an audience as well as contributors abroad too? 

Yes, we have contacts in many countries. In Switzerland friends of ours embraced the cause and have helped us, reporting the work of fellow Spiritists in the so-called Old World. Many access and interact with us from Portugal too. We have people accessing our web radio from the US, Canada, China, Japan, Germany, Australia, Italy, Greece, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina etc. People from more than 80 countries have already clicked on our page. I would like to say that we are indeed open and accessible to all our fellow Spiritists around the world to get in touch and interact with us. Our aim is to help publicize the work being done by Spiritists in all those countries. So please get in touch. 

What would you say are the most positive results you got? 

The positive result we get is knowing that we take comfort to our listeners. I often say that this is not a job done by our team or me. It’s a job done, above all, by Jesus. We need to improve, we are full of imperfections and we put ourselves at His disposal to add to the big effort and, through this small and simple initiative, disseminate the enlightenment provided by the Spiritist Doctrine. The word FRATERNITY should be used to united different people and disseminate the Good News, helping build a better world. We will only achieve that, a better world for all, through the inner transformation in each one of us.  

What are your plans for the future? 

We are planning to have more live transmissions scheduled and to boost the interaction with our listeners. Of course our dream would be to have the Web Radio Fraternity also broadcast on MW or FM too, reaching the homes of those who don’t have access to the Internet. But that would cost too much. Another project we have is to have more frequent outside broadcasts, from events, from Spiritist gatherings, seminars, lectures etc. We’ve had several such experiences, all of them very positive, using 3G Internet. It’s something great. We were live earlier this year, during the Brazilian carnival holidays, broadcasting form the 27^th Spiritist Conference from the State of Goiás.  

What else would you like to add? 

I would say that choosing Good and working for Good causes is what is important to us all. Many people contact us asking for advice on how to set up a web radio. I am always available to help. When it comes to spreading the Good News, we, in the Spiritist Movement, are not at all competitors. We need to unite and leave individualities behind. In these times we’re going through, times of change, we must bear in mind that we are all tools for a common goal, each one of us reaching the wider public. We have competitors in the broadcasting market place. But not here! In the Spiritist Movement, we are all partners. The cause of Jesus is much more important than anything else. 

Your final words, please. 

We often quote in Radio Fraternidade the saying by the spirit, Emmanuel: “The best thing we can do on behalf of the Spiritist Doctrine is to disseminate it.” I believe that is what we need to do; obviously, with the responsibility and rigour the cause demands. I would say to our friends reading this interview that we should embrace the cause of Christ and try to live according to his teachings, enlightened by the Core Works of Allan Kardec. Anyone who chooses Good will need discipline, abnegation, will power and love in everything they do.