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Mário de Araújo
(photo)
became a
Spiritist when
he was a
teenager in the
city of Limeira.
He never looked
back, and is now
the president of
a local
Spiritist
Centre,
Sociedade
Limeirensa de
Estudos
Espíritas. Mário
de Araújo, a
business manager
with MBA at the
prestigious
Getúlio Vargas
Foundation,
talks in this
interview about
the new
institution set
up to help
mothers
abandoned by
their partners.
Tell us a bit
more about the
aims of Lar Uma
Nova Esperança
(A New Hope).
It is a
non-profit
organisation
created to
support single
mothers. Women,
unlike
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men, do all they
can to avoid
abandoning their
children and
will only take
such extreme
measures when
they realised
they won’t be
able to support
them. This new
organisation
will work with
families,
restoring the
self-esteem of
each of them,
lost in many
cases due to
extreme poverty
or violence. Our
main aim is to
work towards
rebuilding
families and
supporting the
development of
children and
teenagers. |
When was it
founded?
The official
foundation date
is July 28th
2010, when we
began the
bureaucratic
procedures for
the creation of
the
organisation.
What are its
aims for the
future?
Our mission is
to embrace and
support single
mothers. Our
vision is to
promote whole
development,
taking into
account the
physical,
intellectual,
moral and social
aspects of the
families who
come to live
with us. The
ultimate goals
is to get them
back into
society as fully
functioning
citizens, aware
of their duties
as well as
rights.
Who had the
original idea?
Where did it
come from?
I’ll use an IT
term, as that is
my area of
expertise: we’re
“cutting and
pasting” the
Spiritist Home
Espiridião Prado,
founded 45 years
ago in the city
of Rio Claro,
also in the
state of São
Paulo. That’s
our inspiration.
Their website is
http://www.esperidiaoprado.com.br.
At what stage is
the building
work for the
organisation?
How are you
getting the
funds to carry
out the work?
We have our own
address, a plot
of land (4,500
sq m) donated by
a young local
businessman who
asked for his
name not be
publicised. We
have already
built the wall
around the plot
and we have
cleared the
land. We are now
working on the
foundations. We
are getting
donations from
people in the
community, good
people and local
companies. We
need 400,000
reais (about
200,000 dollars)
to finish the
building, a
floor space of
about 1,400 sq
m.
What are the
main obstacles
you’ve faced so
far?
At the moment,
the lack of
money for
building. We
have appealed to
all major
religious
institutions in
the city to
joins us, as the
home will not be
an exclusively
Spiritist
organisation, it
will benefit
all. We do need
more resources
to carry on.
Tell us a bit
more about what
you have planned
for the area.
Once the
building work is
done, we will
have 10 houses,
with two rooms
each, living
room, kitchen,
bathroom and a
little garden.
The houses will
be fully
furnished and
will be built
around an
internal patio.
There will be
medical
assistance for
all the children
and a medical
team, including
psychologists,
will also work
on their eating
habits, personal
hygiene etc. The
houses are
planned so that
families are
able to live
with comfort and
dignity. The
families will
live next to
each other,
learning to
respect the
rights of each
other and
practicing the
positive side of
community live,
including
sharing
experiences.
What is the
website for
those who want
to get more
information?
www.umanovaesperança.bom.br.
You’ll be able
to find all the
necessary
information
there, as well
as contacts for
those in charge
and partner
companies.
