Karina
Kasemodel de Araújo
Rafaelli:
“We are happy we can
begin a new phase”
The
Spiritist leader from
Brazil´s São Paulo state
talks about the recently
opened facilities at the
Amor e Paz Spiritist
Centre (Love and Peace)
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Karina Kasemodel de
Araújo Rafaelli (photo)
became a Spiritist in
1997. She is a medical
doctor, specialised in
image and ultrasound
diagnosing. She was born
in the city of Sorocaba
and lives in Marília, in
São Paulo state. In this
interview she talks
about her work at the
Amor e Paz Spiritist
Centre, which has just
inaugurated its new
facilities, and the
group’s remarkable
history:
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Who founded Amor e Paz
and when? |
It was founded on August
13th 1938 by
Eloy Alves da Silva,
José Pollon, Joaquim
Pedro de Oliveira,
Jovina Rocha, Flávio
Antonio da Rocha, João
Polon Maria and Ignácio
de Loyola Torres.
It used to be called
“Amantes da Pobreza”
(“Poverty Admirers”) but
in 2008 we unanimously
decided to change it to
Amor e Paz.
When the group was
founded, its main aim
was to help the children
in need. Why and how did
that change?
It was not really in the
group’s foundation. It
was in the 1960s, when a
Spirit named Cristina
communicated through a
medium in our group. She
was disturbed and used
to obsess some of our
workers. Cristina had
been involved in
abortions. After
receiving our guidance
and making a decision to
change, she suggested
that we set up a special
group to help children.
Part of the project was
to raise funds and build
a children’s nursery,
which was inaugurated in
1966. But it was subject
to compulsory purchase
by the municipality in
1997. It continues to
work as a crèche, but it
is no longer linked to
our group. However, it
is called Mother
Cristina and carries on
with its original
purpose, of helping the
children.
You have recently moved
to your new, bigger
facilities…
With the money we
received from the local
authorities, we realised
that we would finally be
able to expand and build
bigger facilities. We
found a plot of land in
the same neighbourhood
and did all the building
work in about eight
months. In our old
place, we improved our
special department to
help low income pregnant
women. That is something
that began with the
founders of our group
and we have kept going.
The project for our new
home has been done by
Donizete Pinheiro, who
used to come to our
meetings. There are many
rooms for different
purposes, a library, air
conditioning, Internet
access and a multimedia
projector, known here as
data-show.
With your bigger
facilities, what changes
in your schedule of
activities?
We will keep the study
group and courses as
they are, the mediumship
groups, the healing and
the lectures and talks.
What changes is the fact
that we will be able to
run several activities
at the same time. In our
old place, we only had
one room for meetings or
courses and another one
for healing.
You have a new space
dedicated to the
children. Tell us about
that project.
It is a project of love,
really, to welcome the
children and make them
feel at home. We are
running one-year courses
for teachers who will
work with children and
teenagers, aged 3 to 14.
We are also setting up a
youth group from 2014
and we have been
encouraging the pregnant
women to join our
parents’ group too.
Is there anything else
you would like to add?
We are vary happy we can
begin a new phase and
help expand this work,
which is really inspired
by Jesus. We hope to be
contributing to
disseminate the
comforting message of
Spiritism in a more
comfortable and modern
environment. I believe
Spiritism is worth all
the effort.
