Martha Rios Guimarães: 

“My goal when I wrote this book was to share years
of experience working
with children”

The author of Comece pelo Comecinho (Begin from the Beginning) talks about her book and her work in the education
of children in Spiritism
 

	Martha Rios Guimarães (photo), better known as Martinha, is the author of the book Comece pelo Comecinho (Begin from the Beginning) published in Brazil by O Clarim. She lives in Sao Paulo and is the president of the Spiritist Centre Gabriel Ferreira, where she works with the education of children and young people. Martha has a degree in Journalism
and Public Relations and has been a Spiritist since 1986. In this interview, she talks about the book, her work and other issues:

Where does the idea for the book Comece pelo Comecinho (Begin from the Beginning) come from?

From the courses I have lectured since the early 2000’s. Many people who attended the courses came to me and said I should write a book to go further in some of the points discussed.

What has been the feedback?

Much beyond my expectations, to the point of it being considered now a guidebook for the introduction of Spiritism to young people. I get emails from Spiritist volunteers who say they have been putting the lessons taught in the book into practice with very good results. Many Spiritist Centres have study groups organised around the book.  This is much more I could envisage. After all, my only goal when I wrote Comece pelo Comecinho was to shared years of experience working with children. I also have a column in the Revista Internacional de Espiritismo.

Why do you like so much to work with children? What is the main reason?

There are many aspects, including:

-                     The ability young people have of understanding the principles of Spiritism;

-                     The honesty in which they assess our work with them, which helps all educators improve;

-                     The links of affection that come up when there is love from both sides. I often get drawings which are true “declarations of love”, real treasures that I really value.

In other words, we are never short of emotions and beautiful love stories.

Is there any particular anecdote or experience from your work with children that you would like to share with our readers?

They are so many that it is difficult to pick one. But I can tell a recent story, of a young five-year-old boy who came to us missing his grandfather, who had recently returned to the Spiritual World. He told me he would like to stay with me and make a drawing for his granddad. I was really moved when he handed over the sheet with the drawing, showing the buried body of his granddad and, above the coffin, floating on the air, the free Spirit of the old man. When something like that happens I realise how important it is to carry on with our work with children.

What is your assessment of the Spiritist Centres and their work with young people based on your travels across Brazil to publicise your book?

I think many groups have now begun to work systematically with the education of young people, especially raising awareness to environmental issues, which is great. But there is a lot yet to be done. I think Spiritist educators should encourage young people, using the Law of Progress and the Law of Society, to come up with their suggestions to have a greater, more positive impact on the society where they live. I also think that the traditional methods used by most Spiritist Centres in Brazil no longer meet the demands of young people. We need to update the tools we use and apply new methods in order to grab the attention of today’s children.

And what do you say about the challenges faced by parents these days?

There are many, indeed. But I believe the basic principles of Spiritism provide a great tool to help parents in the immensely difficult task of bringing up their children. That is why I believe Spiritist Centres should open their doors for debates, seminars etc. designed for and aimed at the parents. We should seek the assistance of professionals in several areas, such as health, psychology, education etc. to share valuable information and crucial experience with the parents.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I would just like to thank you for the opportunity of talking a bit about my work, which is, in fact, the work of whole team of volunteers.