Nilton Sérgio Zebrak: 

“There is always a way of doing more and doing
a better job”

The president of the dynamic charity OAM – Obreiros do Amor e Misericórdia – in the Brazilian town of Embu das Artes talks about the origin and the amazing aid work carried out by the group
 

	Nilton Sérgio Zebrak (photo) is a doctor, paediatrician, who has lived since 1976 in the town of Embu das Artes, in São Paulo state. He became a Spiritist in 2003 and has for several years been the president of the well-known Brazilian Spiritist group OAM, Obreiros do Amor e Misericórdia (Workers of Love and Mercy). Thousands of people
who come to the group every year with depression, mental health issues and many other problems find there precious spiritual counselling and help. In this interview, he talks about the amazing work carried out by OAM.

How did you become a Spiritist? 

It was when I met Carla, after getting divorced. I was so glad that I could finally understand the real meaning of religion, philosophy and human behaviour through science. It was fantastic to find out that faith must be reasoned, but also that it is pure logic and can be explained by quantum physics. I discovered Jesus, the scientist, with his moral posture and his teachings and discovered that all that can and must have a huge impact on the development of the planet and its inhabitants. 

And how was OAM created? 

I met Dr Chan, the Spirit, in the first day I set foot in a Spiritist Centre. Ten years later I still get emotional about it. He came to me in one occasion when I took Carla for Spiritual treatment. I had already worked as a volunteer in three Spiritist Centres when Dr Chan asked me to set up a healing centre, to heal the body, the soul and the mind. He said the centre should be in the town of Embu das Artes, in Greater São Paulo. As usual, I did as he told me! OAM, or Obreiros, was founded four years ago. Since then we have attended nearly 100,000 people. We have some 15,000 registered patients. 

Which of the problems you have dealt with draws your attention the most? 

What really amazes me is the number of people who come to us suffering from depression, anxiety, melancholy and loneliness. About 30% of the cases we treat are connected somehow to behavioural or mental problems. 

How has Spiritism helped people deal or treat the emotional problems of people these days? 

I think we have made a big step in using Spirituality and religiosity to understand and treat mental problems. But we can and must do a lot more. We should not see the Teachings we have embraced as a panacea, the cure for all illnesses. It should not be seen either as another Great Revelation. We should instead work alongside brothers and sisters of other religions to work for individual and global peace. That is the only way to achieve happiness for all. Once again, I must say that Jesus was amazing, the Master of all masters and prophets who have lived on earth: Love yourself and love others; that is the magic recipe. Do to others as you would have them do to you. Fantastic and proactive. 

What is the main reason for anxiety for those who come to you your group looking for help? 

Human beings want attention, they want to be heard. But in the technologic, or rather, techno-illogical world we live, that does not happen. People in the same Spiritist Group often communicate with each other mainly via SMS, email, mobile, each one on their TV screen, computer. Worse than that, each one is living inside their own room, with company but lonely, isolated in their little world. Thousands of people like that arrive at the OAM with a history of disappointments, disillusionments and, worse, incapable of loving themselves. They come to us expecting us to solve their problems and cure them. But we are not responsible for the cause or effect of their illnesses. We then explain that they must go through an inner reform, that we are all responsible for what happens to us, that we are at the same time the executioners and the co-creators. That is when things begin to change. But it is not an easy process. 

As a doctor and a Spiritist, why do we have so many mental health problems these days? 

I believe powerful antidepressants are not the solution in those cases. It is up to each one of us. We, doctors, are guilty to a certain extent, as we learn and accept that the illnesses of the mind must be treated with medication. No one teaches us that there is a Spirit, a Perispirit (the Spiritual body) and the Nervous Central System is not an independent organ, it simply reflects and transmits what it receives. No one has taught us that the diseases come from within, following divine law and that they are the outcome of the choices we have made in our Spiritual Life and in our material life, on earth. We must destroy the paradigms that have paralysed Hippocratic Medicine and ended up in the Medicine of corporations, powerful economic corporations that follow their animal instincts without any care for human beings, merely following financial and economic guidelines. 

How many people you treat every month at OAM and how do you organise the work? 

We attend some 5,000 people per month, three days a week. On Saturdays, we attend about 600 people. Every patient is registered. We have a system that has allowed great efficiency, attending a great number of people but with good quality. We always highlight the people must change their ethics and their moral principles, we give them healing, we talk about the Gospel in the Home, we give them Spiritual counselling etc. Those who come to us know that we will be doing our best and that every week we try to improve a little bit. But there is always a way of doing more and doing a better job. We also help the homeless in five municipalities, handing out 1,000 meals every week. We have a home for 6 homeless people. In 2013 we handed out 6,400 blankets and tonnes of clothes for people in need. We also have a partnership with seven homes for the elderly. We produce geriatric nappies and give money for their meals and we have a number of other social projects in São Paulo state. The work here never ends, but that is what keeps our group alive! That is what keeps us going, what makes us happy and becomes our daily antidote against selfishness, vanity and pride. Our motto is: Charity is the Word! But I must say that I am not in charge of this project. Our Master Jesus is the true leader here. We all must work hard, we all must study, but we can neglect the love and the happiness when it comes to helping other people.