|
Neusa Maria Lodi
Ugattis (photo)
was born in the
state of Sao
Paulo, in the
town of Vargen
Grande do Sul,
but was brought
up in the
southern state
of Rio Grande do
Sul. She is a
lawyer in the
town of Santa
Rita do Passa
Quatro. She is
also the
president of the
Amor e Caridade
Spiritist
Centre, which
has a number of
social
projects.
O Consolador: Do
you come from a
spiritist
family?
Yes, my
grandfather on
my mother´s side
was for many
years in the
board of
directors of the
same Spiritist
Centre I
|
|
work with today.
From a very
early age I
began to take
part in the
activities of
the group.
O Consolador:
How did your
family decide to
move to the
south of Brazil?
|
My father bought
a petrol station
in the area and
transferred the
family to Santa
Rita do Passa
Quatro.
O Consolador:
How many
Spiritist
Centres are
there in the
town?
Only one,
despite having
the town having
a population of
30 thousand
people.
O Consolador:
How is the
Spiritist
Movement in the
town?
We´ve been
trying to give
it a buzz, with
a number of
initiatives,
like inviting
spiritist
speakers from
other towns and
cities and going
over to visit
them too.
O Consolador:
Tell us about
the project you
have –
Condomínio João
Lázaro – to help
low income
families.
We have a loan
for use scheme
for 37 families,
who are allowed
to use the
houses for two
years, while
they look for a
way of
supporting
themselves. In
those two years,
we provide
courses on
catering,
computing and
other areas, to
help them find a
job. We also
provide free
meals on
Saturdays for
those families,
as well as
childcare and
evangelisation
for their
children.
O Consolador:
How about your
home for the
elderly?
Yes, we have a
home to help the
aged till the
end of their
lives. They live
with us and are
looked after,
managing to live
a decent live
despite being
without the
immediate
assistance of
their families.
O Consolador:
What other
activities and
services do you
provide?
We have a group
working with
pregnant women,
providing the
mums-to- with
information on
breast feeding,
on baby care and
birth control.
Those women be –
many of them
teenagers from
dysfunctional
families – come
and spend the
whole day with
us.
O Consolador: Do
you tell them
about the
educational
aspects of the
Spiritist
Doctrine?
Yes, we have
been running for
twenty years a
course for
pregnant women
on the
educational
aspects of
Spiritism. The
idea of this
course came from
the great
Brazilian
medium, Chico
Xavier.
O Consolador:
Tell us more
about that.
I don´t remember
exactly when,
but one of our
former
colleagues here,
Ada Resende Goal
da Cunha, now
disincarnated,
went to the city
of Uberaba
during a period
of despair in
her life, after
the death of her
son. Chico
Xavier met her
and suggested
that she began
running a course
for pregnant
women. We now
want to get more
people in the
community to
benefit from
those services.
We are planning
to go to local
hospitals and
schools to raise
awareness to our
project.
O Consolador:
For many decades
now you have
carried out a
beautiful job,
of love and
compassion to
others. What
keeps you going
when you face so
many
difficulties?
We have the
conscience; we
know that we are
working with
Christ. Our aim
is to be
charitable, to
help others, and
we feel we are
following the
steps of those
who were moved
by those same
ideals and began
those projects
decades ago. We
must bear in
mind that our
work today
wouldn´t be
possible without
the first steps
of those who
were here in the
past.
O Consolador:
You also have a
beautiful work
with young
people. And when
we talk about
young people
these days, we
have to mention
drugs, which are
available
everywhere. What
can Spiritism do
about that?
One way of
tackling that
problem is
attracting young
people to
Spiritist
Centres. We
should make sure
they find an
environment they
can relate to,
appropriate to
their age, with
good quality
music, with an
element of fun
and
entertainment,
where they can
feel at home.
Our experience
with young
people says they
enjoy voluntary
work in the
community and
that is what we
try to
encourage. Not
only young
people will
learn new skills
and will be
doing something
good, but they
will also be
kept away from
drugs on their
daily lives.
O Consolador:
You work as a
family lawyer,
dealing with
bitter
conflicts,
divorce. All
relations within
families involve
feelings, a
difficult area,
still, for us,
human beings. In
which way being
a spiritist
helps you in
your profession?
Spiritism has
taught me to
humanise
relationships,
to see the human
aspect in them.
Once we manage
to humanise our
legal system, we
will be able to
achieve some
degree of
emotional
balance.
Spiritism has
taught me that
the family is
the base, and
that is
something I
discuss with my
clients, with
good results so
far. I let
everyone know,
especially the
couples, about
the lectures we
have in our
Spiritist
Centre, what is
coming up. In
other words, I
talk to them
openly about the
Spiritist
Doctrine and
that has helped
me finding a
solution to many
conflicts.
O Consolador:
What are your
final thoughts?
I would like to
thank you for
the opportunity,
for this
interview, and I
pray to Jesus to
make us strong
and encourage us
to carry on
working in his
field.