Easter task force makes a difference

On her knees around 4 p.m., Tatiane de Oliveira Araújo, 37, was simply desperate. Her prayer to God was the plea of someone who did not see a way out of her current situation. Fresh out of a seven-month incarceration in prison, Araújo was faced with a home without food and an ongoing pandemic.

On April 24, 2020, a date that she does not forget, the commerce of the small town of Engenheiro Coelho, in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil, was under COVID-19 restrictions. On that date, an Adventist Social Action volunteer, dentist Simone Di Giaimo, was the divine response to Araújo’s needs. The help was very welcome in answering Araújo’s prayers, as she had two children at home--the son of a cousin, and a pregnant daughter-in-law. 

The assistance offered was part of the many initiatives of the Easter Mutirão, created by the Seventh-day Adventist Church to reduce the suffering that thousands of people were experiencing due to the pandemic.

Di Giaimo and her husband, Roberto, have been delivering lunch and vegetables for some time, but in 2020, they had to step up their work, especially between March and June. On the day that Araújo prayed, the missionary couple had 120 lunch boxes ready to deliver. 

“Impressively, there were some left and it was exactly at this time that we arrived at Tati's house. She is a warrior,” comments the dentist. 

Araújo is thrilled when she remembers the meaning of that special day. She recognizes how she was blessed and today she participates in the efforts, helping others in situations like hers. 

“I didn't have anything to eat or a way to buy it,” she remembers.

The good news, among so much information that saddens in 2021, is the return of the campaign known as Easter Mutirão. Last year, Adventist Solidarity Action work in South America was responsible for 1,621,436 people served, with 4 million kilos (8.8 million pounds) of food donated. Much of this assistance is a direct result of the voluntary solidarity organization which helped people like Araújo.

The new edition of the Easter Mutirão has a very simple logic. 

“With Easter approaching, and in the face of a pandemic with devastating effects, the best gift we can give to the vulnerable and those in need is food, clothing, blood donation, support visits, and prayers,” explains South American pastor Herbert Boger Jr., coordinator.

The established goal is, on average, 5 kilos (11 pounds) of food donated by each person involved in the campaign. Boger also comments that the deadline for the end of this campaign has generally been about 20 days after Easter, which, in 2021, is April 24.

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site