Social work is one of the main means that Arinda uses to benefit people (Photo Credit: Filipe Adrian)

South America

Retiree descends groceries by rope to help needy people

Arinda Silva, 76, is isolated and that's why she found an unusual way to continue helping despite the pandemic

Brazil | Leonardo Saimon

Arinda Silva, 76, found an unusual way to continue expressing care for others, even while she is confined. The capixaba, born in Espírito Santo, Brazil, and a resident of Grande Vitória, improvised a rope to collect supplies and lower donations. The idea was born out of the retiree's need to help people who come to her asking for help. According to Silva, the search for food has increased with the pandemic.

The numbers corroborate Silva’s perception. The average unemployment rate in 2020 was a record in 20 states in the country, following the national average, which increased from 11.9 percent in 2019 to 13.5 percent last year, the highest in the historical series of the National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD), which started in 2012.

“People call me on the phone and say they have donations,” Silva says. “Others get in touch needing help. So I use this improvised rope to pick up or drop the supplies.” 

Silva is not new to volunteering to help others; for nearly 20 years, the retiree worked at Adventist Solidary Action (ASA), a department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (IASD) aimed at helping the community with groceries.

In addition to supplies, Silva also regularly bakes loaves of bread and goes to the porch of the house to watch for anyone in need passing by. 

“I shout from up here: 'Hey, do you want some bread?' If the person accepts, I lower the bread to them,” she explains.

And if someone doesn't need to go to Silva asking for her famous bread, she gives others loaves in exchange for foods like sugar, oil, rice, or beans, and reserves the proceeds collected to donate later. 

"I like to help so that when I am no longer here, others continue," she points out.

On March 13, Silva received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and looks forward to receiving the second in mid-April. 

“The motivation I feel comes from God,” Silva states. “It allows me to see the need that people have, so I do what I can to continue this work.” 

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

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