To alleviate the cold faced by the homeless during this period of low temperatures in Santa Catarina, sixth-year students from the Joinville Adventist School (Costa e Silva unit) served breakfast at Praça da Bandeira, in downtown Joinville, the morning of July 9th.

In addition to homeless people, other people who passed through the square also benefited from the solidarity gesture. The city's main bus terminal (Terminal Central) is located on-site. For this reason, the region is frequented by workers who depend on public transport.

The gratitude of the serviced 

In all, forty blankets and approximately 200 kits with bread, cakes, fruits, and hot chocolate were served. A cleaning service employee at the terminal, Eliane Ribeiro, was one of the people served. “It is very gratifying to see a gesture of solidarity like this, especially [during] this time of the pandemic. Seeing these children with an open heart [and] doing charity [work] is [invaluable]. I really appreciate everyone. Breakfast arrived right on time!”, said Eliane.

General Services Assistant, Suele Coelho de Matos, also received the students' breakfast kit. She congratulated them on their attitude and revealed that she lived on the streets for five years so she understands well the difficulties of the homeless. “It's a wonderful act! I [have] never seen children... serving breakfast. I was [so] delighted”, highlights Suele.

Awakening Solidarity 

According to the School's Director, Telma Lavrini, the mobilization seeks to awaken a sense of solidarity and citizenship in the students. The educator also explains that the initiative is part of the “Amo Ser Solidário” project, promoted by the Adventist Education Network whose purpose is to encourage students to engage in initiatives to help others.

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