Intense cold and icy winds. A combination that can be fatal for those who do not have a shelter. The low temperatures of the past few days in Paranagua, Brazil, have increased the vulnerability of homeless people. It was while thinking about them that volunteers created the Winter Friendly Campaign. The initiative came with a group of students from Colégio Adventista de Paranaguá , in the interior of Paraná, which participated in the Calebe Mission project and joined forces with young people from the city's central Adventist church.
In all , about 100 meals were delivered in addition to literature and clothing. In collaboration, the volunteers and church members utilized their social networks to drive a campaign to collect the donations they then distributed during this event.
According to Lucas Serain, the pastor who led the campaign, it was gratifying to see the smiles of those who received the gesture of affection.
“There are many homeless people,” Serain says. “Many, everywhere. Many people who lost their jobs because of the pandemic couldn’t afford their rent and ended up going to the streets. So this whole social and economic factor moved us to take this action.”
Hope for those who have nothing
“What struck me were the hopeless phrases we heard,” recalls Victor Gondro, youth leader of the Adventist church in Paranaguá. “Everyone there is aimless, just waiting for help, but we hope that through the book we gave them they will find Jesus and, thus, a real reason to live.”
The book is called A Maior Esperança , written by pastors Luís Gonçalves, director of evangelism at the Adventist South American headquarters, and Diogo Cavalcanti, editor of books at Casa Publadora Brasileira. The 80-page work details the second coming of Christ.
According to Roseli dos Santos, coordinator of the Specialized Reference Center for Street Population (POP Center) of the municipality, City Hall is taking measures to serve and shelter people who are currently houseless, but not all agree to go to the shelter.
“There are some individuals who, for various reasons, choose to stay on the street,” she explains. “We cannot help these individuals, and so this campaign by young people is important because it is a way we can still offer help to people who do not want to join us at the shelter.”
She also highlights the importance of the help received at the POP Center. Part of the soups and donations were delivered on-site and made a difference on the cold night of the 22nd of August.
“We had already received blankets, but everything that arrives is welcome,” dos Santos points out. “At the moment, we have an average of 33 people being served. In that extreme cold the number being served reached 42.”
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site