The Itupeva district, 25 km (15 miles) from the center of Pirassununga, is a rural area where many socially vulnerable families live. It is one of the places in which the Pirassununga Light-Network, affiliated with the Fraternity –  International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF), provides assistance in countless ways.

The neighborhood is deprived of basic services, such as a health center and school. The distance and the lack of transportation also complicate everyone’s daily life. A few people who can move around work in construction, but the vast majority work in sugar cane and orange harvesting.

The donation of food baskets is routine on a monthly basis; when needed, the Light-Network group also provides clothing, shoes, and blankets, and even supplies hoses and water pumps to supply water to vegetable gardens and crops.

On some Sundays, the visits to the community involve treats with soft drinks and cakes that delight children, young people, and adults alike.

Specific requests that come in constantly are also met, such as the case of a lady with leukemia whose eleven-year-old son has diabetes, who, in addition to the basic food basket, also receives the medication and supplements prescribed by the doctor.

Besides keeping all these activities going throughout 2020, the 14 members of Pirassununga Light-Network, together with some supporters and family members, have organized a toy collection to be distributed at Christmas.

Gestures of care and attention

The group itself was in charge of organizing the whole event, from registering the families, to making the invitations and handing the gifts out, as reported by one of the Light-Network members, Walace: “The families and especially the children awaited this day with great expectation, because each family received an invitation with a date and time.”

In all, 21 families were registered, totaling 62 children and young people. All of them received the presents in their homes, and “the parents were extremely happy and thankful that their children were remembered and that they got the presents which were bought according to their respective ages,” Walace explained.

Rede-Luz em Pirassununga

Pirassununga Light-Network considered every  small detail that showed a lot of dedication and care for the members of this community. An example of this was the Christmas card they created for each family, with the names of all family members.

According to Walace, there were many expressions of gratitude: “These mothers confessed, with great emotion, that this surprising gesture was something they would never forget, since they didn’t expect their children to receive a Christmas present.

Living Charity

The practice of charity, with the intention of not only feeding the body of those who suffer, but of fostering a communion of hearts, is the basis of the teaching proposed by José Trigueirinho Netto, founder of the Humanitarian Fraternity (FIHF), who stated: “Charity in the conscience brings us closer to those who suffer and leads us to live in fraternity, in a process of union that is increasingly wider.”

This teaching was put into practice by Pirassununga Light-Network group, which even in a pandemic year full of difficulties for everyone, was capable of connecting with the most needy. By giving their hearts, they put real fraternity into practice.

Learn more about Light-Network actions.