Starting next year, the House of Light on the Hill, affiliated with the Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Federation, will renew the way it helps the children of poor families of Carmo da Cachoeira in its headquarters, in Minas Gerais. The idea is to work values and virtues for daily life, in a more personalized way. For this, a series of workshops for children are being planned, which will be offered to small groups of up to seven participants, selected by age and common interests.

The innovations were presented during a meeting of children and youths that took place on December 3, in the House of Light on the Hill. 50 children of Bom Retiro, in Carmo da Cachoeira city participated, with whom the philanthropic institution has been working for three years.

The event began at 10 a.m. with the presentation of a tale called “The flower pot empty”, presented with puppets, which transmits as a teaching the importance of living the values of honesty and of purity of hear.

Then those present were grouped according to their interests, to participate in one of five workshops that were conducted in an experimental way. From 2017 on, will be offered workshops on conscious nutrition, work with nature (gardening, vegetable gardens), painting, manual activities (kirigami, origami and making of toys) and music. In the meeting of Dec 3, workshops of bakery, gardening, painting, kirigami and music were conducted.

Greehouse

“We see the children as sedes of a new life, and we want to help the ones who live in Bom Retiro so that, as seeds, they do not fall on arid soil. The majority spends long hours on the streets, exposing themselves to all kinds of dangers”, commented the coordinator of the acitivities with the child and youth segment, sister Inmaculada, of the Grace Mercy Order.

“The intention is to work with greater intensity the transmission of spiritual values, and help them discover their inner potential, discover the best they have to share”, continued the nun.

According to her explanations, the House of Light on the Hill would be developing, with volunteers, one or two workshops a day, in morning and afternoon hours, with maximum duration of two hours, from Monday thru Saturday. “At the moment, we receive minors from 3 to 15 years of age. It will be important for them to keep a certain discipline and respect agreements, so that it is possible to develop an educational process”, said sister Inmaculada.

Purity and humility

About the form of relating to the children, the spiritualist philosopher José Trigueirinho, mentor of the House of Light on the Hill, affirms that to treat them, it is necessary purity and humility. “Purity means to want to learn, before wanting to teach them anything”. He adds that the children are more ready than they appear, and that they just do not show what they know because they do not find a propitious environment, neither at home nor at school. “The adult that approaches a child aiming at learning will be able to hear things they do not even imagine. To help them, they must ask questions about their origin in Creation, whence they come, where they were before being born, with whom they were, how people live there. These questions stimulate the establishment of a connection with their origin, and then, when they have some doubt, they will be able to ask there and not here”. Additional information can be obtained in the following CDs by Trigueirinho: “Conversas especiais nº 72– Pureza e humildade ao lidar com crianças” (Special Talks 72- Purity and humility in dealing with children) and  “Assuntos de todos– Aprendendo com as crianças” (Subjects of all- Learning with children), available at Irdin Editora.