Since May 6, 2020, the group of youths from Pirassununga, São Paulo, is active in the daily delivery of packaged meals during lunchtime in the low rent communities affected by the pandemic.
This campaign of food donations is being developed by the network of SESI (Industry Social Services) schools in more than 100 cities of the State of São Paulo. The logistics of the donations is built with the collaboration of local networks of volunteers and partnerships with municipal social departments. In the case of Pirassununga, the NGOs Group of Volunteers to Combat Cancer (GVCC) and the Socio-Environmental Association for Seeds of Tomorrow (ASA2) were responsible for the distribution.
According to Renato Goshima, focal point of the Youth Group São Carlos Region, “the invitation to do this task caught the group by surprise, but the young people accepted the proposal with much joy.”
The task began to take on a different dimension, and now 900 packed lunches are being delivered in the Santa Fé neighborhood and 100 packed lunches in the Itupeva neighborhood, in the municipality of Pirassununga. A group of 7 to 8 people are also active in the São Pedro Church and work there from Monday to Saturday, until the last person in line is attended to.
Wanting to serve with maximum precautions, the group rigorously uses the necessary Individual Protection Equipment (IPE). Gloves, two masks, caps and a lot of alcohol gel are part of the daily work kit. The clothes, suitable for this type of activity, are washed daily and exposed to the sun, and there are special shoes which are not taken into the houses.
Goshima emphasizes that “the young people felt the grace of being able to serve in these very critical times, and in spite of the task being demanding, they did not hesitate to reorganize their routines so that they would be available to work every day. Personal priorities gradually became less important as the joy and willingness to do better each day expanded in their consciousness.”
