Social action to show that a better world is possible
Social action to show that a better world is possible
An action that will help ensure quality healthcare for thousands of people, including indigenous communities located in remote areas of Brazil. The donation, made by the Central Geral do Dízimo PRÓ-VIDA (General Center for the Tithe PRÓ-VIDA, CGD-PV) and its affiliates, was formalized in a ceremony on September 8, 2024, benefiting three charitable institutions that are leaders in their field. The event took place at the PRÓ-VIDA Headquarters in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.
Among the donated items was a mobile healthcare unit to serve residents in the regions of the lower Xingu, Xavantes, and southern Rondônia, a Brazilian area where 27,000 indigenous people live. The work is carried out by the Associação Médicos da Floresta, which works with volunteers who see an average of 10,000 patients and perform 500 surgeries annually for indigenous peoples.
“(…) These places where we proposed to work, to bring some of our knowledge, our labor force, are in dire, extreme need (…) it’s very difficult for us to expand our activities and bring this kind of assistance to more people. (…) we wanted a fully equipped mobile unit to provide these services, which will have such an impact on people who really need it; it’s a dream you are helping us fulfill,” said Celso Takashi Nakano, founder and president of the Associação Médicos da Floresta, from the city of São Paulo, Brazil.
The donated items will also help the São João de Deus Healthcare Complex, operated by the Fundação Geral Corrêa, in the city of Divinópolis (state of Minas Gerais, Brazil) expand its services. Known as the Hospital of Hope, the complex serves as a reference for 172 municipalities in the Midwest of the state, with an average of 1,000 patients seen and 3,000 procedures performed daily, more than 80% of which come from the SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde – Brazil’s public healthcare system managed by the federal government).
“For us, it’s a great honor to be here receiving such a significant donation that will bring comfort and better care to countless patients,” said André Waller, CEO of the Fundação Geral Corrêa, from the city of Divinópolis.
To receive donations, institutions undergo a rigorous analysis process conducted by the CGD-PV team, and are only benefited if they prove their integrity and transparency. This aspect was praised as a “certification” by Ricardo Anderson Ribeiro, president of the Fundação Hospital Regional do Câncer, in the city of Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, Brazil. “I want to thank (…) the Central Geral do Dízimo for this certification because only serious charitable institutions receive donations, so you have no idea how much good you are doing with this mammography machine. We have a huge waiting list in our region, with over ten thousand waiting,” he said.
The donated items were purchased with resources from anonymous, spontaneous, and voluntary contributions, as highlighted by CGD-PV representative Felipe Salgado. These donations add to over 13,000 donations, including the construction of 15 vocational schools, already made by the Tithe Centers over 44 years of history.
“And do you know why we do all this? (…) We want our joint action, the force of our union, to be recognized not by the donations made, not by the amounts spent on each of these donations, this is not why we do this. (…) What we are doing here today is setting an example for the left hand to learn from the example of the right hand, (…) an example that a much better world is possible, it is real, and is available to us today, right now, because it depends only on the courage and action of each one of us,” said Felipe, emphasizing the simplicity of the solution for a peaceful world: “those who have, give to those who don’t,” he said, using words of Dr. Celso Charuri.
Dr. Celso Charuri was the conceiver and founder of PRÓ-VIDA and the CGD-PV. Giving himself as an example, he taught that it is possible for people, despite all their differences, to live together in harmony. For him, the solution lies in the expansion of consciousness, a process that occurs through mind development and allows each individual to know themselves so that, one day, they can recognize that they are an integral part of a whole, and that their actions have significance and can transform the environment… starting with the environment within each one.
