Nélli Bócca Lourenço Machado (photo) was born in Birigui, in the state of São Paulo, and lives now in the city of Bauru. She is a professional nutritionist. As a spiritist and coordinator of the youth movement, she has been travelling the state of São Paulo to encourage the study of the doctrine codified by Allan Kardec.   O Consolador: How did you find out about Spiritism?  I was born in a spiritist family.  O Consolador: What’s your formal role in the Spiritist Federation?

I’m a member of the Doctrine Committee of the USE in São Paulo. And I was for many years monitor at a spiritist centre (CEAC) in the city of Bauru.

O Consolador: For a number of years you’ve been one of the coordinators of MEAC (the Young Spiritists Love and Charity movement). How many young people are part of the group and how does it work? 

I’ve been with MEAC since the year 200. We meet every Saturday, at 5pm, to study the Doctrine at our spiritist centre in Bauru (CEAC). The group is very heterogeneous and divided by age group. We are split in three rooms: 12 to 14 year-olds, 15 to 17 and 18 and over. There’s no age limit. The group for the younger people (12 to 14) is designed to receive those who leave the evangelisation groups, so that they carry on with their studies. Youngster, or rather, spirits in that age will find our doors open for studies whatever their age is in the material world. All you need is to will to meet and make new friends. More than a study group, we are a group of friends who study together. 

O Consolador: You were born in a spiritist family. How has your work with the young been helped by the fact that you knew the Doctrine from such an early age? 

That has helped me a lot. Not only I had a substantial theoretical base, but I had been brought up according to Christian and spiritist principles. In other words, I just continued to be myself and took the opportunities that came to me to grow at a personal level. There was a time when I used to teach the Doctrine to young people who came to us looking for answers on issues such as death, mediunity, healing and divine justice. I noticed I had no problems at a theoretical level to answer these questions, but I realised that I had not expanded on my knowledge by the very fact that I had been born in a spiritist family. I learned a great deal with those young people and I added their drive to learn to my previous knowledge, building a new level of mutual knowledge and understanding. 

O Consolador: What are you planning for youth movement in the next months? 

It seems like harvest time like never before for us, and I explain why. Young people study, work, go to university, move away, they meet their boyfriends and girlfriends. That’s why it’s so difficult to find young people who persevere and carry on working with Spiritism. We have been a few, hard working and resilient group. But I can see clearly there’s a new group of young people out there, spirits that are coming to us to help, to add to the group. I can see it very clearly because they’re so many. We have decided then to concentrate our efforts in organising meetings and study events focusing on themes such as self-knowledge, education, leadership and responsibility. In sum, all that will give them theoretical and spiritual support to those workers of the youth of the future. We wil have a meeting on July 17^th and 18^th to chose the issues to be discussed during next year’s state wide meeting of young spiritists. We’ll have another meeting on September 11^th and 12^th  to discuss leadership and self-knowledge. And youngsters have been studying those themes every week at their own groups. However, there are very few youth groups here in Bauru – only three. Most of the spiritist centres prioritises evangelical studies for children, but don’t follow up with youth groups. There’s no criticism here, we’re just trying to understand why. We know the young are the future of our spiritist centres. Whoever has taken part in youth groups at spiritist centres carries out a feeling of gratitude for life, as the spirits goes through so much confusion at that particular time. This is the time when you meet yourself, with all your baggage, when you’re assaulted by doubts, anger, anguish, fear and aspirations. There’s nothing better to help us face all that than the Doctrine. And what better than meeting other young people looking for the same answers: how to grow up understanding why we are here, incarnated? The Youth movement is a balsam of light and love in the middle of a sea of information and demands the spirit has to go through in its youth. In my opinion, to encourage the work of youth groups in a spiritist centre is as important as ensuring the very existence of that spiritist centre. 

O Consolador: You’ve travelled extensively through the state of São Paulo, for meetings of the youth movement. What is your assessment of young spiritists? Are they motivated, how much do they study the Doctrine? How committed are they? 

I’ve met many young people committed to studying, learning, researching, getting involved. Their motivation runs parallel to the happiness they feel once they get involved with Spiritism. And that manifests in many ways, through the studies, the work, new friends – things that can’t always be expressed in words. In that context, getting involved and being committed is the logical consequence of all that. And when they realise, they are already involved and working hard. I’ve seen in meetings at all levels that young people are more motivated than in any other time. In May, we had a meeting gathering more than 100 monitors  in the city of Americana, with more than 100 youth leaders, and they were all studying the principles of teaching. Any young person who travels to a distant city as part of an attempt to improve, study and interact, so he can encourage other young friends back home, certainly doesn’t lack motivation. 

O Consolador: How much room have the directors of spiritist centres left for the leaders of youth movements to organise their own work?

There’s been more freedom for them to be in charge of their own work, but there’s still some insecurity from the directors in spiritist centres. They’re still reluctant to allow us to do more. We’re sometimes labelled inexperienced. We’re often not trusted with more difficult jobs. But we’ve been working hard in the last few years to take on higher posts and making it happen, organising events. Our achievements made them change their views, giving us a more positive assessment. There’s a long way to go and our challenge is not so much to get them to trust us, but to be able to trust ourselves. If we overcome those hurdles and live the Doctrine by working hard, we will be growing and will become an example for other young people to carry on with their work and encourage the growth of the youth movement in Spiritism. 

O Consolador: What do you think the spiritist movement can do in order to get the young more involved? 

We have always worked alongside each other, for the same cause. But to work really together, with fraternity, we would need to break the barriers of preconceived ideas from both sides. We should make an effort to see ourselves, all of us, as spirits in the middle of a learning process. Young men and women are not only driven by impulse, enthusiasm, irresponsibility, inexperience. Adults, on the other hand, don’t act only based on inflexibility, grumpiness, authoritarian and patronising behaviour. Everything would be easier if we could see that. Both young people and adults have their positive and negative sides and we’re all here to grow up. In respect to the Law of Society, I think each one of us would have a better understanding of ourselves if we abandoned these preconceived ideas and worked together for the good of ourselves and the Doctrine, which gives us our support. Without prejudice, it’s easier to trust, to tolerate, to understand and to work together. 

O Consolador: What have been your greatest joys in all these years?

Difficult to say, as I’ve had so many. I think meeting so many dear friends, learning so much in the studies I’ve been involved in. Last year I was part of the organising committee of a meeting here in Bauru. We faced huge difficulties to get it all together, but when I saw all the young people in the room in the first day of the meeting attending a lecture by Edgar Miguel, I realised it had really been worth the while. And when I saw their shining eyes, I cried of joy and gratitude, for having been able to provide them with that opportunity, for overcoming each and every hurdle which was put along the way.  In another occasion, in 2001, I felt really happy. That was the first meeting of youth movements I was attending. I saw before me all the possibilities to learn and be consoled. It’s difficult to describe how happy you feel when you see that things can and will be better, despite all the obstacles. I felt real joy in another occasion, last year, when a group of parents took part in a meeting of Parents and Children and, leaving all embarrassment behind, played the part of their children in a play. That helped them understand how their own children felt and certainly helped them achieving harmony and understanding at home. I felt great joy when I was invited to join the organising committee of Feiramor (a fund raising event held in Bauru every year), in a sign that they trusted us. I felt so happy also when I realised I had more and better friends than anyone else I knew, when I realised that each person I’ve met on the way has helped me be what I am today. I felt real joy by realising that some youngsters had me as a role model. I was happy by being requested to do this interview, knowing that my words can give hope to someone who’s facing difficult times with themselves or their children. I’m happy everyday for being part of all this. For working for myself and for so many other people, facing the consequences of the process of growing up. There’s not only joy, it’s just like any other job. But the joy is certainly bigger than the downside. And I can assure you that I would do everything again, from the beginning if I had the choice -- even without the knowledge that I would eventually benefit so much from the process.