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| In the year of 1980, sister Maria Batista de Andrade received the mission of putting together a house of assistance of children in need. She had been a widow for more than 50 years and had beaten cancer at the age of 30. |
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| The Preschool "Divino Espírito Santo". |
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| The President of "Amigas do Brasil" Mrs. Aida Vidaurre. |
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| The children, receiving presents from the ladies of "Amigas do Brasil". |
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| Mrs. Luzia Monge, wife of the Counsellor Manuel Monge Chacón, of Costa Rica, amazed the children. They all wanted to show her what they got. |
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| Her congregation, the "Obra dos Filhos do Amor de Jesus Cristo" (Work of the Children of Love of Jesus Christ) gave her the mission to start create a Preschool and and aid institute to children in need, but shortly after the inauguration, sister Maria Batista de Andrade had to attend a child with cancer. Her solidarity made her realize that she needed to open the "Casa Menino Jesus", to assist children with cancer. Now, 1680 people have gone through the institute and there are 54 volunteers working there. |
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| The happiness of the children was indescribable. |
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| At the Preschool "Divino Espírito Santo", the children have proper lunch, guaranteeing their good nutrition. |
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| In 1991 the branch in Distrito Federal was founded. The government donated the house, the only help of the government since then, by the way, and sister Dalimar have directed the institution with the help of the community, entrepreneurs and volunteers. In Gama the "Casa Menino Jesus" has already treated 120 children and teenagers, not to mention the children that study at the Preschool "Divino Espírito Santo". |
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| The entrance of "Casa do Menino Jesus", where the children with cancer receive care. Many of them totally heal. |
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| Miss Vitoria Monje (left), daughter of Mrs. Luzia Monge, gracefully talked to everybody. |
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| The house offers shelter, care and support for children with cancer that come from outside Distrito Federal. These children come from all over the country looking for treatment in "Sarah", "Hospital de Base" or "Hospital Universitário de Brasília", and would have to give the treatment up if they didn't have "Casa Menino Jesus" to stay. |
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| The guests of the house were extremely happy and coouldn´t contain the smile. |
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| On December 16th of 2004, the "Amigas do Brasil" donated food and presents to all the children in the house and the Preschool. The food was received with joy and relief by the directors of the institution. |
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| The food donated by the group "Amigas do Brasil" to the institution. |
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| But what really made the day was the happiness of the children when receiving the presents. Amazed, they called for their teachers to show their gifts, hugged and kissed the ladies from "Amigas do Brasil" who were there giving the presents, rushed to play with their friends. No children could stay still, filled with excitement. |
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| Sister Dilemar, Director of the institution. |
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| Handicraft work of the internals of the house, that help the house gather money. |
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| This is the 5 h time Mrs. Ana Clara Gondolfo Conceição, wife of the late Ambassador of Brazil Mr. Antônio Conceição contributed to a happier Christmas. In 2003 she took the other members of "Amigas do Brasil" to the institution, bringing more donations to the house. |
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| From left to right, President of "Amigas do Brasil", Mrs. Aida Vidaurre, wife of the Minister of the Embassy of Bolivia Mr. Marco Antonio Vidaurre, Mrs. Ana Clara Gondolfo Conceição, wife of the late Ambassador of Brazil Mr. Antônio Conceição and Sister Dilemar, Director of the Institution. |
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| Donations like this one, made by the ladies of "Amigas do Brasil" are essential for the maintenance of the house. A group of investors from Brasília, for example, support 16 children and pay for their studies, at "Compacto High", their uniforms, materials and everything related to their education and guarantee this support until their last year in college! They have just left Preschool, now. |
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| The children at the Preschool pray before eating lunch. |
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| "Amigas do Brasil" certainly gave everyone of us a lesson of solidarity and love. The smile on the faces of the children was a gift far more valuable than any material good, for Christmas. "We feel that we live and work to transform tears into smiles. They come here with courage and hope to heal. And thanks to the Grace of God and the gentle hearts of groups like these we can carry on", said sister Dalimar. |
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| The laughter of the children was the best Christmas the group could get. |
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| THE GUIDE congratulates "Amigas do Brasil" for once again giving us this lesson of humanity. |
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