Inspiring young people as Rosalie did

The Daughters of Charity have long walked the path of Bl. Rosalie Rendu in inspiring young people such as Frederic Ozanam. Sister Terezinha continues that tradition today in Brazil. The international site of the Daughters of Charity shares the reflection of a young volunteer  who has been inspired by her work with the elderly.  Motivated by her, Marcello Fernando Caldin combined his video-editing skills and his desire to serve the elderly. The result is the first of a series of  videos of the visitation of the elderly and the training of volunteers. A beautiful example of encouraging people to use their gifts. It is interesting to note that like Rosalie she is held in high esteem in civic society in Brazil as witnessed by the fact that she been made an honorary citizen of Brazil.

Marcello Fernando Caldin writes, “Volunteering has many faces, many ways it can be done and many people who share this ideal. Like many other people I wanted to be a volunteer but I could not find the right way to do it. My story began in December 2007 when I worked as a video editor in Curitiba, Brazil. That was when I met Sister Terezinha Tortelli from whom I learned about the work of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. A beautiful friendship began. There was a synchronicity of ideals. The religious inspiration of Sister Terezinha found my aspiration to help. A new path for me was being discovered and initially I had difficulty on how to enable volunteering. Video equipment was very expensive and I did not know how to overcome this obstacle. For a year I looked for the right answers and in December the solution came to me. Photography would be my tool as a volunteer. It was perfect. With the camera I could also record the projects of nonprofit organizations.

My first choice was volunteering was for the Pastoral Care of Elderly, an organization that was coordinated by Sister Terezinha. This organization had as its objective the improvement of social conditions of the elderly. I finally became a volunteer in February 2009. Sister Terezinha and I shared our best aspirations. I remember very well the first task: a training for volunteers. In a room at the headquarters of the Daughters of Charity in Curitiba about twenty people learned to volunteer. At each new stage of work there was a new challenge because everything was new and needed to be understood in its essence. I discovered new photographic techniques and new ways to register people. Volunteering was my challenge. Gradually I learned new skills that were available through photography and I discovered how to publish and distribute images over the internet. At this time I used my skills as a video editor and changed the images into videos. Innovation was key to being a volunteer.

My second task in volunteering was a work for the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Through an invitation by Sister Terezinha I would record the activities of the Daughters of Charity in the city of Praia de Leste, distant 80 km from Curitiba. This was a new revolution in my volunteering. Now the way to record people was deepening and maturing its purpose. Sisters had developed their humanitarian work with the people most in need and that changed the focus of my lens. Now the lenses were turned into instruments to show the reality at Praia de Leste, an association of people who collect scraps of paper for a living. Members of these families are looking for professional qualifications. They are honest people seeking an opportunity for their children. This is Brazil. The Sisters were the last frontier of possibility for the future for these people.

Marcello Fernando Caldin

First video made for the Pastoral Care of Elderly.
Visitation of the elderly.
Training of volunteers.
Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
February 14, 2009.
Curitiba, Brazil

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Tags: Brazil, Daughters of Charity, Elderly, Training, Youth