Fazenda da Esperança began in Brazil in 1983. Fr Hans Stapel, a German
Franciscan friar, was inviting young people of his parish in Guaratinguetá, in
the state of São Paulo, to meet every day after Holy Mass, to reflect and
meditate on the daily gospel, and on how they could live the words of Jesus in
daily life.
At the
start they chose short passages of the Gospel to be lived during the day, like
“love your enemies,” “give and you shall receive,” etc. And they would share
experiences of how they tried to put those words into practice, at work or with
their friends or families.
Nelson, a
member of this group, who was 17 then, was very much fascinated by this
experience. On his way back home from work every day, he would pass a street
corner, where young people were using drugs quite openly. Like everybody else,
Nelson was also afraid of them, and tried as much as possible to avoid coming
too near them.
But one
day, after they had meditated on the word “I made myself weak, to conquer the
weak” (1Cor 9,22), Nelson realized that those young people were his brothers
too, and that meditation gave him the courage to approach them, not so much to
ask them to stop using drugs, or to invite them to come to church, but simply
to get to know them better.
That
first evening, he stayed with them for a few hours, just chatting with them,
and displaying interest in their lives. At the end, one of them told him: “This
is the first time in my life that I have found a real friend.” Encouraged by
this experience, Nelson decided to visit his new friends every day after work,
and a beautiful relationship of mutual trust was born between them.
Touched
by the selfless love that Nelson shared with this group of boys, one of them,
Antonio, decided to confide his desire to change. He told Nelson: “I can no
longer bear seeing my mother crying because of me. I want to stop using drugs,
but I cannot do it alone, please help me!” Surprised by this admission, Nelson
felt that God’s hand was leading him to introduce Antonio to the group of
youths regularly meeting in the parish.
The new
life that Antonio found among the youth group in the parish made him finally
decide to give up using drugs. He, too, discovered the revolutionary effects of
the Word of God when put into practice. The changes happening in the life of
Antonio did not go unnoticed by his former friends. Seeing him happy, even
without drugs they too wanted to join the group one after the other.
Eventually, a new kind of friendship grew among them, bound together now by a
profound experience of living the gospel.
This
prompted Fr. Hans to give them some formation and eventually help them find an
apartment where they could live together as a small community.
Together
they then made a very important decision: “We are young and strong, and we can
work. Let us not ask any more money from our families, but work together, to
earn a living for ourselves.” So they started doing simple chores around the
neighbourhood, like cutting grass, painting, doing repair jobs, and in the
evenings they would put together the money they earned.
This
newly formed community was full of life, and attracted many people -- drug
users as well as volunteers. Many expressed a desire to join them. Soon,
somebody donated a farm to this group, where they could live and work together,
and the Fazenda da Esperança (Farm of Hope) was born.
From the
beginning, the life at Fazenda was based on three pillars: Spirituality, which
gives meaning and direction to their lives; Community Life, where love and
unity are lived; and Work, as a concrete way of assuming responsibility for
one’s own life.
Thereafter,
other communities sprang up in Brazil, and five years later, the first
community for women was inaugurated. Today there are more than 80 communities
in 14 countries around the world, with some 3,000 young people undergoing the
rehabilitation program.
Roland
Mühlig, the author of this article, is in charge of the Fazenda in the
Philippines
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