A COMMUNITY THAT CARES
Preserving the past stories for next generations By Anna Clara, Helena and Lara, Form 4 pupils | oldpauleansociety@stpauls.br
B
ack in December 2019, we decided to create a special project to register and preserve the memories and stories of members of the British Society in a book. We then formed the British Society Enrichment club, and started working on the project, which was fully supported by Mr Ricardo Rosado, the organisation’s Institutional Development Coordinator. Mr Rosado has helped us immensely throughout this process. Back in December 2019, we hosted a tea party at the St. Paul’s School library for some of the members of the Society, specifically those who are Old Pauleans, former St. Paul’s pupils. During the event, the participants received a tour around the school, viewed our old yearbooks, and engaged in fun activities throughout the afternoon. It was a really enjoyable experience as we got to meet the members before we (unknowingly at the time) would have to move to online learning because of the pandemic. We were forced to adapt the project in order to allow us to continue interviewing members of the elderly community online. With the help of Mr Kieran MacManus, the Chair of the British Society, we expanded our horizon of interviewees, as previous participants were only members of the British Society. We managed to get in contact with Mr Colin Pritchard, a member of the St Andrew’s Society, and Bishop Roger Bird, a leading member of the Anglican Church in Brazil. By being able to continue the interview process throughout the pandemic we had a rare opportunity to
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Cover of the Memory Book | Capa do Livro de Memórias
continue to learn from other people’s experiences and feel a little bit less “isolated in isolation.” Once the pandemic began in 2020, the book gained even more importance as it helped make elder members of the community feel less lonely during quarantine. In addition, it gave them an opportunity to reminisce about the good times during these difficult ones. Hopefully it will also raise awareness of the importance of looking after the elderly by emphasising how valuable their stories are. This was an enlightening experience as we got to speak to people who lived through
vastly different, though equally interesting, experiences. At the end of each interview, we included an inspiring “advice for the younger generation” section which truly helped us put our own lives into perspective. We have learnt so much from everyone featured in the memory book and we hope readers feel the same when reading the stories told in this piece. ◼
The book will be available by the end of this term. If you want more information or a copy, please send a message to oldpauleansociety@stpauls.br.
British Society São Paulo | Fundação Britanica de Beneficência | Spotlight N° 130
