For 31 years, the Legion of Good Will (LBV) of Argentina has been transforming the lives of hundreds of families through its social and educational campaigns and programs. The objective of its actions, which also make a difference in six other countries, is to guarantee assistance, education, and the effective participation of people who are at social risk, while combining with its work the ecumenical values that help foster responsible citizen practices, such as respect, Fraternal Love, and Solidarity.

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Carlos César Da Silva

All the activities are based on The Pedagogy of Affection and the Ecumenical Citizen Pedagogy, the innovative educational method created by educator Paiva Netto, the president of the Organization. The LBV of Argentina started its work there on April 3, 1985. Find out more about the Organization’s work in the country:

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February 21 is officially /observed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the International Mother Language Day. With the aim of contributing towards the preservation of cultural diversity and the protection of the intangible heritage of Humanity, the date was proclaimed on November 17, 1999, and was formally acknowledged by the United Nations General Assembly during the 30th session of UNESCO General Conference.

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The mother language is the first language we learn; the one we hear and develop within the environment where we were born, be it a country or a specific region.

Linguists and other social scientists have been emphasizing not only the important function of mother languages in the development of communication skills and in formulating concepts, but especially the role it plays as the first factor of cultural identity. The language is connected directly to the culture of a people. Even though it is an essential part of the living heritage of humanity, as defined by UNESCO, more than a half of about 7,000 existing languages are in danger of extinction.

The role of the Internet

If many speak of the dominance of the English language on the Internet, the UNESCO defends that the virtual world could in fact be a very important tool for the survival of these languages. This occurs through the information that is available about these languages and its history and vitality.

The Boa Vontade Portal, aligned with these ideas, makes it a point for its content on Solidary Citizenship and Unrestricted Ecumenism to be available in various languages, reaching the most diverse cultures and valuing their peoples. Without harming or ignoring that which each nation already experiences, the Portal of Ecumenical Spirituality* shares its experiences and values in each language, transmitting Good to all nations.

Since its beginning, by initiative of the late founder of the Legion of Good Will (LGW), Alziro Zarur, and later by the ongoing monitoring of the current President of the Organization, José de Paiva Netto, the LGW also identifies itself with the ideals of the most widely spoken constructed language in the world: Esperanto. Ludovic Lazarus Zamenhof, upon creating this language, stated that it should be the second language of all peoples and not a replacement of their mother languages.

For the LGW, to value the content that is transmitted in many diverse languages is what makes the difference in building a happier Humanity.

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*Ecumenical Spirituality — This banner of the Legion of Good Will is present in all its social and educational actions, because it is understood as “the cradle of the most generous values that are born of the Soul; the dwelling of the emotions and of the reasoning enlightened by intuition; the atmosphere that embraces everything that transcends the ordinary field of matter and comes from the elevated human sensitivity, such as Truth, Mercy, Morals, Ethics, Honesty, Generosity, and Brotherly Love.” Extract taken from the book É Urgente Reeducar! [It is Urgent to Re-educate!], which is the fundament of the LBV’s educational proposal, written by educator Paiva Netto, a best-selling author.

The increase in the number of cases of people with cancer worldwide is a worrying situation for doctors and specialists. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is one of the main causes of death, responsible for 8.2 million deaths in 2012, with some 70% of these deaths occurring in low and middle income countries.

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- Obesity is a risk factor for cancer

The disease manifests itself in its most diverse forms, which correspond to the various types of cells in the body. There are different types of skin cancer, for example, because the skin is composed of more than one type of cell.

The main types of cancer are:

• Lung (1.59 million deaths)
• Stomach (723,000 deaths)
• Liver (745,000 deaths)
• Colorectal (669,000 deaths)
• Breast (521,000 deaths)
• Cervical (400,000 deaths)

The WHO also warns that tobacco use, alcohol use, bad eating habits, lack of physical activity, and high body mass index are the main risk factors for cancer. Among these, tobacco use is the main risk factor and responsible for 22% of cancer deaths worldwide and for 70% of lung cancer deaths.

More than 30% of deaths from cancer could be prevented by eliminating risk factors that include: tobacco use; obesity; unhealthy diet with low intake of fruit, vegetables, and greens; lack of physical activity; alcohol use; and urban air pollution.

Prevention

In order to avoid the appearance of the disease, people need to eliminate the risk factors listed above, vaccinate against human papilloma virus (HPV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) and C (HCV), control occupational hazards, and reduce exposure to sunlight.

Deaths from cancer worldwide are likely to continue growing. The number of new cases is expected to rise by about 70% over the next 2 decades. To change this picture, below is a list of foods that can help prevent the disease:

Information from the World Health Organization (WHO)

On a floor in the form of a spiral, the pilgrim walks on the dark path until he reaches the center, where he aligns himself perfectly with the pure crystal stone fixed in the pinnacle of the seven-sided pyramid, 21 meters above. A pause for prayer precedes the return on the light-colored path, towards the Throne and Altar of God; the God of any belief, in accordance with the intimate and personal choice of each one. Offering an ecumenical and fraternal environment for all people on Earth has been a daily practice in the Temple of Good Will (TGW) for 26 years.

Every year, the date of the Temple’s anniversary, October 21, is celebrated with an Ecumenical Act, which is attended by authorities, religious leaders, and representatives from different segments of society. Together they walk along the Spiral in the TGW’s Nave, forming a large chain for Peace.

26 years the Temple of Good Will

Throughout October pilgrims follow a program specially devised for the anniversary of the Monument. The high-point of the celebrations this year takes place on October 23 and 24 when people from many cities of Brazil and the world fill its several rooms. The activities scheduled on these dates include cultural presentations, musical shows, talks, art exhibitions, and ecumenical ceremonies, with the central theme being “The Power of Christ within us.”

The celebration event ends with the words of the founder of the Temple of Good Will, Paiva Netto, who will address all the pilgrims live via satellite.

Check back soon for photos of the anniversary celebrations of the Temple of Peace. You can also watch and listen to our radio and TV programming (in Portuguese) on the Internet on October 23 and 24: Listen to the radio programming or watch it on TV.

Open 24 hours a day, the Temple of Good Will is located at Asa Sul 915, in Brasília, Brazil. For further information, please contact us. You can also visit www.tbv.com.br/english.

This is the love story of two Brazilian journalists who worked together for almost five years, but in different cities. She lived in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and he lived in Brasília, capital city of Brazil (a distance of 735km). At first, they would keep in touch over the phone. “We used to have daily phone meetings to discuss assignments and news stories, since everything that was produced on the Minas Gerais government’s TV, everything that was relevant nationally, was sent to Brasília [to the federal government TV],” explains Mariana Bontempo Adaid about how she met Thiago Sousa Interaminense. From this professional relationship, their love story was being written, and Thiago invited her to meet him in person.

It was love at first sight, “I fell in love with him right away, and I never wanted to leave Brasília. We had a long distance relationship for five months. Then I decided to leave my job . . . and I moved in with Thiago,” says Mariana. Two happy years had passed by when they decided to get married and seal their union for life.

They then started looking for a place for the wedding ceremony that was to be held in the Brazilian capital city. Thiago is an agnostic and Mariana is a spiritualist. Where could they get married without leaving their convictions behind? That was when someone suggested that they should get married in the Temple of Good Will (TGW). People of all religious or non-religious traditions, philosophy, origin, or race can visit this ecumenical place without feeling embarrassed or excluded.

Camila Muradas

+ Get married in the Temple of Good Will; find out more!

“When I entered the Temple, I was sure that that was where I wanted to get married. . . . When I saw the Pyramid, I got to know the proposal of that place, where you walk bare-foot on the path [on the Spiral in the TGW’s Nave] to the center where there’s a crystal, the energy, the whole story, and I fell in love with it. I was absolutely certain that there was the right place,” Mariana described.

Thiago confirmed her choice when he remembered his impressions of the Temple of Peace, “I always used to pass in front of the TGW and I used to look at the Pyramid because it attracts a lot of attention, and I said to Mariana when we started dating: I’m going to take you there one day, Mariana!” What’s more, they have always had a passion for traveling, pyramids, and archaeology. Mariana also has a strong passion for crystals and the biggest pure crystal stone in the world can be found in the TGW. Thus, the decision was easily made.

IN THIS LOVE STORY, “EVERYTHING JUST FELL INTO PLACE:”

They said “I do” on June 28, 2015, in a ceremony that brought together guests from various beliefs. When families from different religions get together because of the marriage of two people, respect for the beliefs of each one is fundamental to the success of the relationship. “This is a place that really does manage to welcome everybody. It was beautiful!” said Mariana.

For Thiago, getting married in the Temple of Good Will “was a great idea, because all our relatives, whether Protestants, Spiritists, or Catholics could be present. . . . Everything just fell into place: the Temple itself, which is beautiful—it is one of the prettiest Monuments here in Brasília—, our wish to get married, its architecture, our story. Everything just fell beautifully into place and that’s why we chose to get married there.”

You can also choose the TGW to celebrate your love story. Get married in the Temple of Good Will, located at 915 Asa Sul, Brasília/DF, Brazil. To book your ceremony and/or obtain further information, please call (+55 61) 3114-1070 or send an e-mail to fenix.eventos@terra.com.br.

More than just another school environment, the classroom is one of the first places where socializing with different people takes place. Students and teachers who have different ways of thinking, behaviors, and ideas regularly interact. In the same way that friendships are formed, there are unfortunately also relationships involving exclusion or rejection and in many cases bullying.

This violent, verbal and/or physical practice in North American schools is a very worrying subject. National statistics from the U.S. government’s Department of Health and Human Services show that 28% of all North American students between 11 and 17 years old have already experienced bullying. Approximately 30% of young people admit to bullying others and another 70.6% say they have seen bullying in their schools. Despite recent research showing that rates at the national level have been dropping since 2005, they are still high. What can be done so that these numbers reduce to zero?

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The Good Will Students for Peace program of the Legion of Good Will (LBV) of the United States is making its contribution to the fight against this serious problem: prevention by way of an education based on ethical and all-encompassing ecumenical values*. Beginning with the intimate transformation that takes place in each one, the students themselves start thinking about the consequences of their acts before even carrying them out. The LBV believes that putting oneself in the place of another is essential for knowing up to what point an attitude can be taken or not.

In a recent edition the program discussed the theme "Our Role as Peacemakers in Creating  a World free of Bullying" in the Lincoln Avenue School in Orange, New Jersey. Integrating the topic with the Mathematics Common Core Curriculum Standards, 5th, 6th, and 7th  grade students developed a research tool utilizing anonymous surveys with specific questions that would allow them to measure the current bullying situation. Later, the students analyzed the data, and created graphs to display the data to their school peers.

The coordinator of the LBV’s program, Sâmara Caruso, explains that, “with this activity, the students were able to use problem solving strategies and find ways they can help make an impact in the solution of this problem. Aside from the whole research project portion of this semester’s Good Will Students for Peace program that gave them the academic content they need, the students were also touched by the values of citizenship, respect, solidarity, and altruism that they felt within themselves the power and desire to work towards a solution to the bullying challenges of their school. This is the differential of the LBV’s Pedagogy as it provides the youth the opportunity to act on issues of global concern with ecumenical practices, and attitudes of solidary leadership.”

STUDENTS MAKE AN ANTI-BULLYING VIDEO:

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE SUBJECT. . .

Cléo Fante, a specialist in the subject from Brazil, who has a PhD in Education, explains that the difference between bullying and other types of violence is the fact that bullying is repetitive and causes emotional damage. According to Dr. Fante, victims usually do not react because of a series of factors. Although they may have the same physical conditions as the aggressor, the emotional side is weakened. “Those who practice bullying generally choose those who don’t have certain conditions for defending themselves.” This choice, whether conscious or not, ends up strengthening the aggressors who “have peculiar characteristics: they believe in the impunity of their acts, feel superior to other students, and rarely act alone; they generally form groups in which they are the leader and the others provide support,” adds Brazilian psychiatrist Gustavo Teixeira.

The specialists ponder the fact that those who bully are the ones who most need help. It is important to clarify that the school and family must build an alliance to educate and guide children and teenagers. “The family has to listen and establish a partnership with the school. They need to look for answers for the reason for this behavior and support the child, because they need help. The author of this bullying is going to be punished for his acts, but he must also receive support and respect,” advises the psychiatrist.

Bullying in schools can be avoided by training teachers how to detect this type of situation early on. If you want to comment on this topic and/or know learn more about the Good Will Students for Peace program, write to english@boavontade.com.

Collaboration: Karine Salles

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* Ecumenical Spirituality — This banner of the Legion of Good Will is present in all its social and educational actions, because it is understood as “the cradle of the most generous values that are born of the Soul; the dwelling of the emotions and of the reasoning enlightened by intuition; the atmosphere that embraces everything that transcends the ordinary field of matter and comes from the elevated human sensitivity, such as Truth, Mercy, Morals, Ethics, Honesty, Generosity, and Brotherly Love.” Extract taken from the book É Urgente Reeducar! [It is Urgent to Re-educate!], which is the fundament of the LBV’s educational proposal, written by educator Paiva Netto, a best-selling author.

For the last three decades the Legion of Good Will (LBV) of Uruguay has been developing in Montevideo various educational and social assistance activities that have transformed the lives of thousands of families for the better.

Since it was founded on June 20, 1985, the Organization “has been growing and creating a lot of projects that, over time, have become a reality. Thanks to the great work that’s been done it is recognized today by many organizations in the country. Everybody who visits the LBV’s school leaves feeling moved after seeing the way the children are being cared for. When they get to know the programs and activities that are carried out they leave extremely grateful for the work that’s being done,” says Bettina López, the  Organization’s communication assistant in Uruguay.

With the construction of the José de Paiva Netto Educational and Cultural Institute, the LBV started helping close to 1500 people. The Institute houses the nursery school, which provides education for children from 2 to 5 years old, and in the off-school hours it assists boys and girls between 6 and 10 years old through the Children: the Future in the Present! program.

Get to know the work of the LBV of Uruguay

With regard to the  Organization’s teaching proposal, which combines education with values of Ecumenical Spirituality*, the teaching director of the Institute, Beatriz Vázquez, reports: “Since March 1997 we’ve been developing our educational work based on the Pedagogy of Affection and the Ecumenical Citizen Pedagogy, which are strongly associated with the LBV’s mission. . . . We see that people who visit us, local authorities, contributors, and friends, – highlight the proposal and the harmony of the place when they see how happy the children are. It’ very gratifying for all of us who work in the LBV to see how people and our children overcome their difficulties, which are mainly psychological, emotional, and those related to their lifestyle.”

GOOD WILL PARTNERSHIPS

In 2007 the Legion of Good Will and the Public Health Ministry signed an agreement for the operation of a polyclinic, offering people of the region free access to primary care services. 

In 2012 the Hairdressing Project was initiated through an agreement between the LBV and Intercoiffure Uruguai. The main objective of this project is to contribute to the inclusion of people in this area in the formal labor market by means of theoretical and practical training. This initiative alone promoted approximately 1500 services and benefits in 2014.

Find out more about these and other actions promoted by the LBV of Uruguay by calling  (+598) 2304-4551 or accessing www.lbv.org.uy. The Organization is located at  Bulevar José Batlle y Ordoñez 4820 — Aires Puros, Montevideo. Visit and like our official page on Facebook!

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*1 Ecumenical Spirituality — This banner of the Legion of Good Will is present in all its social and educational actions, because it is understood as “the cradle of the most generous values that are born of the Soul; the dwelling of the emotions and of the reasoning enlightened by intuition; the atmosphere that embraces everything that transcends the ordinary field of matter and comes from the elevated human sensitivity, such as Truth, Mercy, Morals, Ethics, Honesty, Generosity, and Brotherly Love.” Extract taken from the book É Urgente Reeducar! [It is Urgent to Re-educate!], which is the fundament of the LBV’s educational proposal, written by educator Paiva Netto.

Paraguay was the first country after Brazil to adopt the Good Will ideal that, with local help, gave rise to the social and educational work of the Legion of Good Will (LBV). The Organization started its activities in the country on June 15, 1984, with the inauguration of the Hermano Paiva Nursery and Preschool. In addition to the capital city, Asuncion, the LBV also started developing its programs and projects for low-income families in the cities of San Antonio, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Quiindy, and Ciudad del Este.

In these three decades, the Legion of Good Will was officially recognized and expanded its work to offer free full-time education. Called the José de Paiva Netto Nursery and Preschool, the LBV’s school accepts children between 2 and 5 years old and successfully applies its own teaching proposal that was created by educator Paiva Netto*¹, and that guarantees the complete development of students, allied with the values of all-encompassing Ecumenical Spirituality*².

Get to know the work of the LBV of Paraguay

Nancy Graciela Martínez, the mother of two of the school’s students, talks about the education that is offered: “My son Elías Javier, who is now 10, studied in the LBV up until preschool. It was a great time, because he learned many good things, like respect and love. He fondly remembers his school and his teachers. My daughter Camila is 5 years old and for her the school is the most important thing that exists. She wakes up early to study. She’s very loving and affectionate, which is something she learned in the LBV’s school. I thank everybody who supports this Organization very much. Even if it’s a small contribution, it helps in the day-to-day and month-to-month running of the school, for buying food for the children and maintaining the school.”

The Organization also helps the students’ families by providing workshops on education, health, nutrition, family guidance, and professional training so they can closely monitor what is being done for their children and improve their social and economic conditions. To learn more about the work of the LBV of Paraguay, watch the video below (in Spanish):

Be part of this story and contribute, because there is a lot to be done! To find out how, access www.lbv.org.py, or call (+59521) 921-100/3. The LBV’s address in Paraguay is José Asunción Flores 3438 con Solar Guaraní — Bernardino Caballero, Asuncion. Like the official page of the LBV of Paraguay on Facebook!

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*1 Educator Paiva Netto — An innovator and one who is constantly concerned that everyone has access to quality education, based on values of Solidary Citizenship, the president of the Legion of Good Will created a teaching method comprised of the Pedagogy of Affection and the Ecumenical Citizen Pedagogy. This proposal has been applied for decades in a pioneering way in all the LBV’s teaching units. One of its fundamental concepts is in the following words of its creator: “The affection that inspires our pedagogical model, taken in its highest sense, is, besides a lofty feeling of the Soul, a political strategy, equally understood in its most elevated nature, in consonance with Social Justice, as a survival strategy for individuals, peoples, and nations.”

*2 Ecumenical Spirituality — This banner of the Legion of Good Will is present in all its social and educational actions, because it is understood as “the cradle of the most generous values that are born of the Soul; the dwelling of the emotions and of the reasoning enlightened by intuition; the atmosphere that embraces everything that transcends the ordinary field of matter and comes from the elevated human sensitivity, such as Truth, Mercy, Morals, Ethics, Honesty, Generosity, and Brotherly Love.” Extract taken from the book É Urgente Reeducar! [It is Urgent to Re-educate!], which is the fundament of the LBV’s educational proposal, written by educator Paiva Netto, a best-selling author in Brazil and abroad.