Perhaps you are looking for a place of solace. You might seek understanding. The Grupo Espírita Amália Franco offers both. It is a beacon of spiritual learning and community service.
The Grupo Espírita Amália Franco takes its name from a remarkable woman. Amália Emília Franco Bastos lived from 1853 to 1919. She was a teacher a journalist and a philanthropist. She was also a dedicated spiritist. Her doctrine guided her life’s work. She became known as “The Great Dame of Brazilian Education”.
Amália Franco dedicated her life to charitable work. She founded over seventy schools. Twenty-three asylums for orphaned children were also her work. She established two shelters and a colony for women. Amália also started a female musical band a dramatic group and various manufacturing workshops. Her efforts spanned twenty-four cities. She focused on helping disadvantaged women. She created the Beneficent and Instructive Women’s Association for them.
Her main principle was to welcome people. She wanted to educate and empower them for work. She wanted to help the needy become self-sufficient. Amália Franco also produced many literary works. She remained active in her social work until her death. She left an invaluable legacy.
Amália Franco was born into a Catholic family. Her parents were Antônio Mariano Franco Junior and Teresa Emília de Jesus. She was their first child. Until she was eight she lived in Resende Rio de Janeiro. In 1861 her family moved to São Paulo.
Her mother was a teacher and gave her a good education. In 1868 Amália began her teaching studies. Soon she was allowed to be a primary school teacher. She started as her mother’s assistant in São Paulo.
Amália Franco’s thinking was shaped by social changes. She believed in the power of education for all. She saw it as a way to progress for Brazil. She supported abolishing slavery and emancipating women.
When the Law of the Free Womb was enacted in 1871 children born to enslaved women were freed. However they remained under the control of their mothers’ owners until they turned eight. This led to abuse. Many of these children ended up begging on the streets. Amália Franco was a public teacher in Jacareí São Paulo at this time. She helped these abandoned children. She wrote letters to women landowners asking for help. She created a safe place for them called Casa Maternal.
In 1872 Amália passed an exam. She officially became her mother’s assistant. However she moved to the countryside. She wanted to continue her “Escola Maternal” project in Jacareí.
In 1876 Amália moved to Guaratinguetá. She taught there with her mother. The next year she returned to the capital for normal school. Her writing skills allowed her to work for newspapers and magazines.
In 1888 and 1889 slavery was abolished. The Republic was proclaimed in Brazil. Amália’s work expanded. She built two free schools for boys and girls. She also created her own magazine called Álbum das Meninas.
In 1901 she founded the Beneficent and Instructive Women’s Association. She supported women and children through this association until the end of her life. She built more schools nurseries and primary schools. She also created a day shelter for children of working mothers. She added day-care centers libraries night schools vocational workshops asylums and medical centers.
In 1902 she opened the Liceu Feminino. It was meant to train teachers for her schools. She published many books and pamphlets on childhood and education. In 1903 she began publishing a monthly magazine A Voz Maternal.
In 1911 she bought Chácara Paraíso. She founded the Colônia Regeneradora D. Romualdo there. It aimed to rehabilitate women.
In 1906 Amália married Francisco Antônio Bastos. He was a dedicated spiritist. He may have introduced her to Spiritism. The couple adopted children. They cared for many within their institutions.
Amália Franco died in 1919. She was a victim of the Spanish flu epidemic. Her legacy is immense. She taught that one must help the needy educate them with love and empower them to overcome poverty through education and work.
Today the Grupo Espírita Amália Franco continues her work. It is a place of learning a center for community and a tribute to a remarkable woman. Her spirit of service and dedication lives on here in Rio de Janeiro.