Rita Pelágio: "When you start it is impossible to stop doing things for those who need it most"
Her first choice was Law, but the advice of her grandmother, who "knew very well that this course did not suit her granddaughter's personality", led Rita Pelágio, 21 years old, to opt for a degree in Social Work in the Faculty of Human Sciences.
It was there that the "will to help others" took shape and "opened doors to the world of volunteering in a more consistent and organised way".
A Girl Scout for over 11 years, Rita says that "this desire to have an impact on people's lives is an addiction. Once you start, it's impossible to stop doing things for those who need it most.
She doesn't know how it all started. All she knows is that "this will has always been there". Perhaps the example came from the women in her life, "her grandmother and mother were always attentive to the needs of others". Maybe that's what it was. Or simply because it's part of who she is.
She already has a vast amount of work done in the service of the most vulnerable. Those who "often suffer in silence and without hope". This was the case in Mozambique, where she lived for two years with her parents. In that African country, she became aware that "there is so much poverty that one cannot stand still".
Through the Makobo Platform, she worked to support homeless people. She says that three times a week, the group of volunteers, of which she was a member, went out "into the street to distribute soup to those who had nothing. Not even a roof over their heads".
Such an "enriching experience that determined what came next". In Lisbon, due to its proximity to the university, she chose Santa Maria Hospital to continue making a difference. She signed up as a volunteer with the Association of Friends of Santa Maria Hospital and, after an interview, she was chosen. That was the beginning of a new phase.
"I go to the hospital twice a week". On the post-surgery ward, "the hours are spent talking to patients. Listening to people, keeping them company. I can't do more than that. Comfort is made by talking. Keeping company, but I believe that it does a lot of good to those people", she says.
When asked how she manages to have time for everything, she replies with a smile: "you have to know how to manage your tasks well in order to get everything done. You need a good capacity for organisation and I learnt that at Católica".
A "very important skill", says Rita, but it was not the only one she acquired at the University. The Social Work degree "is proving to be a wonderful surprise. Every day is an important learning experience that I will take with me for the rest of my life. That and the friendship with colleagues and teachers", she adds.
In the last year of her degree and after finishing her curricular internship in the Social Responsibility Office of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rita says she is very "grateful to Professor Ana Oliveira for all the support she received and to Rita Paiva e Pona", the person in charge of the office, where "she learnt so much".
"I chose to do the internship in the Social Responsibility Office of the university because I want to go into the corporate area in the future," explains the student. An experience that has already given her the opportunity to participate in an international volunteering project, organized by the UCP Porto Regional Centre.
"I was last summer, working with Caritas Madrid in support of the homeless. Other students from Católica were in different actions. It was a wonderful experience. An unforgettable gift from Rita Paiva and Pona", who the student tried to repay with her commitment to the pilot project she helped to create.
"I have made my tiny mark on the volunteer programme that is to be set up. Now it's time to move on. There is so much to do," adds the young woman.
After all, as she says, "volunteering is an addiction. It's like having superpowers. We know that the little that we give can have a huge impact on someone's life and this is very powerful". So much so, that she believes "in schools and universities, one volunteer activity a year should be mandatory".