Maria Alice Campos Freire   - South America

Maria Alice tells of an old man, an old shaman in the last year of his life... “In the last year of his life, he did not eat anything, not even drink water, only divine medicine. All the time he was listening to sounds, divine sounds. He called one of our sisters who was older than us and asked her to write down messages he received for the women. He said the women would transmute first and then the men. So women be courageous. Never doubt this task, but take it in your hands.”

In the church of the Eclectic Cult of the Santo Daime, spiritual leaders are called “padrinhos” (godfathers) and “madrinhas” (godmothers). Maria Alice became one of the madrinhas of the Santo Daime community Ceu do Mapia for her contribution as medium and healer, bringing with her the fundamentals of Umbanda to this eclectic center. Founder of Centro Medicina do Floresta (Forest Medicine Center), where, since 1989, she develops research and healings with the plants of the Amazon, as well as education of children and youngsters for the preservation of Nature and sustainable development. A member of the Alliance of Peoples of the Rainforest, she is an activist in the defense of their traditions and patrimony.