CommuNIqué - Newsletter of the Bahá'í Community in Northern Ireland
Issue 114 - 4 Ayyám-i-Há 162 BE - 1 March 2006 CE

 

FROM THE BAHÁ'Í COUNCIL

 
 

Council with Counsellor

 

On 4 February the Bahá'í Council had the pleasure of meeting and consulting with Dr Shirin Fozdar-Foroudi (seated, centre) of the Board of Counsellors for Europe about further carrying forward the Faith in Northern Ireland.

Dear Friends,

PROTECTION OF CHILDREN

The times we live in make it necessary that the National Spiritual Assembly has Child Protection Procedures with which we must all comply. These are necessary for anyone who is teaching a children's class, supervising or supporting children's activities, or doing the same for youth and junior youth as the requirements go up to age 18 years.  Such procedures are necessary for the protection of our young people; they also serve as a protection for the adults who deal with them and for the good name of the Faith itself.

Central to these procedures in Northern Ireland is the official POCA check (formerly known as PECS). It can take up to four - six weeks to come through for an individual and must be completed before someone can undertake children's, junior youth, or youth (up to age 18) activities. It is not something you can leave until the last minute, nor will you be able to teach in the class or be involved in the junior youth or youth activities up to age 18 while waiting for your clearance to come through, so you need to plan early to have it done.

For further information about POCA and how to be cleared, contact Dorothy Riordan (e-mail) . Those interested in teaching or being involved with children's classes should contact Patricia Jamshidi, the Children’s Classes Coordinator (e-mail). If you want the full information about the National Spiritual Assembly's Child Protection Policy and Procedures please contact the national office at 27 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PD for hard copy or e-mail for electronic version.

YOUTH FACILITATOR

At a recent meeting of the Baha'i Council it was decided not to reappoint the Youth Committee for Northern Ireland in order to release their energies to focus on the core activities. They had served with distinction and the Council was delighted with the way they handled their remit but now is the time to focus. To assist the youth in their valuable services it was, however, decided to appoint a Youth Facilitator and Darragh Graham (e-mail) has agreed to be that person. He will liaise with all the youth in Northern Ireland and assist them in their services in the core activities as well as keeping in close cooperation with other Coordinators, such as those for children's classes and junior youth as well as other agencies, in order to assess other needs that the youth may have at this time.

With loving greetings,
Bahá'í Council for Northern Ireland.


 

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