CommuNIqué - Newsletter of the Bahá'í Community in Northern Ireland
Issue 154 - 4 Ayyam-i-Há 167 BE - 1 March 2011 CE

 

NEWS - LOCAL AND OVERSEAS

 

WINTER SCHOOL RETURNS TO NI

At the NI Bahá'í Winter School

Anne and Keith Munro decided to 'dip their toes in the water' after some 25 years and hold a small winter school from 24 - 28 December 2010. Twelve booked to come. Five sadly had to cry off because of the weather conditions but six others did attend for various parts of the five days. A wide programme including talks, discussions, CDs, and the odd DVD made the time relaxed and intimate. The heart of the programme was the study of Century of Light. All were fed and watered and kept warm by the constant motherly attention of Anne. At the end all expressed a desire to come back again! PS: One couple had to start their journey by walking seven miles through the snow as no taxi would pick them up. They managed to reach the train station and despite delays reached Claudy by bus and on time.

Keith Munro


TRAVELLING TEACHERS IN LESOTHO

Last August my son Sana and went travel teaching to Lesotho in Southern Africa. Lesotho is entirely surrounded by South Africa and is very mountainous. It became independent from Britain in the 1960's. The first Bahá'í pioneers went there in 1953 and there are now about 5000 Bahá'ís in 80 districts within this tiny country (about the size of Ireland).

When we arrived at Maseru (the capital city) we spent one night in the Bahá'í centre. The Bahá'í centre has dormitory accommodation, a library and lecture halls. It has been the site of many summer and winter schools. We were looked after by wonderful pioneers and local Bahá'ís, especially Wanda from the United States. Our main site of travel teaching was a town called Mohales Hoek about 100 miles south of the capital. Here we met up with Michael who has sacrificed a complete year to dedicate to travel teaching in this area. He was assisted by a wonderful local Bahá'í called Peco. The next 10 days we spent travelling to outlying villages assisting in children's classes, Ruhi books 1 and 2 and junior youth classes. We also had the bounty of visiting kinder-gartens and youth clubs, and also attended a feast with the Bahá'ís of Mohales Hoek.

Everything was considered "walking distance" and we covered 15 to 25km every day. I cannot begin to tell you how enriching the experience was for Sana and myself, being in contact with the wonderful Bahá'ís young and old all dedicated to obeying the instructions of Universal House of Justice and serving their fellow man. Every activity was filled with joy and accompanied by dancing and wonderful singing. Our long walks were particularly educational. We found that the situation is not very different in many ways to our situation in Northern Ireland. The questions that the people ask and their receptivity are the same. The difference appears to be the sacrifice, commitment and the unity of the Bahá'ís themselves.

I would strongly advise anyone who is considering the possibility of pioneering (long or short term) or travel teaching to "just do it". If you can do it with a partner even better.

Kevin Proudman


NEWS FROM TONGA

So, I arrived last Tuesday night and went straight to a devotional in the house next to us - and of course I had to sing...talk about throwing yourself in so quickly! We got settled in that night and then went to the Ocean of Light school the next day. It's a primary and high school and it's run by Bahá'ís but it's for non Bahá'ís too.

I'm currently working in the Library in the school because it's still pretty bare at the minute! Books are being donated all the time so I'm helping categorize and shelve them! Also, I'm taking classes in the Library with the primary school kids, like reading them stories and helping them with English because, although most of them speak excellent English, it's still only their second language, so they're not all so fluent. So, I realised very quickly that there is like NO music whatsoever in the school...they would get together in little groups to sing but there was nothing structured for them. So I talked to the Director of the school and got his permission to start a choir in each school! I'm so excited! So basically at the minute, I'm just trying to find songs to teach them and working out different parts and harmonies, hopefully it will sound as good as it does in my head! Also, after school some days there is a dance workshop so I'm helping out there! It's a lot of fun and the kids are learning the steps really quickly!

Most days after school, we will go round the neighbourhood and home visit! At the minute we're really working with a girl, like sharing quotes about the youth and what the youth can do to better the world and she's bringing some of her friends to a devotional this weekend, so people around here seem to be really receptive and enthusiastic about the Faith! We're having an event almost every evening, like devotionals and firesides and then children's classes and junior youth groups at the weekend. The children's class I'm teaching has about 15-20 kids in it so it's always entertaining! Also, we're helping to improve their English in the classes, so we're using games like 'Simon says' and singing songs like 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' which are fun at the same time! So basically that's all we've done so far, I've been here a week and have done so much already! I'll keep you updated on what's happening next!

Courtnay Giffin

The Kingdom of Tonga is an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands, 52 of which are inhabited. The total population is only 102,000 In 2004 there were 29 local Spiritual Assemblies and 5% of the population is Bahá'í. The Bahá'í Faith was first established in Tonga in the 1950s. The National Spiritual Assembly of Tonga was established in 1976.

 

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