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| Bahá’í News | April 1988 | Bahá’í Year 145 |
Bahá’í development:
worldwide progress report
Bahá’í News[edit]
Taiwan enrolls 1,165 new believers, opens 59 localities to the Faith | 1 |
World Centre provides an update on Bahá’í development projects | 2 |
Bahá’í tutorial school is approved, opens in Yikandor, Sierra Leone | 9 |
In Bolivia, Bahá’í-founded FUNDESIB aids development programs | 10 |
Around the world: News from Bahá’í communities all over the globe | 12 |
Bahá’í News is published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double-spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to the Periodicals Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A. Changes of address should be reported to the Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center. Please attach mailing label. Subscription rates within the U.S.: one year, $12; two years, $20. Outside the U.S.: one year, $14; two years, 24$. Foreign air mail: one year, $20; two years, $40. Payment must accompany the order and must be in U.S. dollars. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1988, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Taiwan[edit]
1,165 enrollments and growing![edit]
Pictured are six young Taiwanese who were enrolled in the Faith in Taipong last October 23 during the Muhájir Project, a teaching campaign that has resulted in many hundreds of youth embracing the Faith in recent months. These young women, who are all between the ages of 15 and 17, are members of three different ethnic minorities—the Paiwan, Amé and Paynan tribes. As of February, some 1,165 people on Taiwan had been enrolled, 59 localities opened to the Faith and eight new Spiritual Assemblies formed as a result of the Muhájir Project.
On February 3, the National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan cabled the Universal House of Justice the joyous news that 1,165 new believers had been enrolled during its recent teaching campaign, representing a 74 percent increase in the number of Bahá’ís in that country.
Fifty-nine new localities were opened to the Faith (the National Assembly’s goal was 15) and five new Bahá’í Centers established, one in each teaching area.
As of February 3, eight new local Spiritual Assemblies had been formed in Taiwan, with a ninth soon to be elected.
“Expansion/consolidation programs have picked up all across island,” the National Assembly said in its cable to the World Center. “Community united and joyous (over) victories won; determined to win greater ones.”
Development[edit]
A look at programs around the world[edit]
Since the July 1986 Report on Bahá’í Development Projects was published, the total number of development projects reported to the World Centre has increased by 19 percent, from 1,247 to 1,482. This increase, while substantial, is not nearly as dramatic as the surge witnessed during the period 1983-86, when the number of development programs operated by Bahá’í institutions almost doubled each year, soaring from 196 to 1,247.
During this past year, the number of projects increased by 15 percent in Africa, by 2 percent in the Americas, by 21 percent in Asia, and rose in Australasia and Europe by 152 percent and 129 percent respectively. It should be noted that both of those continental areas had lower levels of activity initially: Australasia had 27 projects reported in 1986, while Europe had 31. The local activities taking place in Australasia and the United Kingdom, newly reported in detail, account largely for these increases.
Although Bahá’í schools still constitute the largest single category of development project, their number remained virtually unchanged during the past year, whereas the number of other programs rose by 36 percent. India and Zaire, which have approximately 70 percent of the tutorial schools worldwide, are making determined efforts to improve the quality of education at existing schools through increasing the attention paid to teacher training, to curriculum development, and—most importantly—to including spiritual and moral education based on the Bahá’í Teachings in tutorial school programs. In addition, new schools are be-
By offering Bahá’í classes, introducing Bahá’í concepts in the academic curriculum, and emphasizing consultation as a means for problem-solving, a tutorial school can raise the entire community’s level of understanding about the Faith.
ing opened only when local Assemblies are prepared to assume major responsibility for their operation.
By offering Bahá’í classes, introducing Bahá’í concepts in the academic curriculum, and emphasizing consultation as a means for problem-solving, a tutorial school can raise the entire community’s level of understanding about the Faith. The local Spiritual Assembly of a community in which a school has been established often becomes more active due partly to the need it finds for consulting about the school. In many cases, school activities create opportunities to proclaim the Faith directly or indirectly. Teachers, and their students as well, may play an important role in persuading other community members to modify long-standing hygiene, nutrition and agriculture practices. Based on its experience with the tutorial school, the Assembly itself may identify other ways to advance the social and economic life of the community and proceed to implement its ideas with increased confidence.
The increasing percentage of nonschool programs demonstrates that more and more Bahá’í communities are consulting on how to apply the Faith’s spiritual principles to the challenges of daily life. Communities have discovered a wide range of imaginative approaches which simultaneously meet social needs and strengthen the fabric of Bahá’í community life.
AFRICA[edit]
Education. Achievements during the last year include the extensive development of the Ruaha Technical/Agricultural Secondary School in Tanzania, the inauguration of the Olinga Library and an agricultural training program in Chad, and the initiation of a technical skills development program in Nigeria. In addition, Bahá’í communities in several countries conducted teacher training programs. In the midst of a major construction program, the Ruaha School has increased enrollment from 160 to 270 and attained self-sufficiency for daily operational costs. In Chad, the Moissala Assembly constructed a small public library and stationery store in the same building. Proceeds from sales in the stationery store pay the salaries of the library/store attendants. This local Assembly also started a program to train people in development-related skills so they will be able to help rural communities with agriculture and community development.
| This report on Bahá’í development projects (October 1987) was prepared by the Department of Statistics at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. |
Recognizing that teacher training is essential to the success of tutorial schools, literacy and pre-school programs, Bahá’í institutions in Kenya, Zaire and Zimbabwe have conducted recent training programs. National Spiritual Assemblies in Liberia and Malawi developed written guidelines for their tutorial school programs, clarifying the responsibilities of the local and National Assemblies. In Zaire, it has been noted that the local tutorial schools often play an important role in the consolidation of Bahá’í communities.
Health and social services. In Burkina Faso, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, programs to train volunteer community health educators have recently been conducted. The community
| Operational Bahá’í Development Projects: A Statistical Summary | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | Americas | Asia | Australasia | Europe | World | |
| Agriculture | 59 | 6 | 25 | 14 | 0 | 104 |
| Community Development | 32 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 70 |
| Education | 191 | 104 | 479 | 20 | 11 | 805 |
| Tutorial Schools | 139 | 53 | 321 | 5 | 0 | 518 |
| Academic Schools | 4 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 29 |
| Pre-Schools | 25 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 55 |
| Literacy Projects | 6 | 4 | 88 | 1 | 0 | 99 |
| Other Projects | 17 | 18 | 49 | 9 | 11 | 104 |
| Forestry and Tree-Planting | 3 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Health | 35 | 6 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 74 |
| Radio Stations | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Social Services | 6 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 53 |
| Misc. and Unspecified | 9 | 264 | 19 | 13 | 46 | 351 |
| TOTALS | 336 | 423 | 584 | 68 | 71 | 1,482 |
health educator training programs, whose over-all goal is to improve both physical and spiritual health, follow a model developed by Dr. Ethel Martens, which apparently could be replicated successfully in many other places as well. Specific training focuses on preventive health measures and covers topics such as growth monitoring, breast-feeding, oral rehydration, immunization, personal hygiene and environmental sanitation. Every effort is made to engage the trainees in discussion which often focuses on methods for applying the newly-acquired information in one’s home community. Since the example set by health educators is an important stimulus for change, trainers emphasize its importance during the course of the program. Provision has been made in each country for supervising the volunteers and following up on their activities, thereby reinforcing the initial training given.
Agriculture and forestry. A total of 62 small-scale local agriculture and tree-planting efforts are under way throughout Africa, according to records held by the Department of Statistics. Cooperative farms or garden plots supervised by the local Spiritual Assembly comprise the majority of these activities. Produce is often contributed to Bahá’í conferences or other events, while monies raised through sale of cash crops frequently are donated to the Bahá’í Funds or used to construct a local Hazíratu’l-Quds or tutorial school. Tree-planting or farming on Temple sites or other Bahá’í properties also safeguards ownership of the property in some cases and demonstrates the Bahá’ís’ commitment to improving the environment. In Burkina Faso, a Bahá’í community recently obtained land from village authorities for an orchard, which will be held by the Assembly as one of the Faith’s national endowments.
Radio stations. Radio Bahá’í Liberia (ELRB), the first Bahá’í-owned radio station in Africa, aired its initial broadcast in December 1986. Reaching most of Liberia and parts of Guinea, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone with its 5kW signal, ELRB has rapidly attracted a diverse and enthusiastic audience with its blend of cultural, service and Bahá’í programming.
Community development and other projects. Noteworthy developments in this field include the expansion of Zaire’s Pygmy project, the initiation of a major “Youth Year of Service” project in Botswana, a technical assistance program and writers’ project in Nigeria, and economic development activities in Sierra Leone. Zaire’s Pygmy population has long been subject to discrimination, but through the influence of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation and the application of appropriate technologies, a number of Pygmy communities are steadily transforming themselves. The Pygmy project with its combination of educational, agricultural, health and community development activities has expanded to 10 additional villages.
In Botswana, the National Spiritual Assembly has launched an ambitious teaching and service program, using the services of a group of dedicated youth from Europe and North America who came to take part in its “Youth Year of Service” project. A Nigerian Bahá’í community has implemented a technical skills development program based on the laudable principle that people who have technical skills should pass them on to others. The same community has also extended help to three other communities for their agricultural projects. Another Nigerian community has established a writers’ project, apparently unique in the Bahá’í world, which encourages its members to develop writing, research and consultation skills and helps them to write about the Faith. Meanwhile, the National Assembly of Sierra Leone has established a revolving loan fund which currently assists three Bahá’í communities with agricultural services, while another loan fund has helped launch a soap-making enterprise.
AMERICAS[edit]
Education. The use of Bahá’í institutes as sites for social and economic development training activities increases yearly. Established Bahá’í (summer/winter) schools in the United States, such as Bosch, Green Acre and Louhelen, have added educational programs designed for the general public to their long-established Bahá’í curriculum and devoted more courses to the topic of development. The Tabarsi Training Institute in Honduras and the Tumben Kin (formerly Martha Root) Institute in Mexico have initiated training activities for predominantly indigenous Bahá’í populations while proceeding with major construction programs. El Salvador’s Jamaliyyih Institute also is developing its facilities in preparation for programs that will combine practical training in agriculture, construction, basic health care and literacy with intensive Bahá’í deepening. As part of the Amazon Project
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in Brazil, a rural polytechnic institute
also is under construction. Trainees
from all of these institutes are expected
to return home and apply their newly-acquired skills while teaching them to
others, thereby contributing to the development of Bahá’í community life.
Notable efforts to improve the quality of education offered in Bahá’í schools include: a training program for Panama’s tutorial school teachers; collaboration in the publication of a Guaymi-Spanish-English dictionary (which should help efforts to enhance literacy among the Guaymi Indians); programs conducted at the Ruhi Institute in Colombia to orient youth who have volunteered a year of service to the Faith; and the development in Haiti of a third-grade reading text which helps students make a transition from Creole to French as the language of instruction. This reader, the first of its kind in Haiti, has been favorably reviewed by the government’s educational authorities, and the most prestigious publishing house in that country is negotiating rights for its publication. There are indications that this reader will be used in schools throughout Haiti.
Health and social services. Recent social service activities include alcohol and drug abuse programs in Alaska and projects to help supply food to the poor in Canada and the U.S. Efforts in the health field include an anti-parasite campaign in the Dominican Republic and development of the Project Bayan health clinic and hospital in Honduras. Several Alaskan Bahá’í communities are actively engaged in programs to combat alcoholism, a condition which has been identified as the primary health and social problem among the state’s indigenous population. By applying spiritual principles to these problems, Bahá’í communities have gained increasing recognition among the general public.
In Canada, the Bahá’í community of North York, Ontario, is taking part in a local food bank, providing free food to people in need, while in the United States the local Assembly of San Marcos, Texas, organized a community-wide program to collect non-perishable food supplies for low-income families. The anti-parasite campaign, organized by the Dominican Republic’s local Spiritual Assembly of Dajabon in collaboration with several local organizations and 100 volunteers, treated more than 600 children with an anti-parasitic powder. In Honduras, two Bahá’í pioneer families completed the construction of a small rural hospital in an isolated region with a sizeable Bahá’í community where the nearest hospital was 100 miles away; a U.S.-based charitable organization recently flew in a medical team for a nine-day visit, donating large quantities of medical supplies, treating some 1,200 people, and contributing patient fees toward the construction in Palacios of a badly needed secondary school.
Agriculture and forestry. Within the past two years, Bahá’í-sponsored tree-planting programs in Haiti have distributed more than 100,000 seedlings for planting. Development of a tree nursery in Lilavois, carried out with help from an international agency, has enabled the project to double its output and supply several reforestation projects in the area. In Costa Rica, indigenous believers have started a project that involves the cooperative production and marketing of agricultural products, while at the Native American Bahá’í Institute in the U.S. a native seeds garden and fruit orchard have been successfully established.
Radio stations. In November 1986 Radio Bahá’í Chile joined four other Bahá’í stations in Latin America, all of which serve predominantly indigenous populations. Its signal reaches more than 200 rural communities, including the area inhabited by most of Chile’s Mapuche Indian population. This Radio Bahá’í station broadcasts cultural and community service programs which have already attracted a sizeable
A front view of the Anís Zunúzí Bahá’í School in Lilavois, Haiti.
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and loyal listening audience and, in the
near future, the station plans to institute more Bahá’í programming.
Radio Bahá’í Panama, which went on
the air in January 1986, has increased
its broadcast schedule from four to 12
hours each day and plans to raise the
number of programs geared specifically toward the Guaymi Indian community. To fully integrate the radio stations’ work with ongoing Bahá’í teaching and community development activities, coordinating committees have
been established for all of the Latin
American Bahá’í radio stations. As a
step toward administrative development, all station coordinators were invited by the International Bahá’í
Audio-Visual Centre (IBAVC) to attend a recent deepening and training
seminar at the Ruhi Institute in Colombia. The participants agreed that the
occasion was timely and that the discussions held were highly beneficial.
Community development and other projects. Major activities include the inauguration of the Guaymi Cultural Center in Panama, a dramatic rise in the number of self-help groups guided by Haiti’s Anís Zunúzí Rural Development Program, the initiation of “Year of Service” or other youth service projects in several countries, and additional varied activities. Through Bahá’í deepening and programs designed to promote Guaymi culture, the newly inaugurated Guaymi Cultural Center in Panama promises to play a crucial role in consolidating and teaching the Faith in a region that has been exceptionally receptive to the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. The construction of the Cultural Center using locally available materials was in itself a major development project, as the Guaymi Bahá’ís rallied to provide much of the needed labor force.
In Haiti, the Anís Zunúzí Rural Development Program has been promoting the formation of mini-cooperatives as a means of enhancing community self-reliance, and recently this process seems to have accelerated dramatically. The number of these “groupements,” consisting mostly of non-Bahá’ís but guided where they exist in the Lilavois and Liancourt areas by Bahá’í development workers and local Assemblies, has more than doubled in the past year, standing now at about 80. Not only has the number of small groupements increased, but several associations of groupements have been formed, and various larger-scale cooperative businesses have been launched.
National Assemblies in Alaska, Panama and Venezuela report various youth service projects, while the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada has organized a Youth Service Overseas Program, sending more than 20 young people to foreign countries, mostly in service to the Faith; Grenada
Radio Bahá’í Panama, which went on the air in January 1986, has increased its broadcast schedule from four to 12 hours each day and plans to raise the number of programs geared specifically toward the Guaymi Indian community.
and Belize have initiated activities in support of the United Nations International Year of Shelter for the Homeless; Bahá’ís in Colombia have embarked on the unique project of writing the history of rural communities engaged in social and economic development activities.
ASIA[edit]
Education. The organization of the New Era Development Institute (NEDI) in India, the major development of several schools and institutes, the consolidation of India’s tutorial school system, the development of literacy classes in Laos, the further strengthening of tutorial schools in the Philippines, and the establishment of Bahá’í schools in Thailand’s refugee camps have been the most notable achievements during the period under review.
Recently organized, the New Era Development Institute has integrated the former Bahá’í Academy and the Centre for Rural Development and Technology into a unified organizational structure. The Institute, which places special emphasis on the training of women, primarily aims to provide spiritual and practical training to selected Bahá’ís. A major construction program is being initiated to provide the additional facilities necessary for NEDI’s operations. Significant construction activities are under way at India’s Faizí Institute to expand the Bahá’í Vocational Institute for Rural Women, and at the (Tadong) Bahá’í School in Sikkim, while the National Bahá’í Development Institute in Bangladesh has added new facilities within the past year. In Pakistan, the New Day Montessori/High School has been legally recognized by the government; this lays a foundation for future development.
Lately, the National Spiritual Assembly of India has been making a concerted effort to enhance and strengthen its tutorial school system. To this end, it has formulated a comprehensive policy to guide the future development of these rural primary schools, including the stipulation that the schools achieve self-sufficiency, while fostering its own capacity plus that of the State Councils and Teaching Committees to provide administrative support. As part of this effort, the Rabbani Community Development Program has been training tutorial school teachers from several states. In Nepal, the National Assembly has expanded its adult literacy program and is taking steps to improve supervision and teacher training. For several years the National Spiritual Assembly of the Philippines has been expanding and strengthening its tutorial school program, which operates primarily in remote tribal communities having sizeable Bahá’í populations. Some of the teachers play an important role in the over-all development of their communities through helping to consolidate the local Assemblies and exerting an influence on local agriculture and health practices. Since the people trust the Assemblies, government agencies have used Bahá’í Assemblies as their official liaison in dealings with tribal communities in some instances.
Other noteworthy achievements include the development of kindergartens and literacy classes for the general community at Bahá’í Centers in Laos, which has been appreciated by the authorities, as well as the development of Bahá’í schools in refugee camps and resettlement areas in Thailand where many Indochinese refugees have become Bahá’ís. The local Spiritual Assemblies formed in these camps have established schools which must operate without external support.
Health and social services. Activities
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reported in the past year include medical camps and the training of volunteer community health workers in India, a pilot health program in the Philippines, a health education effort in
Malaysia, plus health screening and
community social service programs in
Singapore. Medical camps were conducted in several Indian states, primarily serving tribal peoples who lack
adequate access to health services. Recognizing the efficacy of preventive
health measures, Bahá’í sponsors increasingly provide health education
with curative medical and dental care.
These camps often include Bahá’í
deepening and teaching activities, during which the visiting health teams can
explain the Faith’s teachings on health
and healing, including the relationship
between physical and spiritual health.
Medical camps also have been held in
Bangladesh and Pakistan, while in the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands the local Spiritual Assembly of Port Blair organized homeopathy medical camps in
two localities which provided badly
needed health care, and incidentally
generated publicity for the Faith in the
local media.
The New Era Development Institute in India has developed a manual incorporating Bahá’í principles on health for training community health workers and has used it in at least one training program, while the Rabbani Community Development Program has begun training village women as volunteer health workers. This is especially important because it is difficult for village men to discuss health issues with women in many parts of the world, and the women have primary responsibility for family health matters. In a pilot health project launched in the Philippines, a Bahá’í medical team visited a remote tribal area, walking for eight hours to reach it. This was the first time that doctors had come to the region, and within three days they were able to treat more than 300 people. The area has many strong Bahá’í communities whose help the National Assembly intends to call upon to ensure the success of its planned child immunization program, to be conducted as an extension of this project. Malaysian Bahá’ís organized an anti-drug seminar in collaboration with the local Information Department; the believers in Singapore carried out a high blood pressure screening program and helped with the swimming program at a school for handicapped children.
Pictured during a classroom presentation are teachers and students at the Bahá’í-run New Era School in Panchgani (near Bombay), India.
Agriculture and forestry. Bahá’í institutions manage a total of 35 agricultural and tree-planting endeavors in
Asia, with most of them located in Malaysia where 20 small cooperative
farming ventures and fish ponds enable
Bahá’í communities to contribute to
the Fund and to other community activities. However, the most notable effort by far was the afforestation program conducted by the Rabbani School
in India, for which the school won the
prestigious Indira Gandhi Friends of
the Trees Award in the schools category. This national award, presented
by the Prime Minister in a ceremony
that was extensively covered by national media, lauds Rabbani students
for their involvement in tree-planting
activities in nearby communities and
praises the school for curtailing drastically its own consumption of wood
through use of fuel-efficient stoves. A
model tree nursery has been established
at the school, and several villagers have
begun their own tree nurseries with
help from Rabbani staff. The Rabbani
School also conducts an agricultural development program in a number of
neighboring villages, providing residents with guidance and systematic
training to adopt better methods of
farming.
Community development and other programs. The initiation of a program to develop model Bahá’í villages in India, and the community service activities carried out by Vietnamese Bahá’í refugees in Hong Kong highlight recent community development initiatives. In India, Uttar Pradesh’s state Bahá’í Council has embarked on a program to develop model communities, starting with a handful of predominantly Bahá’í villages which have strong local Spiritual Assemblies. The State Council intends systematically to cultivate development which is spiritually, socially and materially balanced in these villages, thereby demonstrating the power of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation to transform society. Many of the Vietnamese residing in Hong Kong’s refugee camps have become Bahá’ís, and in spite of horrendously overcrowded living conditions and bleak prospects for resettlement, this gallant community of believers has maintained a positive outlook. Besides holding regular Nine-
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The Bahá’í Teaching Institute in Lelata, Apia, Western Samoa.
teen Day Feasts and Assembly meetings, the Bahá’í refugees conduct a monthly clean-up campaign, cheerfully doing a great deal of heavy, dirty work. This service has greatly impressed the camp authorities, resulting in increased respect for the Faith in Hong Kong.
AUSTRALASIA[edit]
Education. Several countries have established Bahá’í schools and other educational programs recently, and schools in Papua New Guinea and Fiji have obtained official recognition. In a remote area of Papua New Guinea where the Faith has spread rapidly, local believers have constructed a school building, a dormitory and a teacher’s house as well as having contributed a part of the teacher’s salary. The National Spiritual Assembly believes that this school not only fills an urgent educational need but that it also will help considerably in the Bahá’í community’s consolidation.
In Samoa, the National Assembly oversees the operation of a Montessori school, which has attracted a highly diverse group of children. Recognizing the critical importance of helping Iranian Bahá’í refugees maintain their native language and culture while integrating with the general society, the Perth Assembly in Australia has established the Hedayat School of Persian Language. Other achievements include the long-sought registration of the Lomaivuna Bahá’í Kindergarten in Fiji and legal recognition of the Bahá’í Study Centre in Lae, Papua New Guinea, as a high school. This Papuan school enrolls students who had to leave the government schools after grade six, helping them pursue the government correspondence course for grades seven and eight.
Health and social services. A health aid post and Ayyám-i-Há service project in Papua New Guinea, a dyslexia project in Fiji, plus various community service activities in Australia stand out as noteworthy achievements during this reporting period. In a collaborative effort initiated by the government to restore health services in an isolated area, the National Spiritual Assembly of Papua New Guinea recruited a Bahá’í with some health training to serve in the aid post, paying his salary. The local Assembly provides his housing and a garden, a hospital has given him supplementary training, and the Health Department maintains the facility and provides medicine and other supplies. This joint venture became necessary when the dominant church in the area withdrew the Health Officer (whose salary was paid by the church) after a large percentage of the local population enrolled in the Faith, and health conditions there were noticeably deteriorating.
In Fiji, the National Women’s Committee arranged for a specialist in dyslexia (a medical condition that impairs one’s ability to learn) to spend six months in Fiji during which 100 children received treatment. The committee’s determined efforts earned considerable praise for the Faith.
In response to Bahá’u’lláh’s exhortations to conduct charitable activities during Ayyám-i-Há, adult Bahá’ís in Lae, Papua New Guinea, donated blood to the local transfusion service while the Bahá’í children visited sick youngsters in a hospital, giving them
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presents. Many local Assemblies in
Australia have lovingly helped Persian
refugees integrate into Australian society as rapidly as possible, making
contacts on their behalf about housing,
employment and education. When a
typhoon devastated the Solomon Islands, the National Assembly of the
Mariana Islands spearheaded a drive to
send needed supplies, enlisting the support of various civic organizations.
The National Spiritual Assemblies of
New Zealand and Papua New Guinea
also helped the Solomons after the typhoon.
Community development and other projects. The inauguration in Australia of a residential community and training center for Aboriginal people was an outstanding achievement—one that holds great promise for the upliftment of Australia’s indigenous citizens. Featherstone Park, named for the Hand of the Cause of God Collis Featherstone, comprises 40 acres of land in Queensland on which a center will be developed to combine Bahá’í deepening and agricultural training. Initially, the Bahá’ís will construct a meeting place and cultivate bananas. Programs and facilities are expected to expand in accordance with the needs and capacities of the local Aboriginal Bahá’ís, with a Bahá’í community gradually developing on the property.
Another Australian initiative was the establishment in Queensland of a youth support center which helps young people find jobs and offers courses in various practical job skills. Government funding permits the operation of a permanent office with a paid (Bahá’í) organizer.
In Vanuatu, the local Assembly in a predominantly Bahá’í village oversees the sale in the capital city of vegetables produced by local believers. Through this effort, the community has been able to repay quickly a loan obtained from the National Spiritual Assembly that enabled purchase of the small second-hand truck used to transport the produce. Proceeds are shared among the individual growers, the truck project, and the Bahá’í Funds. Other efforts in this category include the following: a Bahá’í Assembly in Fiji has actively supported a government program to promote use of smokeless fuel-efficient stoves; a community in the Marshall Islands initiated construction
The Landegg Bahá’í Centre in Switzerland.
of a shelter at the local landing strip, prompting the rest of the community to complete the structure; and a Bahá’í community in Hawaii has established a distinctive scholarship program whereby the annual award is made to the graduating high school senior who best exemplifies certain specified spiritual and ethical qualities based on the Bahá’í Teachings. The award has had a considerable impact on the small, isolated and largely native Hawaiian community.
EUROPE[edit]
Social services. National Spiritual Assemblies in Ireland, Norway and Switzerland report programs to integrate Persian Bahá’í refugees into their new countries. The Irish Bahá’ís have found that consultation is the key means for solving the myriad problems faced by the refugees. In each of these countries the positive attitude and adaptability of the Persian believers, coupled with the loving and determined efforts to help on the part of European Bahá’ís, have contributed immensely to successful integration. In general, adjustment has been much better when the refugees have agreed to settle as pioneers in goal areas away from large concentrations of other Iranian believers, because there is more incentive to learn the local language and to develop friendships with Europeans. In Germany, the National Spiritual Assembly has responded to the problem of chronic unemployment by appointing four Bahá’ís as counselors to consult with and encourage unemployed Bahá’ís.
Community development and other programs. During the past year a variety of projects have been developed, with several of them focusing on children and youth. The French National Youth Committee organized a month-long youth service and teaching project in Corsica that involved 19 youth who cleared brush, tended young trees in a forest grove, and performed many other services, consciously striving to demonstrate Bahá’í principles through their humble behavior, hard work and self-sacrifice. In conjunction with the Manchester Youth Conference, the National Youth Committee of the United Kingdom held youth service projects dedicated to the two Bahá’í youth most recently martyred in Iran. In Ireland, a summer camp for children sought to enhance cooperation and concern for the environment, while a traveling puppet show developed by a Bahá’í community educates children on peace. Communities in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands have all contributed financially to development activities in Third World countries.
Sierra Leone[edit]
Tutorial school opens in Yikandor[edit]
Last August 25, the Bahá’í tutorial school at Yikandor, in the Pujehun District of Sierra Leone, which was established in November 1984, received approval from the country’s Ministry of Education as a primary school.
One of the requirements was the employment of a trained and qualified teacher to run the school. The offer by a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Sierra Leone to move to the area and take up the appointment enabled the school to start on a firm footing.
The original two-classroom wattle building, built completely through the unified action of the local community, was replaced by a permanent cement structure with a zinc roof, built by the local community with help from the National Assembly and sponsored by the Bo/Pujehun Rural Development Project. The new building consists of three classrooms, an office and a store. The people of Yikandor provided the labor and materials such as sand, boards, sticks and stones. Everyone—men, women and children—took part in the work.
While construction was going on, a series of photographs was taken showing the progress of the work. When it was completed, the photographs were presented to officers of the Ministry of Education so that the registration and approval of the school could be effected. On August 25, 1987, the Ministry gave its final approval, and the school was registered with the number P77. The Bahá’í school was one of only three approved at that time in the entire country.
More than a thousand people attended the school’s opening ceremony on November 21, 1987. Among them were the Paramount Chiefs of the Panga-Kabonde and Malen Chiefdoms; the inspector of schools, Pujehun District; the District Officer and assistant District Officer; the Officer Commanding (police); the Inspectorate officers; head teachers, teachers, section chiefs, town chiefs, and six members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Sierra Leone. The Muslim primary school in Benga and the District Education Committee school at Masahun Fortune were represented, while several groups of native dancers graced the occasion, the planning for which had begun several months before.
The ceremony began at 11:30 a.m. with prayers in English, Mende (the local language) and Arabic. After a speech of welcome by Aminata Lusenie, a Class 4 student, Alfred Robinson, a pioneer to the area, explained how the Bahá’ís had established the school in response to requests from the villagers themselves, who said, “The children you train (at the school) will be your true Bahá’ís.” And so the school was begun with Miss Mary Sam, a resident of the village, as the volunteer teacher.
One of the Paramount Chiefs said that, as this is the first Bahá’í primary school in the country, he would do his utmost to give his full support to the Bahá’ís, and urged his people to do likewise. The district Inspector of Schools added that this was not the time for words, but deeds. The Bahá’í school, he said, was “the fastest progressing” he had ever seen in the area. He promised that he would always be prepared to serve any agency that would do “just as the Bahá’ís have done.”
The representative of the Community Development Program Officer for Bo/Pujehun Project, Tahiru Fullei, expressed appreciation for the speed and quality of the work. “The cooperation and efforts of the Bahá’ís in this community has made a never-to-be-forgotten impression,” he said, “and we are always ready to give you our support.”
The chairman called on the Town Chief, Moibeh Jusu, who is a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Yikandor, to cut the ribbon, after which the sounds of musical instruments were heard throughout the village. Food was served, and everyone enjoyed special dances by students at the school.
The school now has five staff members including the head teacher and 135 students, some from other villages such as Benga, Gabena, Barleh and Sahn.
There are plans to extend the curriculum to include arts and crafts, needlework and agriculture, and the community is planning to build housing for the staff near the campus.
Bolivia[edit]
FUNDESIB aids development work[edit]
| For more information about Núr University or FUNDESIB, contact Steven A. Kozlow, Núr University Liaison Officer, 2411 S. Lafayette St., Shelby, NC 28150 (phone 704-484-1697).
For more information about Badi School, contact Bruce Fox, Badi School, Casilla 658, Sucre, Bolivia. |
Bolivia is a country whose geography shows many contrasts. La Paz, the capital, is 12,000 feet up in the Andes mountains; other major cities are nestled in lovely mountain valleys, and, proceeding east, one comes down from the mountains and foothills to encounter tropical jungles.
The teaching work of the Faith has gone well in Bolivia; today there are almost 100,000 believers, or about one percent of the population. Most of them are indigenous village people who live in small communities in relatively inaccessible areas of the country.
This rugged and beautiful country has been plagued recently by a steady economic decline, and the Bahá’í villagers as well as the rest of the population suffer more and more from this. Their communities lack even the most basic services, and relief does not appear to be at hand in the foreseeable future.
Into this arena of steadily eroding fortunes, FUNDESIB (Fundación de Desarrollo Integral de Bolivia, or, in English, Foundation for the Integrated Development of Bolivia) has come into being. FUNDESIB was founded in 1982 by a group of Bahá’ís, some of whom were pioneers and some native believers. Its main goals are the development and growth of Bolivia, and its by-laws incorporate divine principles established by Bahá’u’lláh and set forth in His Writings.
Manucher Shoui, rector of Universidad Núr in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
FUNDESIB’s first development task was the establishment and promotion of a Bahá’í university in Bolivia. With help from Counsellor Eloy Anello, who lives in Bolivia, Universidad Núr was founded in 1984 in Santa Cruz as a private university dedicated to the development of its students in the service of rural development.
From humble beginnings, Núr University has grown steadily and has changed its locale several times in response to that growth. Now finishing its third year, it is housed in a lovely building in the heart of downtown Santa Cruz. The school serves more than 500 students and boasts the only officially approved master’s degree program in Bolivia. All of these victories have been won at the cost of great sacrifice on the part of those who work at Núr—and more sacrifice will be needed to continue the work and development of this first functioning Bahá’í university in the world.
| This article, “Social and Economic Development in Bolivia,” was written by Steven A. Kozlow of Shelby, North Carolina, who is the U.S. liaison for Núr University in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. |
While the University of Núr concentrates on higher education, primary education is the concern at the Badi School in Sucre which was founded more than four years ago by pioneer Bruce Fox and employs some of the most innovative educational techniques seen in Bolivia.
Now that Núr University has been launched and its future is being guided by capable believers, FUNDESIB has recently begun its own development in-
[Page 11]
itiative in the Chaco, an inhospitable
region in southern Bolivia, northern
Argentina and northeastern Paraguay
characterized by desolate rolling hills
and savanna grasslands. The region is
all but forgotten by the governments of
these three countries, and the people
who live there can count on few social
services of any kind.
FUNDESIB entered the Chaco less than a year ago with a community development project, the funding for which came from several sources including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
FUNDESIB is also working with ESPERANCA, a health development organization which operates a child survival project in the Chaco. Although FUNDESIB’s own project is relatively small and has only modest funding, what is exciting is that FUNDESIB has come to be recognized as a legitimate and professional development organization in Bolivia and has been approved for funding by international donor agencies. The foundation is presently seeking more funding for its work and is slowly making a name for itself in development circles.
Bolivia also boasts a most unusual development program, in Cochabamba, which was founded and continues to be run by Dr. William Baker. The Dorothy Baker Institute for Environmental Studies is situated on land behind one of the mountains that surround the city of Cochabamba. It has been the work of Dr. Baker over the last few years that has put the Institute in a position to help in the development of appropriate technologies among the indigenous population of Bolivia. Innovative irrigation methods, fish farming, solar energy, bio-gas collection, new crops and farming techniques, and raising small farm animals are only some of the areas that are being explored at the Institute. Village residents come to the Institute for a six-month live-in experience that includes hands-on work with all the innovative activities as well as courses and conferences. When they leave, they take these appropriate technologies back to their villages.
Another development project, this one under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia, is Radio Bahá’í, a community station that broadcasts mostly in indigenous languages to the rural villagers. Its programming to date has been mostly community affairs and folk music; now it is in the process of reorganizing its programming to include a significant amount of educational broadcasting. The station was recently approached by the Radio Learning Project, an educational program funded by USAID, about broadcasting that agency’s radio mathematics series for the next three years.
Students are seen between classes at the Bahá’í-operated Universidad Núr in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Last November, in Cochabamba, an especially important event took place: a Bahá’í development conference whose attendees represented all of these development projects in Bolivia as well as representatives from Radio Bahá’í of Lake Titicaca, Peru. What was momentous about the conference was the feeling of excitement about how the Bahá’í-sponsored development projects in Bolivia have come out of obscurity and are beginning to make themselves known in national and even international circles. There was an excitement in the air, and also an air of anticipation ... anticipation of bigger and better things to come.—Steven Kozlow
Cameroon Republic[edit]
More than 70 university students from a number of ethnic backgrounds in Cameroon and from several other countries took part last November 27 in an international social evening organized by the Bahá’í Club at Yaounde University as a part of its yearly program.
The aim of the evening was to welcome all foreign students while providing a forum for an exchange of ideas between them and their Cameroonian counterparts outside of the normal classroom contacts.
Serving as coordinator was Guebe Francois, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Cameroon, whose guidance and inspiration contributed greatly to its success.
Besides pleasant conversation, there were refreshments, music, games, riddles and jokes.
Among the Bahá’ís taking part were two young women from Iran.
Bahá’ís from as far away as France and Ghana attended a Bahá’í Summer School held last December 23-27 in Yaounde, Cameroon Republic.
A highlight was the presentation of a video of the recent visit to France by the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum.
The world[edit]
Bahá’ís spearhead anti-drug program[edit]
A public seminar on drug and alcohol abuse organized last November by the Bahá’í community of Newtownards, Northern Ireland, gained frontpage news coverage the following day, the first time in Northern Ireland that a meeting sponsored and organized by Bahá’ís has been featured so prominently.
Guest speakers included representatives from the local police and YMCA, a community alcohol nurse, a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and a doctor who is an expert in this field.
The meeting was chaired by Eddie Whiteside, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Newtownards.
The city of Londonderry was the scene of the first Northern Ireland Teaching Conference in the second phase of the Six Year Plan.
Nearly 80 Bahá’ís from all parts of the country attended along with some from Letterkenny and Limerick in the Republic of Ireland.
Among those present were Riḍván Mogbel, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly; Auxiliary Board member Beman Khosravi; and traveling teacher Roxanne Terrell.
A highlight was the presentation of a video tape of the nationwide television interview of Charles Macdonald, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly.
A lecture series last October-December, sponsored by a respected educational association in Derry, Northern Ireland, included a Bahá’í among a roster of 10 distinguished theologians or scholars of many faiths.
The Heritage Library Series, called “A Question of Faith,” devoted its December 1 meeting to a talk on the Faith by Dr. C.K. Munro.
Members of the Spiritual Assembly of Inverness, Scotland, receive from a postal official on November 9, 1987, framed editions of the first day cover of a stamp issued by the Post Office of the United Kingdom in honor of Bernard Leach and three other renowned potters. Mr. Leach, a Bahá’í, is known as ‘the father of modern pottery.’ The stamp issue coincided with the 100th anniversary of his birth.
The Philippines[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Morong, Bataan, in the Philippines held a one-day teaching institute last November 30 for 29 Bahá’ís, many of them refugees from Indo-China staying at the Refugee Processing Center in Morong.
There was a visible expression of unity in diversity as Filipino, American, Vietnamese, Laotian, Chinese and Samoan friends joined in studying the basic teachings and special approaches to teaching Christian and Buddhist topics.
Presenters were a Samoan Bahá’í youth pioneer to the Philippines, an American pioneer, a Filipino traveling teacher, a Laotian refugee, etc.
The Spiritual Assembly of Quezon City, the Philippines, with the support of five neighboring Bahá’í communities, has launched a new radio series called “One Planet, One People, Please.”
The programs are heard each Sunday morning at 9 o’clock on station DWAD.
Two other ongoing radio programs in the Philippines are part of a goal of nine regular programs during this Bahá’í year. They are in the communities of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro, and Cagayan de Oro City.
Thailand[edit]
The International Day of Peace in Bangkok, Thailand, was organized last September by the United Nations Information Service which invited the Bahá’í community to take part by mounting a display at Bangkok University where the celebration was held.
The display, consisting of six panels, outlined in the Thai language the message contained in “The Promise of World Peace.” Copies of the peace statement and other proclamation materials were on hand.
The main speaker was Ambassador Richard Smith of Australia who presented a talk on disarmament, after which, to the delight of the Bahá’ís, the chairman of the celebration announced that a “Peace Messenger” certificate was being presented that same day to the Bahá’í International Community in New York.
Zaire[edit]
The National Bahá’í Women’s Committee of Zaire (recently recognized by the Department of Women’s Affairs) held a Regional Women’s Conference last September 20 at the Bahá’í National Center in Kinshasa.
Ninety participants, mostly women, heard talks on marriage, family life, and the education of children.
The mayor of the Zone of Gombe took an active part in the discussions on education and, at the close of the conference, graciously thanked the Bahá’ís for the illuminating teachings.
Ghana[edit]
About 30 traveling teachers recently visited Nzema land, Ghana, access to which is quite difficult, especially during the rainy season when roads are impassable in wetter years such as this one.
Despite the hazardous conditions, the teachers were able to come to the area and form five new local Spiritual Assemblies and to open 18 localities to the Faith. Nzema land now has a total of 11 Assemblies.
Members of the National Spiritual Assembly and National Teaching Committee of Ghana took part in the project.
Germany[edit]
The Peutinger Collegium, a cultural association composed of some of the most influential people in the State of Bavaria, has taken a second major step to express its sympathy for the Faith, since it distributed copies of the peace statement last year to all members of the State Parliament, and to more than 300 guests at its triennial gathering last December.
The Collegium has published in its December 1987 news organ an article by Dr. Udo Schaefer about the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran. The publication, whose circulation is about 30,000, is distributed to virtually all of the leading figures in southern Germany.
In addition, a gala event is being organized by the Peutinger Collegium at which a nationally prominent speaker is to share the platform with a Bahá’í speaker, both of whom will address the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran.
A recent “Festival of Understanding Among Peoples” sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Bad Mergentheim, Germany, drew an audience of 5,000.
The Assembly in this town, which was once visited by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, enlisted the help of several other groups including UNICEF, SOS Children’s Villages, Amnesty International, an Esperanto club, a sports club, and music and dance groups.
The open-air festival was widely publicized with pages of photographs in two area newspapers and lengthy articles in others.
Participants in the Bahá’í Winter School at Lindlar, Germany, numbering 130 of every age group and nine nationalities, contributed a Tree for Peace to the public park in Lindlar.
The school reported “a mighty spirit of unity” among the diverse groups as they studied the first 140 years in the development of Christianity, Islam and the Bahá’í Faith.
Japan[edit]
Pictured are some of the more than 50 people who attended the first Bahá’í Youth Conference in Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan, which was held last summer. The event was coordinated by the local Bahá’í youth group and sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Kurume. The conference theme was ‘The Six Year Plan and Japanese Youth.’ Speakers represented three nationalities: Japanese, American and Canadian.
Uganda[edit]
Uganda held its first-ever Bahá’í Children’s Conference last December 24-26 with 34 children from the Kampala and Mbale areas welcomed to Kikaaya, Kampala, by members of the National Spiritual Assembly.
The reporter for the Bahá’í Gazette said the number attending was affected by a fuel shortage that had transport in the country almost at a standstill.
Nevertheless, the program generated a new spirit of service, as parents were surprised to see how their children performed and participated. Mbale children presented a play on the beginnings of the Faith and entertained with traditional dances.
Zimbabwe[edit]
More than 150 non-Bahá’ís were present at a recent Bahá’í marriage ceremony in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, conducted by marriage officer E. Sohaili (authorized by the government to perform Bahá’í marriages).
The ceremony was held in a lovely garden setting for two non-Bahá’ís who wished to have a Bahá’í wedding ceremony.
The conference closed with Mr. S. Isimai pointing out the importance of children in teaching the Faith, giving an example of how the Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga had taught the Faith in West Africa by teaching children who then told their parents about the Faith.
More than 100 books were sold and 160 copies of the peace statement distributed last October 16-17 at a Bahá’í display in Mityana, Uganda, where an agricultural fair commemorated World Food Day.
The fair’s theme was “The Small Farmer.”
The Bahá’í Faith was the only religion taking part in a Preferential Trade Area Exhibition last September 21-December 5 in Kampala, Uganda.
Thousands visited the Bahá’í booth and made serious inquiries about the Faith.
Among those who stopped to greet the friends were the President of Uganda, the Prime Minister, other ministers, permanent secretaries, Bishops, and delegates from abroad.
The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe also passed by the booth.
A local newspaper carried a full-page article about the Faith’s participation in the Fair, and a radio interview was held on “Why the Bahá’í Faith participated in a trade fair.”
Laos[edit]
Bahá’ís and their guests are pictured at the dedication ceremony for the local Bahá’í Center in Ban Viengkham Tai, Vientiane Province, Laos.
Australia[edit]
The small but active Bahá’í community of Geraldton in western Australia staged a “Uni-Fest”—United Nations Intercultural Festival—last October 24, United Nations Day.
About 175 people from four religions and more than a dozen countries gathered for a program of music by groups from Italian, Vietnamese, Thai, Scottish and Cocos Island cultures.
Classical music was provided by a guitarist, and an Australian bush-band performed.
Two newspaper columnists and several news articles hailed the event for its unique contribution to unity.
The presence of overseas visitors at this year’s Bahá’í Summer School for Western Australia brought a spiritually uplifting note to the 250 children, youth and adults who were present.
The visitors included Aboriginal believers from north of the Tropic of Capricorn who participated actively.
In January, 36 children from 9-13 years of age, supported by 15 adults offering skills, expertise and energy, held the first Bahá’í National Children’s Camp in Yerinbool, Australia.
Fiji[edit]
Miss Moce Waisu, the teacher of the Lomaivuna Bahá’í kindergarten in Fiji since its inception in 1983, held a two-day workshop last October at the Lomaivuna Bahá’í Center under the sponsorship of the local Spiritual Assembly.
Responding to a request from Peace Corps volunteers, she instructed teachers from 11 pre-schools in Naitasiri Province on music, art and storytelling.
On the last day of the session, a Naitasiri Province Pre-Schools Association was formed, and Moce was elected president.
Brazil[edit]
A Campaign for Peace, sponsored by Bahá’í in Sao Leopoldo, Brazil, opened last September 8 at the Municipal Library in Sao Leopoldo. Brazilian Bahá’ís (third and fourth from right) are Dr. Zilmarian Walker, Bahá’í representative to the United Nations Organization in Brazil, and Dr. Washington Araujo, representing the Bahá’í community. Other dignitaries on the dais include the mayor of Sao Leopoldo, consular and civil officials, educators, and a representative of the Brazilian Society of Physicians for Peace. The week-long series of events, which included an essay contest for young writers, was highly praised by the director of the UN Information Center who expressed the hope that other communities in Brazil would follow the example set by Sao Leopoldo.
Guatemala[edit]
After Guatemala’s affirmative vote in the UN General Assembly’s debate on human rights in Iran, a personal visit was made to the country’s Minister of Foreign Relations to thank him on behalf of the Bahá’ís of Guatemala and to give him an update on the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran prepared by the Bahá’í International Community.
A letter of thanks and a copy of the update were sent by mail to Guatemala’s Permanent Representative to the UN who cast the affirmative vote.
The new National Bahá’í Institute “Shiraz” has been inaugurated in El Tejar, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, with the attendance of the mayor of El Tejar and the governor of the Department of Chimaltenango.
During the ceremonies, Counsellor Arturo Serrano explained the purpose of the Institute, the governor commented on his hopes for the progress of the Faith and Institute, and a ceremonial ribbon was cut while 100 helium balloons were released.
As a result of the cooperation of a Bahá’í representative from Guatemala with UNICEF and other government and private groups in organizing the “Peace Run” when it passed through Guatemala, UNICEF not only sent a special letter of thanks to the National Spiritual Assembly but also asked the Bahá’ís to work with them in planning and organizing a contest throughout Central America with prizes for newscasts that focus on the needs of women and children.
The Bahá’í public relations committee in Guatemala prepared nine pages of short quotations from the Bahá’í Writings on peace, education, consultation, unity, world government and related topics, taken from the peace statement and other sources.
Grenada[edit]
Bahá’í youth in Grenada, inspired by the recent visit of a musical group from Guyana and by the Caribbean Youth Conference, have put together their own group which gave its first public performance last October at the Bahá’í National Center.
Included were songs, a drama to illustrate the evils of gossip, and a solo performance on the steel drum, all enhanced by dramatic stage lighting and a creative approach to costume and make-up.
Austria[edit]
Nine countries were represented among the 190 participants at the Austrian Bahá’í Winter School in Bad Hall, Upper Austria, at the end of 1987.
Two Counsellors, Dr. Leo Niederreiter and Ilhan Sezgin, addressed the sessions, and two new believers were enrolled in the Faith.
India[edit]
In the far northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India, bordering on China, a new Assembly was formed in a tribal area at Barmour and 56 tribal people in various parts of the state embraced the Faith as a result of a nine-day teaching-deepening campaign held last year in memory of the Hand of the Cause of God Rahmatu’lláh Muhájir.
Also, 75 new believers were enrolled in Kinour District where a public meeting was arranged in a Tibetan school.
A Bahá’í lending library is to be established in the district.
A new course in roadside mechanics began August 3 at the New Era Development Institute in Panchgani, India.
Twelve students were enrolled in the 21-day course which covers three topics: “Roadside Mechanics Theory,” “Roadside Mechanics Practice,” and a section in Bahá’í Studies.
On January 20, after hearing testimony of the persecutions in Iran from Ruhiyyih Jahanpur, a cellmate of some of the Bahá’í martyrs and prisoners in that country, the Supreme Court Bar Association of India adopted a resolution expressing its deep concern and sympathy for the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran and assured the Bahá’ís that the resolution would be forwarded to the Prime Minister of India with copies to the government of India and the ambassador of Iran.
Students at the Pahadipur Village Bahá’í Tutorial School in India are pictured during a physical training competition held last February at a Bal Mela (Children’s Fair). The event, in Phanpur, was one of seven such fairs held so far this year for the Bahá’í schools in Uttar Pradesh with 53 schools and 1,820 children taking part.
Pictured are members of a Bahá’í
sponsored adult literacy class, one of
60 conducted by the New Era Development Program, which meets in a village
in the Krishna Valley near Panchgani,
India.
Miss Jahanpur was invited to address the more than 80 members of the Bar by one of its members, Advocate Raghunath Singh. Many of them had read newspaper accounts of the persecutions, but Miss Jahanpur’s visit marked the first time they had heard a first-hand account of them.
Afterward, as the Bahá’ís were on their way to donate a number of books to the Library of Judges, they met a former judge, Mrs. Kapila Hingorani, who said that during a Law Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1987 she had highlighted in a paper she presented the plight of the Bahá’í minority in Iran. She further said that she would be happy to attend Bahá’í-sponsored public meetings on this and related issues.
Members of six Councils, one State Teaching Committee, the Auxiliary Board, and area teaching committees of the northern states of India met for a three-day consultative conference last September 18-20 in New Delhi.
The gathering was inspired by a message from the Universal House of Justice about mass teaching in Taiwan and Nigeria, and was honored by the presence of Hushmand Fatheazam, a member of the House of Justice, whose guidance was greatly appreciated.
Four members of the Continental Board of Counsellors also were present.
Twenty-two women from seven states in India met last October 29 to study the compilation on women prepared by the World Centre and to identify needs of women, adopt specific goals, and begin women’s activities.
The four days of meetings were dedicated to Tahirih and to the present-day martyrs in Iran.
Republic of Ireland[edit]
Inspired by reports of worldwide youth activities, the Bahá’í youth of Ireland met at the Irish Summer School and drew up plans for a 64-mile ‘Walk for World Peace’ (the Táhirih Project) from Cork to Limerick. Forty-five walkers from many communities in Ireland and Northern Ireland as well as from Australia and the U.K. took part in the walk last October 3-4. They were sent on their way by David Hoffman, a member of the Universal House of Justice, who presented a moving account of the recent martyrdoms in Iran. More than 300 copies of the peace statement were handed out during the 19-hour walk, and the effort was crowned by receipt of a telex from the Universal House of Justice on their arrival in Limerick.
Jamaica[edit]
Twelve young Bahá’ís from North America (among them three Native Americans, three blacks and three of Persian origin) took part last year in Jamaica’s Summer Youth Project, working daily with Jamaican youth from all areas of the island.
Between July 25 and August 23, when the summer project ended with a National Youth Conference, the 12 visitors dispersed to six rural communities and visited at least 16 others. They held workshops, established children’s classes, laid the groundwork for youth clubs, entertained, worked on building an annex to the National Center, held public meetings, firesides and Nineteen Day Feasts, and visited individual believers to deepen and activate them.
In a ceremony last May 28 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahá’ís were awarded two Certificates of Merit for their participation in International Year of Peace activities in Jamaica.
The ceremony, organized by the UN System of Organizations in Jamaica, included the presentation of a commemorative medal to the country’s Minister of Justice, the Hon. Oswald Harding, on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General.
Bahá’ís receiving awards were the communities of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands for underwriting the Brochure Competition on achievements of the United Nations, and the Bahá’í Peace-Maker Players for presenting a Peace Pageant that raised $10,000 for UNICEF.
Bangladesh[edit]
The Mona Teaching Project in Chittagong, Bangladesh, has brought 25 new believers into the Faith and resulted in proclamations to more than 100 authorities.
Costa Rica[edit]
The Bahá’í Youth Art Institute, under construction on a six-acre site in a valley about 10 miles east of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, is to serve as a center for training young people to use the arts in service to mankind.
Courses will be offered in music, dance, drama, public reading of the Holy Scriptures, and the preparation of mass media programs and materials.
Construction began last June, and by the end of August the basement and a part of the ground floor of the dining hall were completed. The center is to consist of a large dining hall, a multi-purpose area, and dormitories for 35 students, for a total floor space of about 8,000 square feet.
Singapore[edit]
The Bahá’í Women’s Committee of Singapore supported the United Nations International Year of Shelter for the Homeless by holding a food fair last September at the Bahá’í Hospice.
The purpose was to raise funds for the destitute.
Bahá’ís who patronized the fair and attended a unity feast held the same day helped, by their participation, to raise money that was forwarded to the UN Development Program (UNDP) on November 12, the anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh.
Colombia[edit]
A two-month International Training Course for tutorial school teachers and youth preparing for a year of service was held last October-November at the Ruhi Institute in Cali, Colombia.
Forty-three youth attended, among whom were two from Brazil, one Guatemalan, one Paraguayan, two North Americans, and 36 from various parts of Colombia.
A highlight of the course was a visit by Dr. David Ruhe, a member of the Universal House of Justice, who was visiting Colombia with Mrs. Ruhe.
A unique aspect of this year’s course was the participation of non-Bahá’ís who came to learn how tutorial schools function in order to apply the curriculum in their communities.
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