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| Bahá’í News | December 1978 | Bahá’í Year 135 |
‘Lights of the world’
Part 1
Seat of the Universal House of Justice[edit]
The building for the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, in a photograph taken from the roof of the Bahá’í International Archives Building on October 10, 1978. The camera is facing in a southeasterly direction along the upper garden of the Arc on Mt. Carmel. The Shrine of the Báb is immediately behind and below the camera position. The resting places of the Sister, Mother, and Brother of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are just out of sight to the far left of the picture.
| Contents |
Latin American reports |
|
Teaching in Honduras, Peru, and El Salvador | 2 |
‘Lights of the world’ |
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Part 1 of 3 on children and learning | 8 |
The Peoples of God: Part 6 |
|
Teaching among the indigenous peoples of Benin | 12 |
Around the world |
|
News from Bahá’í communities in every corner of the globe | 16 |
Cover
As a part of our year-long tribute to the United Nations Year of the Child, we present this month the first article in a three-part series on children and learning, ‘Lights of the World,’ written for Bahá’í News by Deborah H. Christensen of London, Ontario, Canada. The article begins on Page 8.
Change of address should be reported directly to Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. U.S.A. Please attach mailing label. Subscription rates: one year, U.S. $8; two years, U.S. $15. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright ©1978, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Bahá’í News is published monthly for circulation among Bahá’ís only 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: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A.
Latin American Reports[edit]
“We visited all the coastal towns we could,” said a member of the traveling teaching team working in northeastern Honduras this past July and August. “We started at Brus Lagoon (where the Justice of the Peace and his two secretaries were among the first to embrace the Faith), and worked our way west along the northern coastline.
“We went from door to door, guided by a native Honduran Bahá’í (usually a youth) in each town, inviting people to a public meeting—in the school, the civic center, or in one of the homes of the Bahá’ís. The results were astonishing. People enthusiastically embraced the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. We brought in an average of 30 new Bahá’ís in each pueblo (village) we visited.
“There were a total of 546 new Bahá’ís, which doubled the Bahá’í population on the northern coast of Honduras. In the pueblo of Cusuna, 86 people accepted the Faith.”
Team members felt that their diversity was one of the keys to their success. “In addition to Auxiliary Board member Bill Stover (and his guitar, which was very effective in teaching), were Alejandro Melendez, a teenage medical student born in Honduras; Mrs. Jemm Sayyah, a Persian Bahá’í from Switzerland; middle-aged Eddington Wilson, a Mesquito Indian; and 70-year-old Wanita George, a pioneer for 18 years from the United States.
“So far, we have surpassed our goal of 100 new Local Spiritual Assemblies in Honduras. In four towns we visited, donations of land were made for Bahá’í Centers. The lots were measured, and the information was sent to the National Spiritual Assembly. In every town we visited, a real Bahá’í spirit prevailed. Each Bahá’í community managed to locate a cayuco (dugout canoe) with a motor, and delivered us to the next town as we worked our way west along the coast. Together, we started each day with prayers and consultation.”
The team continued west until it reached Trujillo: “From there we went inland by bus to Olanchito, where Henry McLin was the sole Bahá’í. He now has a dozen Bahá’í brothers and sisters, and there, too, a Local Spiritual Assembly was elected.
“We couldn’t stop teaching. On the way home, we taught a youth who had never before heard of the Bahá’í Faith, but who became enthusiastic over what we told him. We gave him our last Bahá’í materials. Now we have another task: to teach in his town, near San Pedro Sula Progreso.
“We plan to return to the coastal villages soon for a follow-up deepening trip. There is freedom to teach the Cause in Honduras—we found absolutely no opposition. We see no reason why Honduras cannot become a Bahá’í country. Our teaching trip was a glorious experience, with confirmation after confirmation of the promises made to us if we arise to teach in this Day of God.”
Honduras[edit]
Peru[edit]
On the opposite page:
Top, two Bahá’ís from Tacayo, Peru, help build the local Bahá’í Center in November 1977.
Middle left, Bahá’ís of Chihuiñuso, in the Puno region of Peru, stand in front of their completed Bahá’í Center in September 1977.
Middle right, some of the friends in Tutocani, in Peru’s Puno region, are shown building their local Bahá’í Center in September 1977.
Bottom left, Bahá’ís in Rumacocha, Loreta, Peru, display gifts donated to the newly-dedicated Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds there, the first in the Peruvian Amazon region.
Bottom right, the dedication of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds at Rumacocha, in Peru’s Amazon River region, took place March 21. The site was donated and the building constructed by the local Bahá’í community following a visit by Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum during the “Green Light Expedition.”
One of the goals of the Five Year Plan for Peru—and for some other National Assemblies—is to “increase the use of radio for Bahá’í programs in Spanish and Quechua with the objective of proclamation of the Faith to a large number of listeners.”
In Peru, the National Radio Committee began fulfilling this goal in early 1977.
The country is close to half a million square miles (800,000 square kilometers) in size, the greater part of it covered by the Andes mountains.
“The Bahá’í national community is widely scattered,” says a report by the National Radio Committee. “Traveling teachers are in short supply, and the only way to reach the thousands of believers in the remotest towns is by radio. With this in mind, the Radio Committee decided to take the plunge in early 1977, with the intention of covering at least half the country with Bahá’í radio programs.
“We acquired some basic recording equipment and microphones. We contacted radio stations whose broadcasts covered areas with large Bahá’í populations or areas where people were receptive to the Teachings.
“The radio stations we selected had a wide broadcast range: some in remote parts of the country: and three short-wave stations, two in the south and one in central Peru.
“Contracts were signed, and the Radio Committee—inspired by its visit to the first Bahá’í-owned radio station in the world, in Otavalo, Ecuador—promised to prepare 15-minute programs to be broadcast daily by two stations, and on weekends by a third station.
“This meant that the Faith—God’s word—would be on the air for half an hour daily, every day of the month. It was a tremendous step for the Five Year Plan.
“We began to prepare programs in Spanish and Aymara, an Indian language. We contracted for someone to help four hours a day, with additional help from volunteers. The scripts would come from CIRBAL, a center for the interchange of Bahá’í radio programs in Latin America, located in El Salvador.
“During 1977, we trained four announcers and two technical operators at the studio in Peru’s capital, Lima. We produced more than 40 hours of tapes in two languages, and sponsored a National Radio Workshop that was well attended.
“One important reason for the success of the radio activity was the participation of the entire national community. In one instance, a Local Assembly bore the cost of studio time, a Bahá’í Group paid for the airtime, and individuals bore another expense in the project.
“In the jungle, a group of pioneers sponsored a program that reached the entire Peruvian Amazon and beyond. Other Assemblies sponsored daily programs in their communities. With this valuable help, we extended radio time to 45 minutes daily for the entire country, and our coverage to 85 percent of the territory, with millions of potential listeners.
“This year we are concentrating on improving the quality of the scripts, aiming for coverage of 100 percent of the country and attempting to coordinate the activities of traveling teachers with radio programs.
“We also will prepare the first regional production center, in Puno. Puno is in the south, and has had a record number of enrollments in the Faith. New equipment has been purchased for the center.
“We are thinking not only of increasing our radio time in different areas, but of using our time more effectively and planning for better coverage. This year we will produce five-minute programs in Spanish, Quechua and Aymara, and ‘flash announcements’ in three languages.
“The experience we have acquired to date has given us new perspectives in our radio projects. We are deepening the believers by radio, which is so vital for expansion of the Faith in this country.”
El Salvador[edit]
El Salvador, with a Five Year Plan goal of acquiring 20 local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, has found the going quite slow.
Many of the people are extremely poor; few have land that could be given for use as a Bahá’í Center.
Recently, however, a most exciting development took place in a small village in the mountains.
Bahá’ís in the village are poor, and the land on which they live belongs to the government, yet they manage to hold Feasts and Assembly meetings and to teach in other villages.
These villagers have faith that they will one day acquire the land on which to build a Center. So they began making plans for that day by establishing a building fund.
Then a new Bahá’í in the village donated earth to make tiles for the roof of the Center. Others offered to cart the earth; women offered to bring water and gather weeds for baking the tiles.
And so, without any land, they began. Because it was the dry season, fires for baking had to be carefully planned.
The villagers made 2,000 tiles by hand, more than enough to roof a large hut. They wanted to bake them on a Holy Day—the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb—but because of high winds, were unable to do so.
Soon, however, the day for baking arrived. Women and children arose at 2 a.m. to begin gathering the weeds and twigs needed for the fire.
At dawn the baking began. With sufficient tiles for roofing, the villagers then awaited a government resolution granting them land for the Center.
This was the first community effort to try to build a local Bahá’í Center in El Salvador without the help of pioneers, and already its repercussions are being felt.
In another town a Bahá’í had donated land for a Center, but the community wasn’t consolidated and no Bahá’í activities were going on.
For two years nothing happened. Then the donor heard that another village had baked tiles for a Center without even having land, and was more determined than ever to have a Center built in his town.
A date was set, materials were donated, a building fund was started. One Sunday at noon, the believer telephoned other Bahá’ís from the country phone near his community and exclaimed, “We did it! We built it! We just finished putting up our ‘glorieta’ (Center)... it’s only four posts and a grass roof, but it’s ours!”
And so on June 25, 1978, the first Center, built by only a few Bahá’ís with some help from two other believers from nearby towns, was completed. It stands by a path in the mountains with a sign painted black with white letters reading, “Centro Bahá’í” (Bahá’í Center).
Above, Bahá’ís in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, after fencing their recently-acquired property, posted this sign: “Propedad de la Communidad Bahá’í de Santa Tecla” (Property of the Bahá’í Community of Santa Tecla).
Opposite page, top left, Eduardo Ortiz and Don Saturnino Lorenzana (standing to the right of ox cart) arranged in June to have 38 fence posts transported to the Bahá’í property in Cantón Las Moritas, El Salvador.
Top right, Bahá’ís in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, spent a day in June fencing in the Bahá’í property purchased in August 1977 in Cantón Las Moritas as an endowment to fulfill a goal of the Five Year Plan assigned to the community by the National Spiritual Assembly of El Salvador.
Bottom right, Bahá’ís from the village of Santa Tecla, El Salvador, string barbed wire between fence posts used to enclose the Bahá’í property in Canton Las Moritas.
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In August 1977 the Bahá’í community of Santa Tecla, El Salvador, purchased a piece of land in Cantón Las Moritas, Department of La Libertad, as an endowment to fulfill a Five Year Plan goal assigned to it by the National Spiritual Assembly of El Salvador.
Some months ago the Spiritual Assembly of Santa Tecla, a community of some 100 Bahá’ís about 12 kilometers (7½ miles) from the capital city, San Salvador, decided to fence the property.
The Assembly set a date of June 17 for the fencing. Barbed wire was purchased, and a sign for the endowment was begun.
Fence posts were difficult to find, but finally some were located at a farm called “El Retiro.” A day before the fencing, Eduardo Ortiz and Don Saturnino Lorenzana selected the posts, and arranged for their transportation to Cantón Las Moritas.
At 10:30 a.m. June 17, the posts arrived by ox-cart. Members of the community (men, women, and children from three to 70 years old) set about making holes for the posts, working together in a spirit of love and harmony.
Thirty-eight fence posts were placed with four rows of barbed wire around the land. A sign was posted which reads “Property of the Bahá’í Community of Santa Tecla.”
During the day the Bahá’í Message was given to Don Marcos, the next-door neighbor to the property, and his family who also helped install some posts.
At 6 p.m. the job was completed and a prayer was said. At the Feast of Raḥmat, the community decided to adopt Cantón Las Moritas as a teaching goal and help to establish a Local Spiritual Assembly there.
The community effort in fencing the endowment helped the Santa Tecla community to understand more fully the words of the Universal House of Justice: “The acquisition of local endowments ... is to help in the consolidation of local communities and to develop the spirit of unity and collaboration among the believers.”
The Santa Tecla endowment is one of 25 endowment goals given to El Salvador in the Five Year Plan. As of July, nine local endowments had been obtained with the remaining 16 to be acquired in the final nine months of the Plan.
El Salvador also has a goal of 20 local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds to be acquired, of which five structures have been purchased along with four pieces of land for construction of Bahá’í Centers.
‘Lights of the world’[edit]
Part 1
(This is the first in a series of three articles on children and learning written by Deborah H. Christensen of London, Ontario, Canada.-Ed.)
“Every child is potentially the light of the world—and at the same time its darkness; wherefore must the question of education be accounted as of primary importance. From his infancy, the child must be nursed at the breast of God’s love, and nurtured in the embrace of His knowledge, that he may radiate light, grow in spirituality, be filled with wisdom and learning, and take on the characteristics of the angelic host.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, quoted in Bahá’í Education: A Compilation, p. 31)
Most of what we believe about how children learn depends on how we answer one basic question: What is a child?
We Bahá’ís are fortunate to have divinely-inspired Writings that clearly illuminate this question, thereby laying a firm foundation for our understanding of how children learn and how we can help them do it.
The above statement of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explodes much of the nonsense about children that is being peddled today.
Children are not “noble savages” who can be left alone to develop perfectly. They are not evil creatures tainted by original sin or uncontrollable subconscious drives. Nor are they like rats or pigeons without free will. They are human souls, capable of reflecting every one of God’s attributes if their latent potential is brought forth.
When we mine the “gems of inestimable value” that lie within a child, that child can truly become “the light of the world.” If the gems are left untouched, however, that same child can sink into darkness.
To learn means to develop a capacity. In other words, learning is the process by which the “gems” are mined and light is assured. These articles will explore, in fairly basic terms, what learning is and how children do it, and offer some ideas about how Bahá’í parents can guide learning.
At the outset we must remind ourselves that there are many dimensions to a human being: physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual. We Bahá’ís know that all these capacities must be fully developed, with particular attention to each individual’s unique potential.
Learning is not just memorizing multiplication tables, for example, although that is an important part. Learning is also becoming coordinated enough to catch a ball, or developing the ability to cooperate with others, or achieving control over anger, or acquiring the spiritual habits and virtues of prayer and meditation.
Learning: Some basic principles[edit]
Although the physiology of learning remains pretty much a
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mystery, we do know some things about the learning process itself. One is the fact that we can always learn more, especially given the many capacities to be developed. For example, not only can we always learn new facts, we can also acquire new social skills and improve our spiritual qualities.
Perfection is endless. Even though capabilities vary, each individual can continually progress.
Timing is an important factor in learning. There are critical periods, or “best times,” for learning things. This is an integral part of the process of human development.
For example, languages are best learned between the ages of one and 10 years. Before age one, most children lack the maturity and experience to talk, and after 10 it is usually hard to learn another language, especially without an accent.
This is equally true of spiritual matters. How hard it is to unlearn old habits!
“It is extremely difficult to teach the individual and refine his character once puberty is passed. By then, as experience hath shown, even if every effort be exerted to modify some tendency of his, it all availeth nothing. He may, perhaps, improve somewhat today; but let a few days pass and he forgetteth, and turneth backward to his habitual condition and accustomed ways. Therefore it is in early childhood that a firm foundation must be laid. While the branch is green and tender it can easily be made straight.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in Bahá’í Education: A Compilation, p. 24)
Sequence is another important aspect of learning. Learning always proceeds from simple to complex.
In learning to read, a child must first recognize letters, then remember the sounds they make, and finally put the letters and sounds together into words. A toddler first speaks single words, then two- to three-word phrases, and eventually sentences.
Jean Piaget, a well-known Swiss researcher, has done considerable work identifying the timing and sequence of intellectual skills. Parents who understand these sequences can more effectively help their children learn.
Children want to learn. They are motivated to do so from the day they are born. Indeed, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tells us that the soul begins to develop (spiritual learning) in the womb.
What often seems random movement in an infant is really his initial attempts to make sense out of his body and his world by exploring at whatever level he can. The need for learning, as real as any physical need, is what drives a child forward and ensures his development.
Children learn by interacting with their environment and by getting feedback from it.
By environment is meant everything, human and material, that surrounds the child. It is a critical factor in human development.
An infant learns security and emotional well-being if the feedback he gets from his mother is in the form of satisfied physical needs, warmth, and love. His interest in the world is aroused if he is presented with a variety of objects to manipulate.
In research with six-month-old infants, a choice was given between two objects, one familiar and one new. The babies invariably chose the new object. Could one wish for a clearer statement about human motivation?
A corollary to this principle is that learning builds on itself. The richer a child’s experiences, therefore, the more he or she will learn.
The more opportunity he has to explore his surroundings, manipulate many objects, discover likenesses and differences, experiment with, take apart, and recombine objects and elements, the more chance a child has to learn the myriad skills and ideas he must acquire.
This should not suggest a frantic, constantly changing environment, but one with a few constants—from a family to a familiar blanket and bed—with a rich variety of things with which to interact.
Another closely-related principle is that children learn best when they are active participants.
It is hard to imagine an infant simply looking at a new toy or other object and not grabbing it, fondling it, placing it in his mouth, and thoroughly wearing it out through exploration, or a pre-schooler merely watching someone make mud pies without joining in the preparation, tasting, smelling, and serving of such a treat.
Research reinforces this point by revealing that the more the senses are involved, the better something is learned. It is also true that the child’s focus is on the process of learning, the hows and whys, and not necessarily on the product of learning.
The fun of finger-painting lies in the absolutely glorious sensations of squashing, smelling, swirling, tasting, and dabbling with the paint. The end result, albeit something of value (particularly to parents), is of secondary importance to the child.
In summary, learning is a never-ending process that proceeds according to specific sequences, some of which we can now predict in advance, and is timed by the human being’s physical, mental and spiritual development.
Children want to learn, and the key to guiding and reinforcing this basic drive is a rich, varied, supportive environment in which they can be actively involved in the learning adventure.
Human Development[edit]
Every gardener knows the steps involved as a seed develops into a mature plant. He can even predict roughly when these steps will occur.
Like plants, human beings also develop in a predictable fashion. As the gardener nurtures his plants in different ways at different stages, parents should support their child’s learning
‘Every child is potentially the light of the world—and at the same time its darkness.’
according to each particular stage. This, in turn, requires a basic understanding not only of the principles of learning but also of the process of human development.
Development is the process by which man’s potential becomes actual. A new-born infant has the potential to walk. As he matures physically and mentally he will actually walk, sometime between the ages of nine and 15 months.
Said another way, development is a change from a simple state to a more complex one. There are two parts to this process: biological maturing (sustained by food, as discussed in another article in this series) and learning (supported by contact with one’s environment).
Development is marked by stages. This statement, however, is somewhat misleading, because the changes are gradual and continuous. They are also happening on several fronts at once, and growth in one area often sparks growth in another.
For example, while an infant is developing the necessary physical skills to walk—holding up his head, getting up on all fours, crawling, pulling himself up, standing—he is acquiring the mental skills necessary to sort out his world and its many requirements, to say nothing of the emerging social sense of his own self.
Growth is also orderly and sequential, moving from simple to complex. All children go through the same stages, but each child has his own timetable (as well as a different environment). This is why developmental norms (i.e., “The average child will walk between 12 and 14 months”) can be misleading.
With this caution in mind, we can consider several rather general stages at the beginning of human development.
Infancy, from birth until a child can walk, is (from the child’s point of view) a time of overwhelming physical needs and complete dependence on figures who appear and disappear, who seem to be extensions of himself. From the parents’ perspective, the infant is a gift from God (albeit a mixed blessing) whose body and soul have been developing from conception.
Parents, especially mothers, must see infancy as a critical period for developing trust and security. Infants whose physical needs are met by a warm, loving figure develop positive feelings about the world.
Another important job for parents is to provide stimulation for their babies, interesting things to look at and eventually grasp and explore.
Burton White offers some good suggestions in his insightful book, The First Three Years of Life. He points out, for instance, that toy manufacturers who are selling to parents demonstrate very little knowledge of children or their development!
Mobiles, to take one example, are a fine idea, but they are designed so that all the baby sees is the thin, uninteresting bottom
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of the figures. White suggests attaching attractive shapes to the bottoms of the mobile figures, where a baby can see them.
The infant’s need for a strong bond with one adult, who gratifies his overwhelming needs and brings delight to the child, cannot be overstated.
The same bond is further strengthened and developed through toddlerhood and beyond. It is so critical that, according to current research, placing children under three years old in schools or day-care centers is less desirable (although sometimes necessary) than leaving them in a good family environment.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá states that children should not be gathered in groups for formal education until the age of five, but that many concepts should be made clear to them in the nursery—through play and amusement.
Traditionally, of course, this bond has been the mother’s responsibility. She is identified in the Bahá’í Writings as her child’s spiritual educator.
This does not and should not exclude a strong relationship between father and child, which is also important to development, or developing ties with many other people.
The Guardian has confirmed, however, that the mother continues to have primary responsibility for child rearing:
“The task of bringing up a Bahá’í child, as emphasized time and again in Bahá’í Writings, is the chief responsibility of the mother, whose unique privilege is indeed to create in her home such conditions as would be most conducive to both his material and spiritual welfare and advancement. The training which the child first receives through his mother constitutes the strongest foundation for his future development...” (Shoghi Effendi, in Dawn of a New Day, p. 202)
Another general stage in human development is toddlerhood (from walking, through talking). A child’s life at this point is focused on mastering walking, language, and a sense of self—a pretty tall order, to say the least!
In this period the child’s developing bond with his mother changes a bit. She, with the help of other adults like the father, becomes the buffer between the child and his ever-expanding world—encouraging, stimulating, praising, cheering his attempts to master walking and talking.
He is still dependent on her for food, diapering, warmth, love, and to feed an ever-growing desire for new experiences with objects and places. His world should be at the same time stable and changing—a world with a few clear no-no’s and lots of yes-yeses.
Most children, given reasonable freedom and encouragement, teach themselves to walk. Learning a language is far more challenging. It is one area where parents’ help can really make a difference.
Children learn what is repeated and reinforced. We now know that infants begin to learn a language long before they can speak. Parents who provide a rich language environment for their children (in other words, who talk and read to them) are, therefore, helping those children learn even though the infants cannot yet talk back.
This parental assistance should continue into toddlerhood. Between a year and two years children begin to put recognizable words with objects, usually beginning with nouns, then moving on to phrases, and finally sentences.
Learning language gives children power over their world. They can manipulate it by substituting words for objects, which grows into imagination, fantasy, projection, and rational thought. It is a highly individualized process.
How and when a child talks is not necessarily a measure of his intelligence; many factors are involved in this complex, miraculous achievement. What does make a difference is having adults who talk to, listen to, and read to their children, and who applaud their experiments with language.
The toddler has a growing awareness of his own individuality. One day, either outwardly or inwardly, he will point to himself to say his name and know his uniqueness.
This is a terribly exciting discovery. It brings with it joy and pain—joy because he’s utterly delighted with the prospect of being and growing, and yet at the same time pain because he’s caught up in the ambivalence of it, wanting to be independent but also being dependent, trying to make choices but being stymied by indecision.
This is a very important struggle. With the support of loving, patient parents the child emerges as the victor, very much aware of his good feelings about himself and his mastery of the world.
The Peoples of God
Part 6:[edit]
Benin[edit]
(The following article on the role played by indigenous Bahá’ís in the growth of the Faith in Benin was written for Bahá’í News by Kiser D. Barnes. The five believers profiled here have been instrumental in the formation of nearly all of the country’s 65 Local Spiritual Assemblies. Among them are Benin’s first Auxiliary Board members, the first assistant to the Auxiliary Board, and the first native believer to pioneer on the homefront.-Ed.)
In the 27 years since the Bahá’í Faith was first brought to Benin (formerly Dahomey) by Knight of Bahá’u’lláh David Tangry, a number of Beninese believers have arisen and, on fire with love for Bahá’u’lláh, distinguished themselves by their teaching victories and their steadfastness in the Cause of God.
These believers have watered, nourished and brought to fruition the seeds planted by Bahá’í pioneers and traveling teachers, and have firmly established the Faith in each of this west African country’s six provinces. Their dedication and tireless labors have helped to bring about the formation of most of the Local Spiritual Assemblies in Benin.
Five of the front-rank “soldiers” in this Beninese army of believers are Vincent Aguemon, Denagan Chancouin, Adrien Gnambodé, Frederic Hodonou and Samuel Zodéougan.
Vincent Aguemon became a Bahá’í in December 1973, and made his first teaching trip five months later. The entire village of Douhométo became Bahá’í during his visit, and he helped to open seven areas to the Faith.
“When I became a Bahá’í,” he says, “I was very happy. I wanted to tell everyone in Benin about the Faith, and so I began to teach right away. When I have teaching difficulties I am never
Left, Adrien Gnambodé, who in 1978 attended the 4th Bahá’í International Convention and became the first native-born Beninese believer to visit the Holy Shrines of the Faith on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.
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sad, because I know God is always with me.”
At the age of 25, Mr. Aguemon became the first Beninese believer to pioneer on the homefront when he moved in May 1976 to the northern city of Parakou, some 960 kilometers (600 miles) from Porto-Novo, his home in southern Benin.
The move was particularly courageous because of traditional differences that have divided the northern and southern parts of the country.
When, four days after his arrival in Parakou, Mr. Aguemon met with the Bahá’ís there, he found many problems. Only three members of the Spiritual Assembly remained active, and there was no place for the friends to meet. Mr. Aguemon promised the believers that the community would be rebuilt.
“At first, we couldn’t hold meetings,” he recalls, “because meetings of every kind were banned. We visited the District Chief, explained to him the principles of the Faith, and were given permission to meet and hold Feasts.”
By Riḍván 1977 there were 18 new believers in Parakou. Mr. Aguemon has remained at his post, and presently serves as chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly.
In March 1976 he was named Benin’s first assistant to the Auxiliary Board, and also serves as assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Denagan Chancouin, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin since 1971 and its chairman since 1972, became a Bahá’í in 1969.
He was a member of the first Spiritual Assembly in his hometown, Porto-Novo. His teaching efforts helped to establish that Assembly as well as those in Chivié, Houngbome, Malanhui and Pobé.
As a member of the Regional Teaching Committee for Oume Province, Mr. Chancouin has worked closely with each of the 31 Local Spiritual Assemblies there. He has also worked with Assemblies in other provinces.
Mr. Chancouin operates a dispensary in Malanhui, a town he opened to the Faith. His homes there and in Porto-Novo are focal points for Bahá’í activities in those communities.
Following a meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly in December 1977, Mr. Chancouin and his wife, Josephine—the second Beninese woman to be elected to the National Assembly—were seriously injured in an automobile accident.
While still hospitalized, Mr. Chancouin remarked to friends, “With the assistance of the prayers of the Bahá’ís, we are recovering, and we see that the pain from our injuries is a lesson. The lesson is this, that the prayers of all the Bahá’ís in the world are truly the sacred remedy for the world’s illnesses. We must be proud that we are in this great family of Bahá’u’lláh, and we must have the courage to teach.”
Adrien Gnambodé, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin since 1974, was one of the first people in the village of Dowa to become a Bahá’í when he accepted the Faith in 1964. He served on the first Spiritual Assembly of Dowa, which also was the first Assembly in Oume Province.
As a member of the Regional Teaching Committee, the 50-year-old Mr. Gnambodé has walked or bicycled throughout the hilly region around his home, helping to establish 15 of the 31 Local Spiritual Assemblies in the province.
“The thing that motivates me,” he says, ”is the glory of the Faith. Once I had heard and understood Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings, I wanted to go out to teach, to wake people up. This still motivates me.”
Today every resident of Dowa, including Mr. Gnambodé’s 11 children, is a Bahá’í.
Frederic Hodonou, an eloquent speaker who punctuates his addresses with compelling examples, says, “I am happiest when teaching the Faith.”
Mr. Hodonou was the first to accept the Faith in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city and its commercial center, and taught it to three other members of Cotonou’s first Spiritual Assembly, which was elected seven months after his declaration.
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In July 1976, Mr. Hodonou became Benin’s first Auxiliary Board member for the protection of the Faith. He had served as a member of the country’s first National Spiritual Assembly and was re-elected to the National Assembly each year until his appointment to the Auxiliary Board.
The 45-year-old accountant’s wife is a Bahá’í, as are their nine children.
When Samuel Zodéougan declared his belief in Bahá’u’lláh, in April 1970, there was one Local Spiritual Assembly in Zou Province, his home. Today there are 19 Assemblies, 16 of which have been formed primarily through his efforts. He has opened many other localities to the Faith as well.
Mr. Zodéougan has served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin since 1975. In January 1978, he was appointed Benin’s first Auxiliary Board member for the propagation of the Faith.
An indefatigable teacher, Mr. Zodéougan prefers to teach in villages rather than in the larger cities.
“The villagers have an innate wisdom,” he says, “and automatically sense the truth. Intellectuals, on the other hand, prefer to wait and study the Faith. Many of them never accept the Cause. Their intellect often blinds them to the Light of God.”
Mr. Zodéougan’s first teaching experience was in his own village of Zodobomé, which formed its first Local Spiritual Assembly at Riḍván 1970.
Asked to explain why teaching is an integral part of his life, Mr. Zodéougan replies, “I was taught to await the coming of the
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Promised One. Since I have attained the blessing of recognizing Him in this Day, I feel it is my sacred obligation to spread His Teachings. I am most happy to rise up and carry the flame of Bahá’u’lláh to others. I pray that I will not fail in the work He has given to me.”
A retired soldier and a prince of the country’s royal family, the 41-year-old Mr. Zodéougan is one of 105 children of his recently-deceased father. His immediate family are Bahá’ís, and the brother who has replaced his father as head of the family has accepted the Faith.
The purpose of this brief discourse has been to inform the friends in other countries of a few of the facts surrounding development of the Faith in Benin and the part played by native Beninese believers in its growth. Were anyone to praise these Bahá’í teachers for their efforts, they would be the first to reply to him: “Should such a man ever succeed in influencing any one, this success should be attributed not to him, but rather to the influence of the words of God, as decreed by Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Wise. In the sight of God he is regarded as a lamp that imparteth its light, and yet is all the while being consumed within itself.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 277)
Opposite page: Top, Denagan Chancouin, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin since 1972.
Bottom, the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin in a photo taken in 1976. Frederic Hodonou is standing at the left; Samuel Zodéougan is seated at the left, and Adrien Gnambodé is seated next to him: Denagan Chancouin is standing second from the right.
This page: Top left, Samuel Zodéougan, Benin’s first Auxiliary Board member for the propagation of the Faith.
Top right, Vincent Aguemon, Benin’s first assistant to the Auxiliary Board and the assistant secretary of the country’s National Spiritual Assembly.
Bottom, Adrien Gnambodé (standing in center, rear), a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin, with his family and other members of the Bahá’í community of Dowa, the village in which he lives.
Around the World[edit]
Sweden[edit]
Sweden was blessed this summer by the participation in its teaching work of many beloved friends.
Foremost among them was the Hand of the Cause of God Abu’l-Qásim Faizí who, after inspiring the friends at the Norwegian Summer School, visited several towns in Sweden where his gentle spirit encouraged everyone to greater service.
Claire Honigman, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of France, traveled and taught in Sweden this summer, as did Victor and Victoria Priem from England. In addition, there were teaching groups composed of Americans and American Indians.
Sweden has noted several signs of impending victory in the Five Year Plan. On July 29 in Helsingborg its 14th Local Spiritual Assembly, was formed.
Singing Coral, the internationally known book written by Bahá’í Sverre Holmsen, has been translated into several languages, and recently appeared in a new edition whose foreword mentions the Faith.
One of Sweden’s newest Bahá’ís is Sven-Olof Ilar of Karlstad, already a well-deepened member of its Spiritual Assembly. He declared his faith in July only four days after first hearing the word “Bahá’í.”
Several pioneers have recently arrived in Sweden, while many of the Swedish believers have changed jobs, taken fewer hours at their jobs, or left them to devote more time to serving the Faith through traveling teaching or homefront pioneering. Sweden is witnessing true sacrifice, and there is a rising tide of certitude that every goal will be won.
Left, the Bahá’í community of Karlstad, Sweden, at the Feast of Kalimát in July. Sven-Olof Ilar, a newly-enrolled Bahá’í, is in the back row at the right; Mark Finn, a new pioneer from the United States, is in the back row at the left.
Below, a Bahá’í information table was set up in June in the goal town of Örebro, Sweden.
Alaska[edit]
Raymond L. Hudson, a school teacher in Unalaska and a member of the Auxiliary Board, has been given the Willard Bowman Award for Human Rights, which is presented by the Alaska Education Association to an educator who demonstrates leadership and creativity in advancing civil and human rights.
Mr. Hudson, a poet and author, was honored for his efforts to preserve the culture and crafts of the Aleut peoples of Alaska. “You know, it is very easy for a Bahá’í to win a human rights award,” was his comment on receiving the honor.
Laos[edit]
One of the participants at the first Bahá’í Children’s Conference in Laos explains the unity of races using photos clipped from a magazine. The conference was held May 7 at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Vientiane.
The 26 children who attended the first Bahá’í Children’s Conference in Laos held May 7 at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. The children ranged in age from 4 to 14.
Children enjoy folk dancing at the first Bahá’í Children’s Conference in Laos. Bahá’í youth provided the musical accompaniment for the dancing.
Barbados/Windward Islands[edit]
On August 25, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Barbados and the Windward Islands sent the following cablegram to the Universal House of Justice:
“Joyously announce surpassed LSA goals. Two new LSAs Dominica, nine village LSAs St. Lucia, 44 total. Grateful assistance Counsellors and ABMs. Consolidation plans formulated. Immediate implementation. Humbly beg prayers continued success expansion and consolidation efforts.”
United States[edit]
The week of June 11-18 witnessed a major Bahá’í teaching event in Houston, Texas. After three months of preparation and planning by the Houston Teaching Committee, Race Unity Week got under way.
The week was highlighted by a semi-formal dinner on June 18 attended by 150 people. The Bahá’ís of Houston presented an award to a Houston resident who had made an outstanding contribution toward racial unity. The recipient of the award was Father Jorgé Duran, a Mexican-American Roman Catholic priest whose actions are credited with doing much to avert continued animosity and property destruction during a recent racial flare-up in his Houston neighborhood.
Father Duran’s church has requested Spanish-language firesides, and the Spanish-English newspaper, La Prensa, has expressed an interest in printing articles on the Faith.
On June 11, Race Unity Day was observed with a picnic and proclamation that attracted 65 people and was publicized in newspapers and on posters throughout the city.
On September 16, the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles County presented a gift of friendship to the Mexican-American cultural and educational center known as Plaza de la Raza. The gift was a magnificent replica of an ancient Aztec Calendar Stone. Making the presentation to Frank Lopez (right), founder and present treasurer of Plaza de la Raza, is Lisa Janti, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Los Angeles. To her right is David Villaseñor, world-renowned sculptor, artist and sand-painter who reproduced the Aztec Calendar. To his right is Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles, who accepted the gift on behalf of the city. At the left are three members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, Richard D. Betts, Judge James Nelson, and Dorothy W. Nelson.
Europe[edit]
Indian-Eskimo teaching teams have returned home from an active and rewarding 45-day teaching tour throughout 10 countries of Europe. The teaching project was a cooperative effort between the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada, and the United States as well as the Continental Pioneer Committee for Europe and the European National Spiritual Assemblies who received the teams.
The project, which was financed by the International Teaching Centre, was planned over a two-year period following a visit to Europe by an American Indian family.
The team consisted of four members: Melba Loft, an Ojibway Indian from the Tyendinaga Reservation near Ottawa, Canada; Scott Tyler, a Makah Indian from the Neah Bay Reservation in Washington State; Ida Bergamaschi, an Eskimo from Anchorage, and Maynard Eakan from Kotzebue, Alaska, the first Eskimo ever elected to serve on a National Spiritual Assembly.
Mr. Tyler and Ms. Loft, the Indian half of the team, traveled to Ireland and the Middle European countries while Mr. Eakan and Ms. Bergamaschi, the Eskimo half, visited the Scandinavian countries.
The Indian teachers brought with them colorful costumes of their tribes. They shared with the European communities native Indian stories as well as Makah songs and dances.
The Eskimo teachers demonstrated several types of Eskimo dances and displayed many interesting Eskimo items such as masks, dancing fans, dolls, and mukluks. Both teams had well-prepared talks on the Faith that were appropriate to many situations.
Before leaving for Europe, the team came together July 7-14 in Palmer, Alaska, for a week of prayers, deepening, and program preparation.
Some reports from the countries visited have begun to come in. They glow with the successes of the team. The project will undoubtedly leave a lasting mark on those European countries.
Canada[edit]
Among those present at the Regional Conference of the Continental Counsellors for North America and their Auxiliary Boards held July 7-9 at Toronto, Ontario, Canada, were the Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts (fourth from left, front row) and Counsellors Edna M. True (sixth from left, front row) and Lloyd Gardner (second from right, back row) along with Auxiliary Board members serving Canada and representatives of the National Teaching Committee of Canada.
Guatemala[edit]
This year, in the week before Naw-Rúz, an eight-member teaching team (composed of one Canadian, one Costa Rican, one El Salvadorian, two Guatemalans, and three Persians) found and welcomed into the Faith 226 new believers in the states of Zacapa and Izabal in northeastern Guatemala.
Ten Local Spiritual Assemblies were elected as a result of this teaching effort, and two communities were prepared for formation later.
The team was accompanied by Dr. Hidáyatu’lláh Aḥmadíyyih of Belize, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Central America. It brought a system of teaching new to Guatemala in which the emphasis is on teaching family units.
The team was divided into small groups that taught in homes in a small area. The goal was to form Bahá’í family units that would be easier to form into Local Spiritual Assemblies, easier to deepen, and easier to re-form at Riḍván.
Two or three days after teaching in an area, the group would return to visit, deepen and hold elections. By waiting for this short period of time, they felt better able to evaluate what had been done, while at the same time letting the new Bahá’ís know they would not be left alone.
The new success in teaching has greatly encouraged and inspired the Guatemalan Bahá’í community. Said Auxiliary Board member Soheil Shahidinejad: “It appears as though there is a new spirit of Divine confirmation here in Guatemala.”
India[edit]
Shown below are some of those who attended a Bahá’í Women and Children’s Conference at Satara, Maharashtra, India, in March. The conference was held largely through the efforts of Muhammad Hussain Eshraghi, a pioneer from Írán, who moved with his four children into the challenging Satara District three years ago. Although there were few Bahá’ís in the District at that time, there is now a strong and active Local Spiritual Assembly. Recent events in Satara include the purchase of land and completion of building plans for a permanent Bahá’í Center.
A deepening class was held May 24-26 at the Teaching Institute in Keolali (Nasik), India. Nearly everyone who attended the class was from a tribal area called Surgana, adjoining the tribal district of Dang. The area recently was opened to the Faith through the efforts of the State Teaching Committee of North Maharashtra; the friends hope now to establish the Faith in all 60 villages of the area.
Samoa[edit]
Jackie and Ted Vitale, a young couple from San Diego, California, sailed recently in a 32-foot trimaran all the way to Samoa.
The couple docked at Vaito’omouli, Savai’i, where a Bahá’í family helped them find their way around and introduced them to the Faith.
Mr. Vitale had heard of the Faith in Hawaii, but wasn’t ready at that time to accept it. While in Savai’i, he and his wife became enthusiastic seekers.
When Mr. Vitale contracted hepatitis, Bahá’í friends took him to the hospital. While he was hospitalized and later recuperating, he and Mrs. Vitale continued to study the Writings.
Soon afterward, both the Vitales joyously embraced the Cause, and sailed for Port Vila, New Hebrides, to meet more Bahá’í friends before returning home to California.
Belgium[edit]
Nearly 200 people, including the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan, attended an 11-day Bahá’í Summer School held in early August outside of Charleroi, Belgium. Additionally, six individuals declared their faith, the greatest number at any Belgian Summer School to date.
Mr. Furútan conducted classes on “Living the Bahá’í Life” and “Bahá’í Administration.” Prior to the Summer School, he spoke to the French-speaking Bahá’ís in Bruxelles, and participated in a conference in Brugge for the Bahá’ís of Flemish Belgium.
Left, the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan conducting a class at the Belgian Bahá’í Summer School early in August.
Below, some of the nearly 200 believers who attended the Belgian Bahá’í Summer School in August, including six people who declared their faith at the school.
Correction[edit]
In a photo on Page 14 of the September 1978 issue of Bahá’í News, Bui Van-an is identified as “the first native-born Bahá’í in Laos.” Mr. Van-an actually is Vietnamese, and the caption should have stated that Mr. Van-an, having heard of the Faith from Dr. Heshmat Ta’eed, was the first person to accept it in Laos. Bahá’í News regrets the error.
