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Bahá’í News

February 1979

Bahá’í Year 135

Report from Zaire

[Page 0] An architect’s rendering of the design for the Bahá’í House of Worship in Samoa that will be erected at a site near Apia, Western Samoa. The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Ruḥíyyih Khánum represented the Universal House of Justice at the groundbreaking and cornerstone dedication ceremony January 27-28. The architect is Husayn Amánat, who also designed the building for the permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice. Initiation of construction of the House of Worship in Samoa is a goal of the Five Year Plan.

Shown here is the architect’s model of the design for the Mother Temple of the Indian Subcontinent, to be erected near New Delhi, India. The cornerstone for the building was laid last October 17 by the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Ruḥíyyih Khánum on behalf of the Universal House of Justice. The architect is Faríburz Sahbá. Initiation of construction of the House of Worship in India is a goal of the Five Year Plan.

[Page 1]

Contents

Report from Zaire
A pioneer looks at the growth of the Faith in the Kivu region	2
‘I try to lift their spirits’
Dorothy Francis awarded membership in Order of Canada	5
‘Lights of the world’
Last of three articles on children and learning	6
Around the world
News from Bahá’í communities in every corner of the globe	10

Cover

In spite of hardships and some setbacks, the growth of the Faith in the central African country of Zaire has been steady if unspectacular. The Zairian Bahá’í community is growing stronger and more vibrant thanks to the active involvement of women, children and youth. Our cover photo shows Bahá’í women in the Kivu region of Zaire with Bahá’í pioneers to the area. Second from left is pioneer Deborah Butler whose report of recent developments in Kivu begins on Page 2.

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 © 1979, 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. [Page 2]

Report from Zaire

More than half the Bahá’í population of Zaire lives in Kivu, one of nine regions in that central African country. There are almost 500 Local Spiritual Assemblies in Kivu, most of them in the southern area, and many of which are accessible only on foot after a journey of several days through the mountains.

The Faith first reached Zaire through Kivu by way of a handful of Zairian believers who were taught in the neighboring countries of Rwanda and Burundi before returning to their native country around 1960.

Legal recognition of the Faith by the Zairian government hasn’t entirely prevented instances of abuse; despite some persecution and harassment, however, the Faith is growing rapidly in Kivu, and the Bahá’í communities are becoming stronger and better able to practice the Bahá’í way of life.

Women

One example of the development of Baha’i communities in Kivu is the emergence of Bahá’í women within them.

[Page 3] Traditionally, the role of women in Kivu, as in many other areas of Africa, has been one of subservience. Bahá’í women, however, are taking an active part in community affairs. They frequently are elected to serve on Local Spiritual Assemblies, and nearly every Assembly has a women’s committee.

Since the start of the Five Year Plan no less than nine women’s conferences have been held in various parts of the Kivu region under the sponsorship of Local Assemblies or teaching commit- tees.

Bahá’í men encourage the participation of women, sometimes help them to prepare food for conferences, and, since a high percentage of the women are illiterate, the men volunteer to take minutes at women’s committee meetings and to send reports of women’s activities to the National Spiritual Assembly or Regional Teaching Committee.

Women are the backbone and heart of Zairian society, and one can already see the vast changes being set in motion by Bahá’í women and the impact such changes will have on the family, the culture and the social order as more and more Zairian women realize their potential through the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.

Top, a Bahá’í child in Zaire playing the tom-tom.

Above, a young girl grinding maniok, the staple of the Zairian diet. With her is Barhabazi-Iraqi-Bahá, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board.

Left, Bahá’í women in Kivu, Zaire, with pioneers Deborah Butler (second from left), Parvin Nematollahi (fifth from left), and Linda O’Neil (second from right).

[Page 4] Top, an institute in Walungu, Zaire, for training Bahá’í children’s teachers. The man seated in the center foreground of the photo is Bakenga, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board.

Middle, some young Bahá’ís who attended an institute for training children’s teachers in Uvira, in the southern Kivu region of Zaire. In the front row center is Alinote Q. Kibwe, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board.

Bottom, Bahá’í youth in the Kivu region of Zaire. Second from the right is Bashombana, a young Bahá’í who knows more than 10 prayers by heart including the Tablet of Ahmad.

Children

One direct benefit of the expanding role of Bahá’í women in Zaire will be better educated children, as it is the women who care for the children until they are ready to enter school.

The Five Year Plan directive that the education of children “... must become a firmly-established Bahá’í activity during the course of this Plan” is of special importance to the Zairian friends who generally have large families with many children. In Kivu, the largest segment of the Bahá’í population is under 15 years of age.

In response to the goals of the Five Year Plan for children, institutes are being held in Kivu in which more than 100 Bahá’ís have thus far been trained as children’s teachers.

Because of the difficulties sometimes faced by Bahá’í children who attend mission schools, some Bahá’í communities in southern Kivu have obtained approval from the Universal House of Justice to establish their own schools. Such schools must be accredited by the Zairois Educational Bureau.

Youth

The integration of youth into Bahá’í community life has proven to be one of the more difficult aspects of the Five Year Plan for the friends in Kivu.

One of the reasons for this is the large and steadily widening generation gap in Zaire. Its present-day youth are the first generation to have received formal education on a large scale; hence, the differences between them and older members of the community have been greatly magnified as the youth are exposed to new ways of thinking and are influenced by modern technology and contemporary ideas.

Borne on the current of western culture, Zairian youth are moving away from tribal customs and traditions more rapidly than their parents, and their ideas, opinions and motives reflect their new way of thinking.

Typical of these changes is the young people’s concept of marriage. Whereas most members of the older generation have polygamous marriages, the youth have accepted monogamy as a more stable and beneficial relationship, not to mention more economically feasible. The youth are far more aware of the importance of spiritual love and mutual sharing than their parents, who in most cases merely contracted marriage under social obligation for the purpose of bearing children. These new ideas have made such traditional concepts as the dowry far less important to Zairian youth.

Progress in the development of its young people has been made by encouraging the presence of younger pioneers in the region and by appointing many youth as assistants to the Auxiliary Board. Younger adults are being elected to serve on Local Spiritual Assemblies, and most Assemblies now have youth committees.

Periodic conferences address themselves to the special concerns, interests and problems facing the Bahá’í youth. One can see clearly that it is these friends who are struggling hardest to make the difficult change from traditional ways of life to today’s fast-paced, rapidly changing world.

The Bahá’í youth who have taken the opportunity to study the Teachings for answers to the unique problems posed by this transformation have gained an insight and clarity of purpose unequaled by their peers. As these Bahá’í youth mature and take their place in the forefront of its administrative institutions, the character of the Faith in Zaire will undergo great changes, as is already beginning to happen in Kivu.—Deborah Butler

[Page 5]

‘I try to lift their spirits’

On April 19, 1978, Mrs. Dorothy Francis, a Bahá’í and member of the Saulteaux Indian tribe, was awarded membership in the Order of Canada by Governor General Jules Léger, Chancellor of the Order, at Government House in Ottawa, Canada. Mrs. Francis was recognized for her outstanding achievement in promoting the understanding of Indian culture throughout Canada.

The Order of Canada was created in 1967 to recognize the achievements and merits of Canadians in every major field of endeavor. Roger de C. Nantel, Director of Honors, said, “It is a way for the country to say ‘thank you’ to the people who have done more than their share.”

Mrs. Francis, first chairman of the National Indian Arts and Crafts Committee, has served on four Local Spiritual Assemblies in Canada and currently serves as an Indian teaching coordinator for the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada. She is a member of the Continental Indigenous Council, which consists of Alaskan, Canadian and American Indian Bahá’ís.

Mrs. Francis hosted and produced a popular series of programs for CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) radio and TV and traveled throughout the western parts of Canada performing concerts. She collected documents and interpreted the legends, music, art and philosophy of the Saulteaux, Sioux and Assiniboine tribes so that people might understand more fully the Indian culture.

As economic development officer and Indian culture worker for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians, Mrs. Francis inspired artists and craftsmen to use traditional motifs and techniques in making crafts that are representative of the Indian culture.

An accomplished artist and craftsman, she has helped stimulate a renewed interest in Indian art forms. Her work is exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

Her knowledge and expertise in promoting Indian arts and crafts proved invaluable to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development where she served on the National Advisory Board of the department.

Recently, Mrs. Francis has traveled in Northern Ontario helping communities there to form their own crafts committees and assisting with native Alcoholics Anonymous groups. She has also devoted many hours as a volunteer social worker and counselor to native patients in hospitals and inmates of penitentiaries.

“I speak to the Indian people in the prisons, especially the young men,” said Mrs. Francis, “and I try to lift their spirits. I try to make them feel important, because they are important.

“But I also want them to understand that they have a responsibility, too. We tend to blame society when things don’t go right, but sometimes we create our own problems. People should try to better themselves. There are people out there ready to serve and to help you. Every single Indian is responsible for the betterment of his race.”

Understanding many of the problems that confront native newcomers to large cities, Mrs. Francis initiated Friendship Centers and founded Pow Wow Clubs to help many Indians through the difficult period of transition to metropolitan areas.

When asked about her efforts to help the Indian people, Mrs. Francis said, “I try to put good thoughts into people’s minds. It is important that we learn to work together to foster love and unity amongst one another.

“As long as Indian people remain divided we will never get anywhere; we need each other so badly. The only way we can really progress is to work together and build from good foundations with good leaders and never forget about our Great Spirit.”

[Page 6]

‘Lights of the World’

Part 3

(This is the last of three articles on children and learning written by Deborah H. Christensen of London, Ontario, Canada. Mrs. Christensen has a masters degree in education, specializing in early childhood, and has served on the U.S. National Education Committee.—Ed.)

•

Every day, opportunities present themselves that Bahá’í parents can exploit to help their children learn. These are sometimes referred to as “teachable moments.” At these times your child is interested in something, and you use that interest to take him one step further toward understanding.

For example, let us say that your three-year-old child is building with various colored blocks, and you ask him or her to build a tower using only red blocks. In so doing, you have made a game out of sorting and color recognition. Or perhaps you are reading a story about sacrifice (such as Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince) to your eight-year-old, and you use the opportunity to talk about why sacrifice is pleasing to God.

You don’t have to wait until your child finds his own teachable moments; you can plan them yourself. Informal activities like baking bread or special craft and service projects can teach many things. Family excursions can be educational as well as recreational. Trips to museums, historic sites, or even a park offer many opportunities for learning. Your interest in your child’s learning teaches him that you value education; therefore, he will too.

For better or worse, television is a large part of the lives of many children. It certainly has its good points, but it also can be dangerous. One study indicates that by the time a child enters first grade he will have seen between 25,000 and 50,000 acts of violence on the TV screen!

The principles that come to mind with respect to TV are moderation and interpretation. We should certainly know what our children are watching and limit the amount of their viewing. Each family has to decide what is acceptable to watch and what is not.

It is also of great value to watch TV with your children. Besides sharing entertainment, you can help them interpret what they see by highlighting Bahá’í principles and by pointing out godly and ungodly behavior. Again, there is no need to be heavy-handed about this. Such discussions, like many family learning experiences, should be spontaneous and enjoyable.

Children can be excellent teachers of other children. One of the best ways to reinforce what one has learned is to teach it to someone else. An older or more mature child, having just learned something, is often in a better position to explain it to another child—more in tune with the child’s perspective than an adult would be. It helps the older child, too. In the words of an African proverb, “He who teaches, learns.” Such mutual assistance fosters cooperation and service.

Many useful techniques relate to communication. Feedback and reinforcement are critical factors in learning. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá used the term “awaken” in reference to education. He was always praising and uplifting people. This is a parent’s responsibility to his children: showering them with praise and encouragement, cheering and sharing in their victories, whether they are learning to walk, ride a bike, control their temper, or show kindness. Stating limits in positive terms (“we walk” rather than

[Page 7] “don’t run,” “let’s do this” rather than “don’t do that”) preserves the child’s dignity and addresses his potential.

It is also true that children need accurate feedback. They need to know the standard, that they should strive for excellence, and how to measure themselves against it in a constructive way, the difference between a pretty good job and one’s very best job. Parents can help children make these distinctions. (“Which of your gymnastics routines was the best? Why?” “What was the nicest thing you did today?”)

Children need room to make mistakes and still know that they can do better next time. Punishment should educate the child. It should always be made clear to him why he is being punished, and parents should work especially hard to distinguish between the child and his actions. (“I love you, but I don’t like it when you play outside in your good clothes.”)

Open communication in a family is critical. Consultation should begin with very young children. They should be given choices, listened to, and reasoned with. This communicates love and respect for the child, and helps teach the techniques of moral reasoning. It does not mean that children have to agree with every parental decision, only that they should see parental authority as just, rather than dictatorial and arbitrary. In the words of the Master:

“According to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, the family being a human unit must be educated according to the rules of sanctity. All the virtues must be taught the family. The integrity of the family bond must be considered and the rights of the individual members must not be transgressed. The rights of the son, the father, the mother, none of them must be transgressed, none of them must be arbitrary. Just as the son has certain obligations to his father, the father likewise has certain obligations to his son. The mother, the sister and other members of the household have their certain prerogatives. All these rights and prerogatives must be conserved, yet the unity of the family must be sustained. The injury of one shall be considered the injury of all; the comfort of each the comfort of all; the honor of one the honor of all.” (The Promulgation of Universal Peace, Vol. 1, page 163)

Play is a child’s work. It is how he learns what no one else can teach him, and how he consolidates and expands what others have taught. It does not merely refer to experimenting in a sandbox or building a block tower. For the sake of this discussion, play includes all the ways in which a child interacts with his environment. It begins in the infant and expands as the child develops more skills. It starts with concrete objects and expands into imitation of the daily activities he observes.

As a result of the development of language and imagination, a child can assume different roles, test hypotheses, and, through fantasy, explore what he sees in the world at large within the safety of his prescribed limits. Imagination is a wonderful gift that should be encouraged. It allows children their first contact with something beyond themselves, thereby laying the foundation for creative expression and spiritual understanding.

As imagination develops, the two- or three-year-old child often confuses reality and unreality, claiming such things as “I saw an

[Page 8] elephant in my sandbox,” or waking from a nap screaming, “That monster’s gonna eat me!”

Parents need to patiently help children learn the difference between what is real and what isn’t. Obviously, children need to know this so they can distinguish truth from falsehood. Parents can help by giving children the proper language to express the situation and making the distinction for them. (“You saw an elephant in your sandbox? Let’s pretend there is a whole zoo in there and build cages for them. Can you make believe you are an elephant?”)

Parents can also encourage children to talk out their experiences. (“You were dreaming about a monster? Tell me about it ... Really?”) The child can then explain what he remembers, and in this way along with verbal and non-verbal support from the parent can master his fear. Two good books about imagination from the child’s point of view are Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak, and And To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry St. , by Dr. Seuss. As children learn to distinguish what is real from what is not, they can begin to understand truth and falsehood.

Parents can keep in mind several principles to assist their children’s learning through play. One basic but not necessarily obvious principle is the importance of order and clarity in the child’s world. We want our children to learn to be orderly. It is certainly a Bahá’í virtue. Children won’t learn it, however, if their surroundings are always chaotic.

One simple way to help create order for a child is to provide a separate container for each toy or type of toy, and shelves for convenient, accessible storage. The child can then see individual choices (not just a jumbled mess to dig into), make a selection, and easily return it. Again the parents’ example is critical.

As in learning any other attribute, the standard, order, must be applied in different ways according to the child’s age (i.e., his stage of development). A toddler, for example, should know that his toys have a proper place, and should observe basic limits (“We draw on paper, not on walls.”) But he can’t be expected to put everything away neatly. A four-year-old, on the other hand, usually can. The important thing is to help each child develop orderly (or cooperative, or loving, or confident) habits appropriate to his capacities.

Ground rules that everyone follows help a child learn because they provide order in his world. He knows what he can expect and what he is responsible for. For example, rules like picking up and putting toys away after use mean that a child can expect to find what he wants. Rules specifying quiet areas, noisy areas, and individual property rights serve the same function.

The introduction of novelty is another principle that parents can use. To introduce novelty means to somehow change the environment so that it catches or redirects the child’s interest. It can be a new toy, a recycled toy, moving a piece of furniture, inviting a friend over, a special project, etc.

Too much change over-stimulates children and too few changes mean a child is bored. The wise parent has only a few of a child’s toys available to him at any one time and the rest put away until he wants a change. Special activities stored away in a parent’s mind and closet can prove invaluable on rainy days or when a child is sick.

Children benefit from a variety of activities: quiet things to do and times and places to be loud, chances to engage in messy play,

[Page 9] opportunities to play with many children, a few children, and by themselves.

Conclusion

To learn means to develop a capacity. Even though these articles have been far too brief for anything more than a few highlights of the learning process and examples of how parents can help it, it should be clear by now that we are exploring something that is complex, challenging, extraordinary, and only partially understood. It involves every aspect of human nature: physical, mental, and spiritual. It begins at conception and continues through all the worlds of God. It is His gift to us and our obligation to Him:

“O ye beloved of God and the maid-servants of the Merciful! Teaching and learning, according to the decisive texts of the Blessed Beauty, is a duty. Whoever is indifferent therein depriveth himself of the great bounty.” ’(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in Bahá’í World Faith, page 399)

Although our understanding of how people learn is still in its infancy, parents can, at least, glean a few basic principles to guide them. We know that learning builds on itself, and that sequence and timing are important factors. We know that human beings are born with a desire to learn. We know that one of the most important keys to learning is active involvement in a rich, varied, supportive environment.

Learning is one part of the larger process known as human development. Educators have now learned enough to describe roughly many of the developmental stages through which children pass. This, in turn, gives us insight into their growing capacities: what they can and cannot do, what should and should not be emphasized, and, therefore, how to help them.

Finally, we have looked at a handful of the many techniques available to parents who wish to support their children’s learning. These include the power of example, developing good habits, the use of analogy, capitalizing on “teachable moments,” using television properly, letting children teach other children, communicating effectively, and some thoughts on play.

Bahá’í parents face an overwhelming responsibility to help their children learn. It is placed upon them by the Bahá’í Writings, confirmed by research showing the importance of a child’s early years, and amplified by a disintegrating society whose schools are increasingly unable to address the true potential of a human soul.

Faced with such a challenge, parents should certainly deepen themselves in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and take advantage of what science has to offer. They should not, however, be discouraged if they fail to become experts overnight.

The most important qualities of good parents do not depend on university degrees. They are attributes like love, patience, compassion, and trust in God, and techniques such as prayer, truth-seeking, and the joyful sharing of God’s gifts. Building on this firm foundation, Bahá’í parents can use their own ideas and the suggestions contained in this article to help create a haven for their children where, safe from the tempests of this age of transition, the “gems of inestimable value” can be mined and these young lights can learn to shine ever brighter.

Bibliography:

Beadle, Muriel, A Child’s Mind. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1971. An enlightening survey into research on how children learn from birth to five years—heavier reading than some.

Brazelton, T. Berry, Doctor and Child. New York: Delacorte Press, 1976. Brazelton, T. Berry, Infants and Mothers: Differences in Development. New York: Dell Publishing Company, Inc., 1969. Brazelton, T. Berry, Toddlers and Parents: A Declaration of Independence. New York: Delacorte Press, 1974. Three very helpful and informative books by a well-known pediatrician.

Caplan, Frank, ed., The First Twelve Months of Life. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1973. Month-by-month account of human development—good in combination with Brazelton’s Infants and Mothers.

Dodson, Fitzhugh, How to Father. New York: New American Library, 1974. Dodson, Fitzhugh, How to Parent. New York: New American Library, 1970. A down-to-earth writing style, a well-informed author, and an excellent resource list for choosing toys make these well worth reading.

Fraiburg, Selma, The Magic Years. New York: Scribner’s and Sons, 1959. A classic in handling the problems of early childhood; the author effectively communicates the child’s point of view.

Ginott, Haim G., Between Parent and Child. New York: Avon Books, 1965. A practical guide to communication skills.

Gordon, Ira J., Baby Learning Through Baby Play: A Parent's Guide for the First Two Years. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1970. Gordon, Ira. J., Guinagh, Barry, and Jester, R. Emile, Child Learning Through Child’s Play: Learning Activities for Two and Three Year Olds. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1972. Excellent idea books for activities to support the young child’s learning.

McDiarmid, Norma, et. al., Loving and Learning. New York: Harcourt Brace Javonovich, 1975. A lovingly written, informative, and practical guide to the intellectual and emotional development of the child from birth to three years.

Marzollo, Jean, and Lloyd, Janice, Learning Through Play. New York: Harper and Row, 1972. A good idea book for preschool activities.

Sharp, Evelyn, Thinking Is Child’s Play. New York: Avon Books, 1969. Excellent, easy-to-read book explaining Piaget’s concepts, including good activities for parents and teachers.

White, Burton L., The First Three Years of Life. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1975. A fascinating book based on years of study by the author into the development of learning competence, with good practical suggestions as well as insightful parenting strategies.

This is one of a series of articles on children, parents and families that will appear in Bahá’í News during 1979, the International Year of the Child.

[Page 10]

Around the World

Brazil

Brazil, which earlier had announced the victorious completion of its Five Year Plan goals, held its fifth National Teaching Conference of the Plan October 20-22 at Pati do Alferes, a city near Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil presently has 161 Local Spiritual Assemblies and 427 localities open to the Faith. The goals were 130 Assemblies and 400 localities. The National Spiritual Assembly has adopted supplemental goals of 180 Assemblies and 500 localities by Ridván 1979.

Among those attending the Teaching Conference were Continental Counsellors Leonora Armstrong and Raúl Pavón, six members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil, seven Auxiliary Board members, and representatives of national and regional teaching committees.

Consultation focused on expansion of the Faith in those areas of Brazil in which teaching efforts during the Five Year Plan have been relatively unsuccessful.

Twenty Bahá’ís offered to undertake teaching assignments to remote areas of the country for periods of a month or more, while several others offered to pioneer on the homefront.

The conference also dealt with ways to increase the number of prepared radio programs available to Bahá’ís. Brazil has three centers that are responsible for production of radio materials, but more are needed.

The Faith receives wide radio publicity in Brazil. Many radio station owners or managers have offered to air programs and interviews about the Faith.

French Antilles

An institute sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors for Central America was held August 20 in Martinique, French Antilles. Hooper Dunbar, one of three Counsellors who are members of the International Teaching Centre in Haifa, is standing at the left in the back row. The four Counsellors for Central America who attended are Artemus Lamb of El Salvador (fourth from left, back row), Alfred Osborne of Panama (third from right, back row), Dr. Hidáyatu’lláh Aḥmadíyyih of Belize (third from left, third row), and Carmen de Burafato of Mexico (fourth from left, second row). Among the other friends pictured, from the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Martin, are eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the French Antilles and several visiting traveling teachers.

[Page 11]

United States

The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States announced November 27 the establishment of a total of 1,400 Local Spiritual Assemblies in that country, marking the swift and dramatic achievement of one of its most difficult Five Year Plan goals.

The following cable, responding to the report of victory, was received from the Universal House of Justice:

“OVERJOYED SUCCESS NATIONWIDE CAMPAIGN DESIGNED ATTAIN LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY GOAL FIVE YEAR PLAN. VICTORY EVIDENCES SPIRITUAL PRIMACY CONFERRED BY MASTER ON VALIANT AMERICAN COMMUNITY. BE ASSURED OF OUR ARDENT PRAYERS BEHALF DEDICATED EFFORTS NATIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEE AND FRIENDS THROUGHOUT NATION WIN NAY EXCEED GOAL LOCALITIES ENABLING ESTABLISHMENT BASES FUTURE LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES.”

The total number of Assemblies reported to have been formed in the U.S. by November 26, the Day of the Covenant, stood at exactly 1,400, a goal that a bare two months before had appeared to be almost out of reach.

At Ridván 1978, the number of recognized Local Spiritual Assemblies was 987, only 165 more than the number in existence at the outset of the Plan.

On October 1, with less than seven months remaining before the end of the Plan, the number of Assemblies in the U.S. was 1,100.

By November 26, thanks largely to a fresh wave of teaching and consolidation, primarily in the southern states, the number had risen to 1,400, an astonishing increase of 300 Assemblies in less than two months. The figure is even more remarkable in view of the fact that the net increase in Assemblies formed from Ridván 1977 to Ridván 1978 was only 49.

With the Assembly Goal won, the U.S. National Teaching Committee was directed to focus its attention and resources on winning the goal of establishing 7,000 localities in which Bahá’ís reside in the U.S. The target date for winning that goal was December 31.

In addition, the National Assembly adopted a supplemental goal of establishing a total of 1,550 Local Spiritual Assemblies in the U.S. by next April 20, the end of the Five Year Plan.

Tanzania

The Bahá’ís of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, observed United Nations Day October 21 with a public meeting and dance attended by 200 people. Bahá’í and United Nations books, magazines, pamphlets, and posters were displayed October 21-22 in the main hall of the National Bahá’í Center. Several films were shown on both days, drawing a total of 450 people.

Approximately 55 Bahá’ís, representing all nine of Tanzania’s Regional Teaching Committees, attended a National Teaching Conference held September 15-17. Seated in the center of the gathering is Continental Counsellor for South Central Asia Burháni’d-Dín Afshín who came to Tanzania at the request of the Universal House of Justice.

[Page 12]

El Salvador

Bahá’ís in El Salvador were quite active in September, October and November with teaching, dedication of a local Bahá’í Center, observance of United Nations Day, and the election of delegates to next year’s National Convention.

Four teaching teams, accompanied by Continental Counsellor Artemus Lamb, members of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Auxiliary Board member Gabriel Torres, visited El Salvador’s four districts in September. Eighty-five persons embraced the Faith as a result of the teaching trips, and two new localities were opened.

The Bahá’ís of Caluco, in western El Salvador, dedicated their new Center on September 23. Seventy-three adults and youth and 43 children took part in the event.

United Nations Day was observed in October in San Salvador with a public meeting attended by 70 people. Graciela Gonzales of the United Nations Organization in El Salvador spoke about the history, structure and purpose of the UN.

On November 12, the anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Bahá’ís of El Salvador elected their delegates to the National Convention next April. They also observed the occasion with a commemorative service and an outing at a children’s park.

Seventy guests were present in October at a United Nations Day observance in San Salvador, El Salvador. Seated in the center of the photo (wearing a white shirt and dark jacket) is Continental Counsellor Artemus Lamb. Graciela Gonzales of the El Salvador United Nations Organization, who spoke about the history, structure and purpose of the United Nations, is seated third from the right.

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’í 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). —Jean T. Farrand

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South Central Asia

Two members of the Continental Board of Counsellors for South Central Asia participated in a four-state conference August 13-15 to help train assistants to Auxiliary Board members. Nine board members and 70 assistants from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra states attended.

Counsellors Mrs. Salisa Kermani and Prof. Dipchand Khianra spoke on many aspects of the Faith, its teachings and laws, and the work of the Auxiliary Board.

Workshops during the gathering dealt with expansion, consolidation, deepening, the Bahá’í Fund, and the publication of Bahá’í literature.

United Kingdom

An event of great significance took place October 24 at Canterbury Cathedral, the seat of the Anglican Church in England, when a prayer by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the song, “Blessed Is the Spot,” and three other readings from Bahá’í Scriptures were heard as part of an “Inter-Faith Prayer Vigil” held during One World Week.

Eight members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canterbury were among those present.

For the Bahá’ís, the memorable occasion was not without poignancy, since two members of the community had passed to the Abhá Kingdom only one week before.

One was Edith Coltham, Canterbury’s newest Bahá’í, who had declared her faith eight weeks earlier. The other was Joan Giddings, the first Bahá’í in Canterbury who as a pioneer had opened the city to the Faith. She was the ninth member of the Spiritual Assembly of Canterbury.

As the Bahá’í representative to the United Nations Association, Miss Giddings had helped lay much of the groundwork for the prayer vigil and Inter-Faith Exhibition at the cathedral.

Following her Bahá’í funeral on October 27, the guests gathered at the Giddings home where one of the visitors, brought by the Bahá’ís of Maidstone, declared her belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

The declaration assures the re-formation of the Spiritual Assembly of Maidstone—one of the goals of the Canterbury community.

More than 1,800 Bahá’ís gathered September 24 at Alexandria Place, London, to hear the Hands of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khanum and ‘Ali-Akbar Furutan speak on ways in which to fulfill the remaining goals of the Five Year Plan. The meeting generated 100 offers for homefront pioneering, and about $12,000 was donated to the National Fund of the United Kingdom. It was the largest gathering of Bahá’ís from the United Kingdom ever held.

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Republic of Cameroon

Nearly 400 Bahá’ís from 19 countries were in Yaounde, Cameroon, August 12-14 for the fourth Bahá’í International Youth Conference to be held in West Africa.

The conference was blessed by the presence of four members of the Continental Board of Counsellors: Thelma Khelgati, Friday Ekpe, Zekrollah Kazemi and Mihdi Samandari.

Dr. Samandari, who assisted greatly in planning the conference, missed its first two days because of illness, but was well enough by the third day to participate, and to visit with other Counsellors and friends a number of local officials and dignitaries in Yaounde.

A large group of the friends from Persia was on hand along with many believers from the Central African Empire and Chad.

Inspired by a message from the Universal House of Justice, 112 Bahá’ís offered their services as traveling teachers, while 18 offers to pioneer were made, including five from African believers.

As at most youth conferences, songs, dancing and music enlivened the sessions. There were special classes for the approximately 40 children who attended.

Although the weather in Yaounde was pleasant, many teaching teams later braved the torrential rains that prevail at this season, and their devoted efforts resulted in the formation of 30 Local Spiritual Assemblies in only 15 days.

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Mexico

Fifteen women and 20 children from the states of Colima and Michoacan gathered in Colima, Mexico, in October for the first Regional Women’s Institute ever to be held there. Though it is not the custom to gather in a resident’s home, the Colima community makes efforts to do this. People frequently attend firesides and deepening classes in the area.

Nicaragua

The Spiritual Assembly of Nandaime, a small town in the Department of Grandad, Nicaragua, collaborated with the National Women’s Committee to host a recent Bahá’í Regional Women’s Conference.

About 40 Bahá’ís, half of whom were women, attended the day-long series of classes on such themes as “Early Bahá’í Women,” “The Education of Children,” “Courtship and Marriage,” “Prayer,” and “The Role of Women in Achieving World Unity.”

Of special interest was a presentation on agriculture and nutrition by a young Bahá’í, Srta. Rosadela Miranda.

Despite adverse travel conditions, six Bahá’í communities were represented at the conference. Lunch was prepared by several of the participants and a variety of dishes sold, with proceeds going to the National Bahá’í Fund.

The second in the series of conferences designed to deepen the Bahá’í community on the significance of family unity and the importance of the woman’s role in the search for world unity was to be held August 26-27.—Louis Bergner

Participants at a recent Bahá’í Regional Women’s Conference at Nandaime, Nicaragua, included several families who brought their children. Also attending were pioneers Jaime Cortez from Colombia, Joye Lucas and her daughter, Mary, and Lou and Lorna Bergner and their four children from the United States; and Farideh Fletcher and Neydah Bahremand from Irán.

Surinam

The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Paramaribo, Surinam, recently completed a goal of placing Bahá’í books in all public and school libraries in Surinam.

Copies of The New Garden and The Bahá’í Faith: An Introduction were presented to all public libraries through their central office, the Cultural Centre Suriname.

Then, on August 9, copies of the same books were presented to the Ministry of Education for distribution to school libraries. The Honorable Minister R. Venetiaan accepted the books on behalf of the Ministry of Education. He showed a keen interest in the Faith and its activities, and was pleased to receive the books for the school libraries.

Doolarie Veira (left) and Marijke van Lith (right), on behalf of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Paramaribo, Surinam, presented the books The New Garden and The Bahá’í Faith: An Introduction to the Honorable Minister of Education, Dr. R. Venetiaan.

[Page 16]

Portugal

Completion of its Five Year Plan goals for establishing Local Spiritual Assemblies was announced by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Portugal at a teaching conference September 14-15 in Lisbon.

Five other localities have been designated as supplemental Assembly goals to be raised before the end of the Plan.

The teaching conference, attended by 110 Bahá’ís and their children, was one of several regional conferences scheduled in Portugal during the remaining months of the Plan. Talks on teaching and consolidation were presented by Auxiliary Board members Ana Costa and Fedross Imani, and a public meeting, held in conjunction with the conference, was attended by many non-Bahá’ís.

Children’s classes were organized by the National Children’s Committee, and the children presented a skit and songs at the conference’s closing session.

A call for traveling teachers and pioneers produced nine Bahá’ís who joined teaching teams already at work in Portugal, and two youth who arose to fill Portugal’s pioneering goals in Africa.

Some of the 110 participants at the Bahá’í regional teaching conference held in Lisbon, Portugal, September 14-15.

Samoa

On July 21, the Bahá’í youth and children of Pago Pago, American Samoa, presented a check for $200 to the Western Samoa Association for the Blind.

The $200 had been awarded to the Bahá’í youth and children who took part in this year’s Samoan Arts Festival.

In a letter advising the Association for the Blind of the donation, the National Spiritual Assembly of Samoa wrote:

“Such monies received in this manner are donated to the humanitarian and welfare organizations that are dedicated to helping the handicapped or those less fortunate in our society.

“The Bahá’í Faith recognizes the good work of your organization and we are happy to have the opportunity to help in this tangible way.”

Costa Rica

Shown here is the children’s class of Desamparados, Costa Rica. The class traveled an hour by bus recently to visit the children of Pavas. The 25 children in attendance expressed their desire to visit together again soon.

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Australia

The Hand of the Cause of God H. Collis Featherstone served as official “guide” last September for a New Zealand radio producer who was preparing a half-hour documentary program on the Bahá’í House of Worship in Sydney, Australia.

Mr. Featherstone, who was in Sydney attending a National Teaching Conference, answered many questions about the House of Worship and the Faith. A prayer, read in the House of Worship, was included in the program.

The producer, Errol Pike, who works for the Religious Programming Department of Radio New Zealand, produced two earlier programs on the Faith, including one that covered the 1977 International Bahá’í Conference at Auckland. He is planning another about the Martyrdom of the Báb.

Mr. Pike hopes to make the program on the House of Worship available to the Australian Broadcasting Commission after it has been aired in New Zealand.

Errol Pike (right), a producer in the Religious Broadcasting Department of Radio New Zealand, interviews the Hand of the Cause of God Collis Featherstone for a half-hour radio program on the Bahá’í House of Worship in Sydney.

More than 200 Bahá’ís attended Australia’s final National Teaching Conference of the Five Year Plan held September 2-3 at Land Cove National Park near Sydney. The conference, which marked the last mighty push to achieve all the goals of the Five Year Plan, was attended by Bahá’ís from almost every region of Australia.

The meeting was blessed by the presence of the Hand of the Cause of God Collis Featherstone and Mrs. Featherstone, as well as Counsellors Thelma Perks and Peter Khan, six Auxiliary Board members and five National Spiritual Assembly members.

A highlight of the conference occurred when the National Spiritual Assembly and National Goals Committee informed the friends that seven of the 15 remaining Local Spiritual Assembly goals had been won. The national conference had been set as the target date for these seven new Assembly formations. Ninety-two of the 100 Five Year Plan goals were accomplished. The spirit mounted as enthusiastic applause greeted the announcement of each new Assembly.

The conference also featured workshop sessions on how to teach youth, Aborigines, Chinese, and Greeks. Children’s activities included a mini-conference and outings on the park’s paddle steamer and to the zoo. The evenings were filled with music, dancing and songs by a Persian choir. One person declared his belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

The conference ended with a renewed assurance that all of Australia’s goals would be won.

More than 200 Bahá’ís attended Australia’s final National Teaching Conference of the Five Year Plan September 2-3 at Land Cove National Park near Sydney. This photo was taken at a special worship service at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Sydney following the conference. Attending were the Hand of the Cause of God H. Collis Featherstone and two members of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Australasia, Thelma Perks and Dr. Peter Khan.