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Global NHE News
Suva Sector
Maleny, Australia
The River School ended last year with a challenge, as five of our primary teachers decided not to come back. In typical River School fashion, none of them left for other teaching jobs, but went off to do service in India, travel Europe, take up a new career, etc. Fortunately we found a new inspiring group of teachers, and were lucky to have Dada Shambhushivananda visiting, who gave an inspiring talk on NHE to 30 staff members before the school year began. Dada also attended the Ananda Mela festival and Ananda Marga summer retreat, where his lectures were well received.
Over the holidays, we were able to expand and improve several of our classrooms, which are now looking so lovely and are great for the kids.
The school now has vegetarian, whole foods Tuck Shop (canteen) two days a week, where the children can order healthy, sentient lunches. We are planning to expand this, adding gardens where the children will help out, and extra days. Already, year 7 students are offering a third day of tuck shop each week to raise money for their school trip later in the year.
Also, in typical River School fashion, the school held a swimming carnival at the local pool, with a variety of races. Last year 10 of our children went on to the higher level of competition (district) and the school won the "Small School Trophy" at the competition (our first time to enter). This year 21 children went on to the district competition, and we won the small schools trophy again. Three children have gone on to the regional competition.
River School to Receive Over $2 million in grants
The River School was successful in the first round of Building our Education Revolution government grant applications, and was allocated the full amount available for a school of our size. The funds will go towards two projects. One is a multi-purpose centre, which will have space for indoor sports, drama activities, music room, tuck shop and serving areas. The details are still being finalised with the input of local designers and builders. The second project is a "21st Century Library" which will also have administration space. This new building will be tucked into a new site on the oval, giving a beautiful outlook and administrative heart to the school. Both projects need to begin immediately and be completed by the end of the school year.
The school was also successful in a school pride grant of $125,000. Work started on this project during April holidays, and the children came back to school in some shock as their sports oval was alive with earth moving machines and workers. This grant money is being used to flatten our big sports oval, pave the formerly dirt circular road around the school and add new parking areas to avoid car traffic near the children. Over the last fifteen years, the children played sports on a rather steeply pitted oval, meaning they had to kick up into both of the soccer goals. We thought this was perhaps why the River School children were always outstanding at soccer!, but they'll adjust to a flat oval as well!
All of these new grant applications have kept school administrators Prabha Demasson and Dada Ratnadevananda very busy, but they were thrilled when their grant was accepted in the first round.
For all of us, its an amazing expansion for our small school, challenging us to guard the natural beauty and sense of intimacy that we currently have, while we are excited about the new opportunities all this will bring for our students' educational experience.
Associates of the Prout College met with Ac. Shambhushivananda in Maleny River School on January 12th, 2009 in a very relaxed environment to explore new collaborations for globalizing Prout College and for enhancing its capabilities for research and on-line education.
Nairobi Sector
Zambia
By Ac. Pavanananda
Our School is continuing to grow. From the 35 children we had when I arrived more than a year ago now we have 120 children. I managed to trace a former Pre-School child at our school and this is what she said:
“My name is Mary Kabuyi Liyambo. I am 30 years old. I live in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. The main aim of writing this to you is to inform that Ananda Marga Nursery and Pre School was a very good school and we need it to expand for our community. It helped a lot of people. It made some of us to be what we are now. As I am writing this I am working for the High Court of Zambia. I am not the only one who was at this school in my family but 4 brothers and 2 sisters. I was at this school from 1983 to 1985 (two years). We need this school to expand and continue to grow so that our children could also benefit from it. This will make me so grateful.
VOLUNTEER PRINCIPAL OF SCHOOL NEEDED.
Must have knowledge of Neo humanist Education and should be able to work here for a good period of time. Should be able to maintain himself / herself and be able to raise funds for the school.
Lome, Togo
Ecole Privee Neo-Humaniste
The AMSAI School at our master unit in Lome, Togo has dynamically expanded. In the past eight months Dada Tanmaya has arranged and supervised construction of four more classrooms, toilets and a water storage tank (to catch and hold rainwater). Approximately 130 children are attending.
The school requires further development. Existing classrooms are yet to be plastered and painted; ceilings and electrical wiring are not yet installed. Books and materials are lacking, most teachers have only one text book for their classroom. An office room and store room needs to be built; a signboard is needed.
Support for the school has come from AMURT Italy, Foundation Emanuele Antola and from a donor in the USA. The Emmanuele Antola Foundation just granted $1,000 for desks and furniture.
With support from a Togolese woman now in France, brother Murari arranged construction of a traditional village-style hut with thatched roof. The space was built to hold classes twice weekly on traditional dance, music and culture, especially for the school children.
Manila Sector
Bangkok, Thailand
House of Awakening to be called ”Baan Sang Suk" was inaugurated in Bangkok on Jan 18th, 2009. This newly constructed Centre is located adjacent to Jayadhiira's new house and will be used as a Centre for Neohumanist Foundation activities in Bangkok. The ceremony was led by Ac. Shambhushivananda in the presence of all devoted members of Neohumanist Foundation in Thailand.
Lampang, Thailand
Shambhushivananda spoke at Lampang Rajabhat University where neohumanist Yoga is being taught as part of University Curriculum by Ms. Nuntaka Taweepkul for the past few years now. Over 200 students participate in the three hour weekly course on "Yoga for the Brain"
Bali, Indonesia
In the Bali State Yoga Competition our children got the 1st prize, and also an award as the Most Favored Yoga Group. The public chose our children for this award. The children came back with two trophies. Our kids got interviewed by press. Four newspapers and 2 TV channels covered this news. There were a total of 12 groups and among them we got the first. (Bali Children’s Home has 40 children now from 11 months to 18 years, managed by Didis).
Kahira Sector
Bormla, Malta, Centru Tbexbix
by Leandros Calleja (athletics coach)
For the past year, a number of children from Centru Tbexbix, Bormla have been attending weekly athletic training sessions at Matthew Micallef St John Stadium in Marsa. The aim of this program was to introduce the various athletic disciplines and their components and to practice each event in its elementary form. The 7 to 13 year age bracket is the Golden Age for learning different skills. Therefore, as with the main intentions of this athletics program, the more variety of skills employed the more skillful and coordinated these children get. In fact, most of the children that attended have shown an improvement in movement, coordination, posture and other basic skills. Some have also shown significant improvement in specific events, although this was not the main intention of this program.
Additionally, the children developed a positive attitude towards running, jumping and throwing both individually and as a group. They also learned to show respect for one another especially when one of them is leading the group as for example during stretching. Some of these new athletes have shown interest and in fact competed in organized athletic activities. The plan for the coming sessions is to continue practicing through repetition with the goal of rectifying the skills obtained and to start taking part in the KIDS Athletics meetings and Aggregate meetings organized by the Malta Amateur Athletic Association. However, the latter will be an additional target but it will not replace our primary aim. Learning to run, jump and throw will still remain our main focus, at least for the time being, until these children have achieved a skill level high enough to become competitive youth athletes.
Athletics events
This month our young athletes participated in two events, one on the 7th March at Floriana stadium and the other on the 31st at Corradino Sports Complex. The first was organised by the MAAA, while the second one was a charity event organised by the Malta Association of Physiotherapists in order to promote physical exercise and well-being, while raising funds for a children's home and an animal sanctuary. For 1.5 hours the children tried their skills in a number of fun athletic games, together with children from other sports schools and football nurseries.
Confidence building
At Centru Tbexbix we strive to build and boost our children’s self-confidence, to help them deal with their insecurities and become active participants in our programmes and later on in their community. It is wonderful to notice a positive transformation happening at various levels and with varying speed in all our children. All of them without exception are now engaging in drama, singing and other performances, (photo) in contrast to their shyness of some months before.
Georgetown Sector
Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
Yoga and meditation classes are being conducted again in the university, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), this semester (they began the first semester of 2007), but this time, for the first time, the classes are full of people; there is even lack of space. Most are young students.
Mahesh and his wife are giving the classes together. They are also helping to create another group, which will be conducted by a new Tantra Yoga teacher.
Berlin Sector
Romanian Schools
By Didi Ananda Devapriya
As reported in the last issue of Gurukula Network, after a very long and difficult process, the kindergartens at last obtained authorization from the Ministry of Education. The authorization represents an exciting turning point for Neohumanist Education in Romania and will allow us to gain more professional recognition for NHE and the ability to share our approach with other educators in the field. Both kindergartens will obtain authorization, but the smaller one still needs more investments and modifications in order to meet new health inspection requirements, and will get the authorization after the completion of those changes in the summer.
We have a new website with news and pictures from our recent events in the kindergartens: www.rasarit.amurtel.net
From the website, please come and see the video clips from our Diversity Day programs - it was an opportunity to overcome the stereotypes and prejudices already forming in children, by giving them positive experiences of Roma culture, through stories and discussion to awaken empathy, and through dialogue with Diipani.
In Bucuresti Noi there was also a special program about Greece - the children dressed as mythological gods and goddesses and acted out the story of Prometheus. In Mihai Bravu, the multicultural program focused on Turkey - with stories about Aladdin performed for parents, making of baklava and dancing.
This year, during the Christmas season, we had heard from our project manager Cristina that many of the children at the Fountain of Hope after school program have never had their own toys, as their families cannot afford them. One day, when the children in the after-school center were decorating for Christmas, one little boy, attending the Fountain of Hope after school center told Cristina, the project director "You know, I don't like Santa." Surprised, Cristina asked "But why? All children like Santa!" and he replied "He never comes to visit my house..." She said "Well, maybe he is busy and he has to visit to some children that are very poor..." and he replied "Yes, but my family is also very poor, but still he never visits. That is why I don't like Santa."
So in the week before Christmas, a letter was sent out to the parents of the Gradinita Rasarit kindergartens in Bucharest, which received a warm and generous response - and 2 big duffle bags and 4 boxes of toys, food, and clothing were sent to Panatau to the Fountain of Hope After School Center just in time for the last day of school before the holidays. Cristina's eyes brimmed with tears when she saw how many things had been collected. The next morning, she arranged a Christmas party for them after their last session of school before the vacation. Each child was delighted to receive a special bag full of gifts and food selected according to the needs of their family situation.
Then, on Christmas day, Santa Claus himself, a Santa straight from Finland with a real white beard (Dada Rasatmakananda), came to visit a few of the especially poor families in the village, walking up the unpaved roads to the houses made of mud and plaster. Santa was careful to go exactly to the house of the same little boy that had never had a visit from Santa before. He arrived with an umbrella as there was no snow for his sleigh and mesmerized the children with magic tricks and storytelling, creating a unique and unforgettable experience for these children.
Delhi Sector
Himmatnagar, Gujrat (India)
Annual Function of Ananda Marga School
Ac Shubhagatananda Avt, Principal
The annual function of Ananda Marga School, Himmatnagar, Gujrat was organized in Town hall on 1st of March 2009. Little children of the School participated in a colourful cultural programme in different decorated dresses for each song. Songs and dances were in many languages i.e. Gujrati, Hindi, English, Bengali,Oriya, Santhali, Punjabi etc. The programme was based on Prabhat Samgiita and was very inspiring for all. It started at 2.00 PM and continued till 6.00 PM. Guardians along with their family and friends filled the Town Hall (700 in numbers) and blessed and inspired all the children. A few dignitaries from the town also graced the occasion. A city channel telecast the programme and news and the local news paper highlighted the programme. Ac Madhuvratananda Avt and Ac Abhiramananda Avt were also kind enough to be present as chief guests of the programme. They spoke about the spirit of ERAWS and its activities around the globe.
New Schools in Bihar
A new school has just started in Sacrecha in Pun Pun railway station, about 20 kilometers from Patna. The opening took place on January 26th. Already 79 students have started and enrollment is likely to increase to 300 as the new session opens in May - June '09. These children will be coming from the eight villages in the vicinity. This school building is owned by Ananda Marga. There is a nearby master unit land which has remained unutilized. We are also planning to build this master unit starting June '09. It is proposed to have an AMURT regional office and store, training center, jagrti, nursery, dairy farm and high school. This project is expected to be completed in two years time. There are three LFTs working here and two of them are trained.
Another school is starting in Bali, Shrinagar Panchayat, Madhepura by April-May '09. We already have our own building. It has been repaired with some additional construction of three toilets and two manual water pumps. This school is expected to have 600 children from the surrounding villages. It will also house a regional emergency AMURT store. There are four LFTs working here and all are trained. The total land registered in our name is 40,000 sq.ft. There is a possibility of this place getting transformed into a master unit soon.
A women managed primary school for girls is proposed to be started this session in Hardi Panchayat in Madhepura. This land is also owned by us. There are five large size halls in pucca shades steel construction. They were constructed by Tatas during the recent Kosi floods on our land. Some peripheral work like boundary construction and clearing the debris and landscaping work is needed to be done before opening the school. This facility has the potential to develop as a residential school with a children’s home and AMURTEL relief center and store.
We are planning to have a 15 day program starting in Hardi for training this summer for the teachers and for the local population. This will include apart from other activities, Yoga training for the locals, Yaogika Cikitsa for locals and LFT training. Local members of Ananda Marga have already started planning this event.
Haridwar
The annual function of the Ananda Marga School in Haridwar, India was held on 26th of January 2009. More then 1500 people attended the programme. The principal is Acarya Shubhashisa Brahmacarii. Here are some photos from the event.
