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Welcome to the June 2004 issue of the email newsletter. This month:
If you have any feedback about this newsletter, or if you'd like to share your experiences of SSEHV, please write to us. Kind
Regards, |
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By Carole Alderman and Michele White A few months ago the British Institute of Sathya Sai Education (BISSE) received a request for five days of Sathya Sai EHV training in Egypt. Three ladies there have been working for a charity called Children of the Future Foundation whose work includes renovating run down Government schools. One of them, Mrs. Randa El Masry, had bought the two UK SSEHV books on sale in India. This had given her the idea that it would benefit the children even more if something could be done for their minds and spirit as well as their physical surroundings whilst in school. Thus it was that on 22nd May 04 we set off for Cairo with our training materials, one set of books, an email with a name and address on it and a promise of being met at the airport and trust that, when doing SSEHV work, all would be well - as it was. We arrived at about 10.30 in the evening and the next morning at 9.00 a.m. we began by asking the group of 17 participants what was the need for SSEHV in Egypt. We asked this because we wanted to adapt to their specific needs. The course was held in a villa on a hill overlooking the pyramids of Giza. Almost from the beginning the group embraced the programme wholeheartedly and began forming plans as to how it could be used in Egypt and how it would help them individually in their daily lives. Most of the ladies had families and had no need to work, but they wanted to help their country in charitable service. They are ideal candidates to carry SSEHV forward. On our last training day they insisted we start an hour later so that we could visit a nearby school in which a third of the group had been working for about three years. The school premises had been in an impoverished state of repair - unpainted with broken fittings such as doors, washbasins and desks. Thanks to the Children for the Future Foundation and their hard work and donations, it now looks neat, clean and pretty with swings and slides in the playground and bougainvillea planted along the back wall and a small garden near the entrance. Six or seven of the ladies teach three classes a week there. The children were delighted to see us all and certainly touched our hearts. Later that day during the Reflective exercise on Non-violence, one of the youngest participants visualised a pyramid. At its base the four corners represented Truth, Love, Peace and Right Conduct. At its peak a stream of light represented Non-violence. It is this symbol which they have chosen to represent SSEHV in Egypt. What a fitting symbol and good omen for the future. The group were very appreciative of the training and said they felt much more confident to teach SSEHV and had a lot more ideas now how to proceed. The following day, between visiting the pyramids in Giza and the Cairo Museum with its Pharaonic treasures, we had a meeting with the Headmaster of the British School in Cairo. He himself was very values orientated and was already incorporating values into the school curriculum with such things as Circle Time. He liked the SSEHV programme and hoped later that week to pass it by the Management team and Board of Governors. Before leaving the Chairperson of the Charity, Mrs. Shahira Genena, who attended the last two days of the training, asked us to give them a short paper on SSEHV and its application in the UK to present at a meeting with members of the Government. This we did. We have been asked to return to give another training, probably in January 05, and we agreed to do this and help in whatever way we can. We felt we had made some very lovable friends during our stay. The Egyptians are very warm and amongst the most hospitable people we have ever encountered. Early on Saturday morning we flew to Luxor for a few days sightseeing of the Pharaonic temples built up to 4,500 years ago. The advance at that time in art, technology and religious thought was too inspiring to be missed. Four days after the course ended we telephoned our host, Mrs. Randa El Masry, who told us that the group had had a meeting and agreed the tasks of translating and adapting the stories, translating the songs and finding suitable local ones, translating the posters, etc. This work of creating an SSEHV book in Arabic will be completed by September - ready for the new school term. Given
the enthusiasm and drive shown by the ladies we met, Egypt will no doubt
become a shining example of Sathya Sai EHV! |
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A three-day Values Alive Event (the SSEHV holiday programme formerly known as "summer camp") took place in a secondary school in South East London during the first week in June. Organised by Bina Valsan and Selina Shah, who teaches at the school, the Event was particularly noteworthy, not only because it was the first to take place in a secondary school, but also because it was staged at very short notice, within just two weeks. Volunteers came from all over London and further afield including Guildford, Oxford, Coventry and Leicester, and their varied skills enabled diverse activities such as music, sport, drama, dance, IT and SSEHV classes to be provided for the Year 7 pupils who attended. The group of 25 children included a number with specific problems that presented particular challenges to the volunteers and to the group as a whole. Some did not speak English, some had problems in their homelives, and several were already receiving additional support within school such as Anger Management and Learning Support. The girls and boys had separate timetables which worked very well. With only two hours each of drama and dance, the children gave a fantastic performance on the last day that included a play about Mother Theresa play with 24 children, a music recital by one of the boys, SSEHV singing and an Indian Dance. Bina said of the Event, "The children certainly enjoyed it. This could be seen clearly on the last afternoon when they behaved like mature young adults and convinced us that we had planted the seed of Human Values in them. They would not have come to school if they didn't enjoy it - they were old enough and streetwise enough to come to school on their own and there was no obligation on their part to attend, yet they kept coming and they didn't want to leave on the last day." Jonathan Wilcock, one of the volunteers at the Event, gave the following feedback: "I have attended two previous Values Alive Events and teach SSEHV at a school in Battersea, so I pretty much new what to expect. The children were possibly the most challenging that I have had the opportunity to work with and learn from, and hence also the most rewarding in a lot of ways. "I worked mostly with the boys as a group. During sports, we split into two groups to play 'Kick Rounders'. At first, quite a few of the boys weren't interested and were quite disruptive. After ten minutes or so, the mood seemed to shift a little and the idea of working as teams started to click. A little later, you couldn't hold them back, even the 'loners' wanted to join in and everyone seemed to have a really good time. "Later in the afternoon all the boys played together in a game called 'Bench Ball' lead by a volunteer called Darren, who, wonder of wonders, managed to get the whole group playing against each other in total silence. The majority of the boys demonstrated real team spirit. There was no arguing, swearing or insults, just lots of fun in absolute silence - for a good five to ten minutes. This may not seem like a big achievement to many people, but you had to work with these boys to realise that one minute of silence is a complete anathema to them. "Another incident that really touched me was when the boys were read the story of 'The Rainbow Fish'. It was unbelievable to see a group of young boys become so involved with the story. They all joined in with actions and words. After the story, I had the privilege of playing a board game based on it with a young lad called Nathan. I had noticed Nathan earlier and seen how when challenged by his peers, his hackles were quick to rise. The simple board game afforded me the chance of a completely open and frank one-to-one with him. The game was so simple, almost to the point of being babyish, but it gave us the opportunity to discuss really quite profound topics. I found Nathan to be very intelligent and a deep thinker. Some of the topics we talked about were bullying, peer pressure, sadness, Mother's love and guidance, what makes him happy, coping with the pressures of approaching adulthood, making the right decisions, etc. What a wonderful experience." The Deputy Head of the school at which the Values Alive Event took place was impressed by the impact it had on the children and very supportive. |
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Cyrano
Ugarow organised a one-day Values Alive Event
in a primary school in Bristol this month which was attended by 40 children.
Three teachers from the school, which has had SSEHV classes for nearly
three years, helped out at the Event. The head teacher was present at
the beginning and the end of the day, and the last hour was attended by
a large number of parents. |
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The following training courses and workshops are scheduled to take place in the coming months: SSEHV
Foundation Course, Leicester SSEHV
Foundation Course, Coventry Parenting
Workshop, Croydon
- NEW Parenting
Workshop, West Sussex |
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Jessica was the most popular girl in the class. All the other girls looked up to her and wanted to be in her gang. Jessica was very proud of her status and zealously guarded her position as leader of the gang. Any girl who tried to become a member of the gang without Jessica's permission soon found herself ostracised by the other members who all took their lead from Jessica. In the middle of the Autumn term a new girl joined the class. She and her family had moved to Dublin because her father had been offered a position at one of the largest hospitals in Ireland. Padma and her parents came from Bangalore, India. Dr. Patel had studied medicine in India and had worked in France for two years. Padma loved living in other countries and learning to speak different languages although she did miss her grandparents very much. She could speak Hindi, English and French. The Patels were very excited at the prospect of living in Ireland; they had heard very good things about the people and the country. So, as she set out for her first day at school, Padma was filled with a sense of joyful anticipation. She held her mother's hand and skipped along humming softly to herself. On arrival at the school the Headmistress welcomed them. Padma kissed her mother goodbye and was taken to the classroom by the Headmistress. The class teacher, Miss Richards, greeted Padma most warmly and introduced her to the rest of the class. At break all the girls gathered around Padma, eager to know where this beautiful little girl came from. Padma, in her sweet melodious voice, happily regaled her fellow students with the stories of her adventures at home in India and on her travels. Jessica sat apart from the cluster of chattering voices and felt very jealous and put out. "This classroom is big enough for ONE star only," she thought. "I'm going to make Padma an outcast," she sulkily planned. Over the course of the next few weeks Jessica used her powerful and manipulative influence slowly to exclude Padma until no one spoke to her. Padma could not understand this. "Why are the girls treating me like this?" she cried to her Mum and Dad. "I've done no harm to them. I don't understand what's happening, but I know that Jessica really doesn't like me and the others always do what she says. I'm so unhappy." Padma's parents were very upset and didn't know how best to help their daughter. Jessica was learning to play the piano and each Friday after school she cycled to her music teacher's home. One particular Friday, as she was returning home, a dog ran out in front of her and she swerved to avoid hitting it. She hit the kerb and was thrown over her handlebars. She landed with a very loud thud on the path, hitting her head. She was very shocked and lay on the ground dazed and in great pain. Blood was oozing from her leg, elbow and hand. After a while she become aware of someone telling her to lie still until help came, when they would see whether she could be moved. As she had hit her head she would have to go to hospital for a check up. Then she felt hands lifting her off the ground and reassuring her that everything would be all right. She looked and saw that it was Padma and her Mum and Dad. Oh, the embarrassment of it all! The Patels had called an ambulance and went with Jessica to the hospital. They had rung her parents too who met them there. After being examined she was allowed to go home. Dr and Mrs Patel and Padma accompanied her and her parents home. She was worried about her bicycle, but Padma assured her that she had put the bike safely into her own garden when Jessica had been taken to hospital. Jessica was mortified. Tears started to trickle down her face. She was overcome with guilt for the misery she had caused Padma. She had been so cruel because she was jealous and afraid that she would lose her position as 'most popular girl'. And here the Patel family was being so kind, so loving, and so helpful. While their parents were talking, Jessica used the opportunity to apologise to Padma. "I'm so sorry I was such a bully," Jessica confessed. "I don't know why I behaved like that. I suppose I was jealous of you and felt that the other girls might not like me anymore. I was wrong and I shouldn't have treated you so badly. Please forgive me, Padma. Let's be friends." "Oh, Jessica. I'm so glad we can be friends!" said Padma, and the girls hugged each other. On coming into the lounge, Jessica's parents were pleased to see her sitting next to Padma with a great big smile on her face. As they were leaving Jessica asked Dr. and Mrs. Patel if Padma could come over to her house to play sometimes. "Yes, of course," came the reply. Jessica and her parents thanked the Patels again and as they drove home Padma thought to herself, "I'm looking forward to school on Monday." In the course of time Jessica and Padma's friendship developed and became very precious to them. They kept in touch throughout their lives and shared many good times, and some difficult ones, together. QUESTIONS: |
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Copyright
© 2004 British Institute of Sathya Sai Education (BISSE). BISSE is
a non-profit organisation committed to promoting human values in education.
Registered address: The Glen, Cuckoo Hill, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 2BE United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 8429 2677 Email: enquiries@ssehv.org.uk |