Families strengthen bonds of friendship and love

Shared in this account is a joyous experience from Masterton community of an event they held at Kura Kaupapa Māori o Wairarapa.

Coming together with families to share manaakitanga

In our community, we decided to hold a parents’ dinner for the families we are connected to through the kura. We felt it was best to organize the dinner for parents of both the kids in the children’s classes and in the junior youth group. The purpose of the dinner was to strengthen the bonds of friendship and love with these parents, to have conversations around the importance of local friends taking charge of their spiritual and material progress, to help parents’ understanding of the educational process, which is part of a continuum and to share what has been learned by both the children and junior youth.

The dinner was held at the Kura Kaupapa Māori o Wairarapa, where our children’s classes and junior youth group run each week. On the evening of the dinner, more than thirty local friends attended, only six of them Bahá’í.

The programme began with a welcome, where each person introduced themselves, followed by dinner together. After dinner, we shared highlights of the past term from the classes for the spiritual education of children, which included a puppet show of Rata and the Totara Tree as well as several karakia and waiata. Two of the themes of grade 2 of the children’s class are seeking knowledge and obedience to the laws of God. We displayed paintings that the children had done alongside their other artwork.

After the sharing, the teachers gave out certificates with virtues written on them and, as we did this, we spoke about the need for more teachers to assist with the classes as they continue to expand in this setting. As part of what we spoke about we also offered to train any parents who may be interested in helping to run activities for the classes. At least two parents expressed interest.

Following the presentation of the certificates, the animators of the junior youth group, both of whom are local friends, put on a play for the parents, which came from their study of the “Breezes of Confirmation” text. The play was well received by the parents and nannies present. Then the junior youth sang a quote from that book in English and Te Reo, which they themselves had set to music. Finally, certificates were given out to each of the junior youth who had completed the text.

The evening helped everyone understand these two programmes as part of an educational continuum and strengthened the bonds of love between the Bahá’ís and these beloved families from the distinct population we are working closely with. Many parents expressed their gratitude and acknowledged the work of the teachers and animators in educating their tamariki and rangitahi. Most of all, the night was full of joy, a lot of love, and a spirit of laughter.

We can’t wait to be together again, and this term we will be organizing a whānau festival to once again invite all the families to come together, study, and do some art activities.

This article and photos are shared by the Masterton community.