School Holiday Programme
Perth
From January 11, 2018 to January 24, 2018, a ten-day school holiday programme was held for about 20 children at Minnawarra House in Perth, Australia. Some youth and elders assisted as facilitators.
The children were between four to fourteen years of age and the aim of this holiday programme was to inculcate values such as honesty, compassion and respect in the children. Each of the ten days was allocated a value-theme and activities were conducted based around these themes. This way, there were constant reminders for the children about the theme throughout the day.
The day started with breakfast, followed by a one to two minute silent sitting session with soft background music. This was followed by activities such as drama, pottery, painting, singing and the like. Nutritious food was served for lunch, after which the second activity was started. In between both the activities, children were told stories from lives of ideal men and women of character such as Abraham Lincoln and Florence Nightingale. Furthermore, discussions were held with children on the importance of values in their lives. While the activities nourished the minds of the children, the day ended with afternoon tea to once again nourish their bodies.
As the programme neared its end, the facilitators could already see the children becoming more conscious of the need for respecting and loving others. Some of the kids come from troubled families and do not have the right environment for positive values to blossom in their hearts and minds. So, it filled their hearts with great joy to see the children develop positive attitudes which will enable them to become good human beings in the future. This was and has been Swami’s ongoing message to everyone in Perth.