http://www.voicesdivine.com Bahai audio books & podcast recordings of writings, prayers, news, & community messages for lovers of Bahaullah Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:38:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Bahai audio books & podcast recordings of writings, prayers, news, & community messages for lovers of Bahaullah VoicesDivine no © 2008-2010 VoicesDivine.com and others VoicesDivine.com Baha'i Podcasts https://www.voicesdivine.com/main/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://www.voicesdivine.com http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/711_nunavut_art_project/ http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/711_nunavut_art_project/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:19:37 +0000 John Iron http://news.voicesdivine.com/?p=339 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/711_nunavut_art_project/feed/ 0 Arctic Youth Art Initiative,art,Baffin Island,Baha'i,Canada,Caring Canadian Awards,Children,Iqaluit,Ms. Beth McKenty,Nanavut,painting,suicide Beth McKenty moved to Iqaluit in northeast Canada in 1999 to fulfill a pledge, made 45 years earlier, to devote part of her life to reducing youth suicide. (http://news.voicesdivine.com/wp-content/uploads/news/20090426-BWNS-711_nunavut_art_project-150.jpg)26 April 2009, IQALUIT, NUNAVUT, Canada (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107001268033865952759.000467d7fa436430d35d6&ll=63.749478,-68.521214&spn=0.016533,0.065746&t=h&z=15) - Beth McKenty moved to sparsely populated northeast Canada - to Iqaluit on Baffin Island - in 1999 to fulfill a pledge, made 45 years earlier, to devote part of her life to reducing youth suicide. Within two weeks of arriving she had begun a project to help children build self-esteem by exploring their creativity. The Arctic Youth Art Initiative has since grown to involve hundreds of children. Ms. McKenty's efforts were acknowledged this month when she was one of 75 individuals from across Canada named as recipients of the Caring Canadian Awards for 2009. Created in 1996 by the Canadian Governor General, the award is presented to individuals and groups whose unpaid, voluntary contributions over a number of years provide extraordinary help or care to people in their community.It has been a long and often surprising road for Ms. McKenty from her birthplace of Snowflake, Manitoba (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107001268033865952759.000467d7fa436430d35d6&ll=49.047756,-98.659716&spn=0.011842,0.018797&t=k&z=16), to Iqaluit, population 7,200 and the capital of the Nunavut territory. In addition to several decades in Wisconsin, where she worked as a freelance journalist and raised a family, she has lived in Japan, China, and Russia, and she has taught at the Navajo College at Tsaile, Arizona (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107001268033865952759.000467d7fa436430d35d6&ll=36.293665,-109.216869&spn=0.014147,0.018797&t=k&z=16), in the United States. "I started out on a farm in Manitoba, one of seven children," she said. "My father was from pioneer stock and a veteran who served at Vimy Ridge. My mother, a nurse, was an Icelandic immigrant. We grew up in a home with an openness to the whole world. "In 1954, my younger brother took his own life. One way I dealt with the anguish was to make a promise to myself that some day, somehow, I would do something to help reduce youth suicide." It was the day of her brother's funeral that she first heard of the Bahá'í Faith. As she learned of Bahá'u'lláh's world-embracing principle of unity, she felt it matched the values she had grown up with. A life of Bahá'í activity has followed. "I was so busy and the years went by, but my plan always included fulfilling my promise to my brother," she said. "Then in 1999, two things happened simultaneously. I read that the rate of youth suicide in newly formed Nunavut was seven times the Canadian average. Around the same time, I attended the Bahá'í National Convention in Montreal where I learned of opportunities for service in the Arctic. Here was my chance." By October, she had moved into Bahá'í House in Iqaluit, located on the Arctic tundra not too far south of the Arctic circle. 'I came with a purpose' "I came with a purpose but didn't have a method," she said. "Earlier, I had had my own artist's studio for two years and had brought my paints with me to Iqaluit. Two weeks after getting there, I heard some strange sounds and discovered two boys trying to throw stones over the house, but missing. I opened the door and asked if they'd like to come in for hot chocolate. "Since I'd been painting, I asked them if they would like to paint, too. I explained that with red, yellow, and blue they could mix any color except white. They were shy but accepted. I was astounded at what they could paint. Their work was so northern. The wonderful heritage of the Inuit was evident in these children. They returned later with one or two friends. That's how this project began. "I never really instructed these children. I just facilitated by providing a space and good quality materials. In addition to the painting, the children enjoy games, VoicesDivine no 7:52 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/ethiopian-children%e2%80%99s-tv-show-receives-honor/ http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/ethiopian-children%e2%80%99s-tv-show-receives-honor/#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:19:41 +0000 John Iron http://news.voicesdivine.com/?p=231 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/ethiopian-children%e2%80%99s-tv-show-receives-honor/feed/ 0 Adis Ababa,award,Baha'i,broadcasting,Children,education,Ethiopia,Prix Jeunesse,television Tsehai Loves Learning, an Ethiopian educational television show produced by a Baha'i couple, received an award at Prix Jeunesse International 2008. (http://news.voicesdivine.com/wp-content/uploads/news/20080612-BWNS-638-150.jpg) 2008 June 12, ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Adis+Abeba,+Ethiopia&sll=9.232249,38.166504&sspn=20.517082,33.837891&ie=UTF8&ll=9.015302,38.737793&spn=20.529311,33.837891&t=h&z=6) - "Tsehai Loves Learning," an Amharic-language educational television show that is produced and broadcast in Ethiopia, received an award at the Prix Jeunesse International (http://www.prixjeunesse.de/) 2008, the premiere festival recognizing outstanding children's television programming. The event is held every two years in Munich, Germany; the award was presented on 4 June. The program is the brainchild of Bruktawit Tigabu and Shane Etzenhouser of Addis Ababa, a married couple who are both Baha'is. The show - designed for preschool children and featuring a hand puppet named Tsehai who is a giraffe - is styled after classic children's programs such as "Sesame Street." The show won the Prix Jeunesse Next Generation Prize for an entry that is "inspirational, innovative, and inspired by a great idea" but that was produced "under difficult circumstances." The prize brings a monetary award of 6,000 euros and a year of mentoring from the sponsors, which include the Australian Children's Television Foundation, the BBC, Disney Germany, KRO (Dutch Public Broadcasting), Nickelodeon International, and ZDF (German Television Network). "Winning an award at the Prix Jeunesse is considered the highest honor in children's media," Ms. Tigabu said. "For many of Ethiopia's children, the show is the closest thing to early childhood education they have ever received," Mr. Etzenhouser noted. "The Baha'i writings have been a major inspiration for us," he continued. "The writings on the education of children and on service were what inspired us to make this program. We also relied heavily on Baha'i prayers and writings to uplift us whenever we've run into difficulties with the show or whenever we've gotten discouraged. ... We don't have a background in television, so the tasks and responsibility inherent in what we are trying to do are enormous." In a statement about the award to "Tsehai Loves Learning," Prix Jeunesse said: "The jury was hugely impressed by the program's ability to talk to children, to be creative as well as communicative, on an extremely limited budget. ... We all felt that 'Tsehai Loves Learning' was inspired by a great idea born out of the needs of its audience - which after all is the basis of all great TV." "Tsehai Loves Learning" went on the air in September 2006 with new 10-minute episodes debuting every two weeks for repeated broadcasting. The show is currently on hiatus. John Iron no 3:12