Using camps to build capacity 

Institute camps in Western Australia’s south-west are helping individuals to build capacity and spurring them into the field of action. 

Launched in 2021, the first camps were held at a local hall before moving to a residential campsite, each space providing the opportunity for intensive study of the Ruhi books and the chance to gather, pray, reflect and serve. 

Bunbury’s Nasim Ghoddosi says the camps have proven an effective way to assist the youth to enter into the field of action. 

She said the recent three-day camp, held during the school holidays, included children’s classes, a junior youth group, study circles and discussion sessions, as well as devotional gatherings open to neighbouring communities. 

“Some of the subsequent camps have focused more on running intensive children’s classes and junior youth groups with the youth being supported to run them,” she says. 

Nasim says the camps have allowed the youth participants to complete the Ruhi Books, after which they have immediately taken on roles as children’s class teachers, junior youth animators, or facilitators of youth gatherings and devotional gatherings. 

“Because of the camps, five youth in the cluster have almost completed Ruhi Books 1 to 7 and so many adults are building their capacity in helping [other] participants, especially the youth, into the field of action,” she says. 

“There is lots of learning and great experiences during the camp and lots of confidence [being built] in individuals as well as the whole community towards the community-building process.”

The purpose of the Baha’i Institute process is to assist individuals to deepen their understanding of the Baha’i teachings, and to gain the spiritual insights and practical skills they need to contribute to the progress of the community. An education system in a constant state of development, its principal elements include a study circle, tutor, and curriculum materials grounded in the Baha’i Writings, which facilitate the expression of spiritual insights and knowledge gained in the process of translating Baha’u’llah’s teachings into reality.