Every Sunday morning for the past fifteen years, children have been travelling across Northern Ireland to attend a Sunday school in Belfast.  They have come from towns as far apart as Rostrevor, Magherafelt and Lurgan. Many of their parents grew up as Protestants or Catholics in this divided province. But, despite its location in West Belfast, this school displays none of the features that characterise the surrounding society.

The school, developed by the Bahá'í community of Castlereagh, has a curriculum that has been refined over the years and is based on Bahá'í principles, teaching the unity of religions, and the unity of humanity. It is run by a dedicated team of trained volunteers that willingly give up their Sundays week after week, year after year.  The school is named after the famous Irish Protestant clergyman, George Townshend, who became a Bahá'í.

In Northern Ireland, the Bahá'í community is scattered across all six counties. Bahá'í children have little opportunity to mix with each other as they grow up. Like most children in Northern Ireland they attend religiously segregated schools and live in areas where their neighbours are all of the same denomination.  30 years of sectarian conflict has increased the segregation and the situation is worsening. Children grow up within a Protestant or Catholic community and have little opportunity to meet their counterparts.

In this context, the George Townshend Bahá'í School plays a critical role in supporting children to establish an understanding of their identity that transcends the tribal divisions that are prevalent in the society.  But its value is proving to be greater than the personal benefit that it brings to the individuals who attend. Increasingly, as the school evolves, it is demonstrating its potential to support the creation of vibrant groups of young people. As they progress through the school, they establish lasting bonds of friendship that stay with them for the rest of their lives. More importantly, they have become actively involved in a range of activities for their own enjoyment and for the benefit of society. In this way, a dance workshop developed, a Bahá'í Youth Committee has flourished and the young people have planned many activities. And even greater achievements can be expected to flow from this school in the coming years.

EG