Serving Humanity-Heart of a Child from Outset Till Now

Fo Guang Shan South Island, which is situated on the corner of Riccarton Road and Harakeke Street, will be holding “Heart of a Child-Children’s Week” from 10th to 15th November. This year, FGS South Island will be the main organiser of the community welfare oriented event, and will be assisted by BLIA South Island South Island YAD. The activities during the event will be hosted and led by YAD.

Venerable Abbess Manshin pointed out that caring for fellow humans and giving back to society is one of the missions and purposes of Buddhism, and Heart of a Child is an event aimed at providing children with an atmosphere of arts and culture where they can learn compassion and adopt a joyful attitude towards life.

With the times moving ahead and despite living in such a tight and restrictive community, the event may give those children who participate a reason to smile, a warm feeling that the community still cares for them and hope that will help them grow. Through Heart of a Child, YAD are acting in accordance the missions and purpose of Buddhism, and are able to implement the duty of caring for human beings’ bodies and minds Venerable Master Hsing Yun has always industriously advocated.

In response to the excellent feedback during the inaugural Heart of a Child event in year 2008, YAD have begun to conduct the necessary preparatory work for the event, with the support of the guiding Venerables and help from the BLIA. One after another, preparatory meetings have been held, and tasks have been attended to; and all the effort has been channeled into ensuring the smooth and successful running of the event.

Invited guests include students and children from Addington School, Allenvale Special School, Autism New Zealand, Campbell Centre, CanTeen- The NZ Teenage Cancer Patient’s Society, Canterbury Down’s Syndrome Association, the West Coast Branch of Children’s Cancer Foundation, Cholmondeley Children’s Home, Children with Disabilities Association of Canterbury, Canterbury Deaf Association, Discovery 1 School, Heart Children NZ of Canterbury, IHC Mental Disabilities Group and Riccarton High School. Several schools and groups have already replied, confirming their participation.

During the week-long event, the Temple will be hosting many sessions, and during each session, participating children will have the opportunity to visit the Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery and enjoy the wonderful Photography Exhibition and Egg Art Exhibition on display. Art is a bridge between different cultures and is not bound by the limitations of language barriers. Art also contributes to spiritual interaction and communication.

After enjoying fine artworks, the guests will be taken on a Temple Tour which will introduce and explain the significance of the Temple building design and its functions. After familiarising the children with FGS South Island, various fun activities will be organised in accordance to the wishes of the visiting groups. Activities include origami, DIY creative crafts, interactive games and many more. The Temple will provide delicious refreshments for the children to enjoy after their session of fun activities; their visit to the Temple will surely be a memorable one!

Every child is tomorrow’s pillar of the country, and every child is a treasure that needs to be cared for, and the team at Heart of a Child are more than willing to create a warm and loving atmosphere for the children to grow up in, and in the process, build on their communication skills and self-confidence, and gain an understanding of the world around them. The Heart of a Child- Children’s Week community welfare initiative not only builds strong links between the various ethnic groups in the community, but also enriches the lives of children with love and warmth.