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THE
BIRTH OF THE FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
I
retired from the teaching service at the end of December 1990.
By this time it was abundantly clear to me that the future lies
not in the “bookbags of children”, as we are so often told, but
in the minds and hearts of the adults who care for children. I
determined to devote the remainder of my life to the care of
adults.
It was
this resolution that gave birth to the Foundation for Human
Development, a non profit charitable organisation established by
a group of teachers, parents, past pupils, to provide a forum
through which I could minister to adults. Initially I saw this
ministry mainly in psychological terms. In more recent years the
balance is shifting to contemplative prayer and contemplative
living.
In 1991
and again in 1992, I went abroad to retrain in counselling. The
road ahead was neither straight nor easy. In these same years
1991 and 1992 a niece and nephew of mine died suddenly and
tragically. In 1994 my elder sister died within weeks of being
diagnosed with cancer. During these very weeks I was caught up
with the issue of the use of the hijab in schools and was
catapulted into the public arena, an arena which up to then I
had avoided. In 1995 my body reacted to the stress I was
experiencing and I had surgery for an intestinal blockage. In
1996 my emotions joined in protest and I was overwhelmed by
feelings of depression. Make no mistake about it – body,
feelings and mind are all closely interconnected and impact upon
one another. In 1997 the priest, who had for many years been my
friend and mentor, died within a week of being diagnosed with
cancer, mere days after surgery.
During
these years I was on several Government educational and Church
committees with their endless hours at endless meetings. It was
within this context of personal stripping on the one hand and
public over-involvement on the other that I was attempting to
root the fledgling Foundation for Human Development. I learnt
that it is possible to live in several different worlds and at
different levels at the same time even while doing what you have
to do. |
