Baha'i Camp Prepares Kids to be Good Citizens

August 21, 2006

Source: The Frederick News-Post

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=51617

On August 21, 2006 The Frederick News-Post reported, "Kian Alexander Huang, 4, putting virtue to practice, concentrated hard as he threaded the colorful plastic beads onto the silver elastic thread: a gift for his cousin Lilla. "I'm making it for her because I love her," he said. Threading a clear star-shaped bead on top of a larger, purple bead, he said, "Lilla loves stars." Kian and his brother, Nadeem, 2, were two of about 30 children attending Baha'i summer camp at the 400-acre Catoctin Quaker Camp facility Friday through today. Camp activities -- crafts, games, music, devotion -- incorporated virtues taught in the Baha'i faith... [Nancy Villadsen, who has run the program for the past several years,] said the camp and other Baha'i programs for youth steer them in a healthy direction. 'It protects them when they're teenagers. (They learn to) study hard, have fun in a clean way, and grow up to be good citizens.' She said the children learn to understand the reason virtues are important -- love, honesty, forgiveness, respect and a long list of others -- without reliance on blind faith."

See also: Bahá'í, Youth