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2011 report - page 3
Changes of Officer
This year four fine workers finished terms coordinating the TOS work within their countries: Tim Boyd in the USA, Narendra Shah in Nairobi, Kenya, Luigi Marsi in Italy and Regina Celi Medina Alves Silva in Brazil. We thank them all. Their successors have started out with energy and creativity.
The new president of the TOS in America, Nancy Secrest, has invited anyone in sympathy with the TOS to grow their hair and then have it cut (unless this is discouraged by their culture or religion) for donation to Locks of Love, an organisation that makes wigs for cancer patients and others. Nancy is setting an example by growing her own hair. She feels that this is a very simple act of service in which most people can participate. In her first annual report, she highlights the TOS’s projects in support of Native Americans: continuing assistance for the Rosebud Reservation of the Lakota Sioux Indians in South Dakota and for the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico in the form of clothing and blankets, school supplies, computers and Christmas gifts. This year a significant scholarship was granted to a nursing student at Oglaga Lakota College School of Nursing.
Pineridge children on horseback |
Tim Boyd, outgoing President of the TOS in America and Nancy Secrest, incoming President.
Rosebud Sioux Tribe |
| The new convenor of the TOS in Kenya, Usha Shah, has initiated three projects this year in addition to spearheading the famine relief work already mentioned: the distribution of teddy bears knitted by TOS members in Italy for children affected by tragedy, a tree-planting project with primary school children, and the teaching of skills enabling needy women to increase their family income. These new projects come in addition to the significant service programme carried out for many years by the TOS team in Nairobi. |
Narendra Shah, who has handed over the work of Convenor of the TOS in Nairobi this year but who continues to handle the TOS’s accounts. |
Usha Shah, who has ‘hit the ground running’ as the new TOS Convenor, with the help of the solid Nairobi team. |
The TOS in Kenya started a project this year to give skills to women enabling them to add to the family income. Ten ladies from 25 to 70 years of age came to the premises of the TS in Nairobi and were shown how to make cow dung cakes to use as fuel, instead of coal. The ladies were also taught to make dairy products. Here we see the ladies’ second day: we see them learn how to make samosas, as well as chapattis, plain and stuffed.
 
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| Rosella Milani Fanzio has started out her role as new director of the TOS in Italy by launching a “one euro for our Pakistan home schools” appeal to which members were invited to donate when they renewed their TS membership dues this year. This simple idea was remarkably successful: the members responded in a characteristically generous fashion. A heart-warming trait of the Italian TOS is that when a major disaster takes place in the world, its representatives contact the International Secretary saying, “How can we help the TOS respond?” This spontaneity is refreshing. |
Luigi Marsi acted as National Director of the TOS in Italy for 21 years. We salute him! |
We welcome Rosella as the new TOS National Director in Italy. |
| As the new coordinator of the TOS in Brazil, Andréa Dias de Mendonça Resende and her team have developed an engaging service activity. They give everyone at the TS’s Summer School in January and at its National Meeting mid-year an opportunity to contribute to the activity in some way: helping to set up and run a sale table, making, donating or buying sale items, identifying suitable local beneficiaries for the money raised, and buying and personally delivering the donated articles. This activity is done with joy and goodwill during the summer school itself and is a constructive form of community outreach. |
Regina Celi Medina Alves Silva, who is now coordinator of the TS Lodges in Rio de Janeiro. |
Andréa Dias de Mendonça Resende, our new Correspondent for the TOS in Brazil. |
Conclusion
In spite of all the positive news reported above, the fact remains that the TOS still operates in only half the countries where the TS is present. Continuing attention needs to be given to helping members wishing to start groups. The TOS’s long term goal is to be of help to the TS in making Theosophy of transformative value in as many countries as possible. |
