Life buzzed inside the Reflections Lounge on July 11 as the Southeast Jamat enjoyed a multitude of activities that encouraged self-reflection for one’s personal journey. 

 

One such area, the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Zone was filled with children participating in different activities with their parents. The Zone aimed to encourage young minds to learn, engage, explore, and reflect on the significance of the Diamond Jubilee. The curious young minds entering the zone were greeted with “Diamond Jubilee Mubarak” and given a keepsake Jubilee Adventures Pack that helped the children understand the day’s significance.

 

In their first stop the youngsters decorated My Diamond Jubilee: Touch & Feel Book, which illustrates the purpose of celebrating the Diamond Jubilee and recognizes our love for Mawlana Hazar Imam. In doing so, children experienced different textures, enhancing their conceptual knowledge through multiple senses. Akif Dhanani, 12, volunteered in the ECD Zone to help younger kids understand what he learned about the Jubilee. This was the Alabama resident’s first time volunteering, and he said he did so because he sees how much the Imam has done for the Jamat. “I want to serve my Imam today and throughout the Diamond Jubilee and more” Akif said.

 

Next was the Discovery Bottle activity, a sensory play experience that is used to calm a child when their emotions become overwhelming. Children prepared water bottles with color, oil, and sequins with images that relate to love and celebration. The oil allows the sequins to float and separate from the water forming waves, thereby providing a calming effect. 

 

From there, children entered a quieter Reading Nook, which provided a rich literary foundation. It included books such as Young Murids and Nasira’s Tasbihs by ITREB USA, and Have you Filled Your Bucket Today by Carol McCloud, which promote love for knowledge and intellectual thought. Young Murids depicts Ismailis from different parts of the world, with diverse traditions, clothes and customs, yet fosters an appreciation that we are all Ismailis as One Jamat celebrating the Imam’s Diamond Jubilee. It helps in making global connections, especially seen portrayed in the July 11 celebrations with various Ismaili traditions. More importantly, the book leaves children with how they can practice the ethics of our faith. 

 

Similarly, Have you Filled Your Bucket Today also reinforces ethical concepts through positive behavior as children see how rewarding it is to express daily kindness, appreciation and love.     

 

Like the Jamati celebrations for Diamond Jubilee, the ECD zone created a similar journey for children experiencing their first Jubilee by showing them what a Jubilee signifies and giving them a way to express their love for the Imam.

 

And, just like any Jamati celebratory event cannot end without raas, the ECD zone also provided the youngest segment of the Jamat an opportunity to participate in raas and the One Jamat Celebration Dance.