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Our History
It All Began 50 Years Ago ...
by Philip Hainsworth
 
The first LSA of Kampala, April 1952. The
author is backrow left. Hand of the Cause,
Enoch Olinga is back row middle.
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lthough the Guardian had planted in the minds of
the British Bahá'í Community as early as 1947, the
vision that they were being prepared for a brilliant future
throughout the then British Empire, it was not until his triumphant
cable to Convention at the completion of the first Six Year Plan,
that they were advised that Africa, "after one year
respite", would be the scene for their initial overseas
activities: "...Formation nuclei three dependencies British
Crown either East West Africa…"
This was to be the prelude, although no one at
that time could have possibly foreseen it, to a world-wide mission
which led the British Bahá'í Community to a unique
position in the Bahá'í world. In his very last
message to this community, written only sixty-six days before his
tragic passing, Shoghi Effendi wrote,
"...The admiration and esteem in which a
community, relatively small in numbers, strictly limited in
resources, yet capable of such solid and enduring achievements, is
held by its sister and daughter communities in every continent of
the globe, far from declining must be further enhanced...and yield
such as harvest as will astonish the entire Bahá'í
world…" History tells us that this vision of the beloved
Guardian was fulfilled and that, although the foundations were laid
during that first Six Year Plan, the actual process began just
fifty years ago.
Africa Plan launched before due date
The British Bahá'í community were so
filled with joy and enthusiasm with the successful conclusion of
the Six Year Plan that it seemed than nothing could hold them back.
In September the NSA sought permission from the Guardian to send
pioneers to Africa even before the end of the respite year and on
15 September, 1950 he cabled his approval .
A Conference was held in London at the end of
December, 1950 where the Committee consulted with Musa and Samiyyih
Banani, Violette Nakhjavani and Philip and Lizzie Hainsworth.
Claire Gung, a German refugee who had accepted the
Faith in Torquay, actually managed to obtain a post as assistant
matron in a school in Lushoto,150 miles from Dar-es-Salaam in
Tanganyika. She sailed on the "Warwick Castle" on 4 January, 1951.
Subsequently the Guardian gave her the title, "Mother of Africa".
Meanwhile Jalal Nakhjavani from Persia had visited Kampala .Uganda
en route to Dar-es-Salaam, where he established a business as a
ships' chandler.
On the 25 February the Guardian set out in no
uncertain terms the responsibilities of this vibrant community,
"The magnificent spirit of devotion and the
initiative and resourcefulness demonstrated in recent months by a
triumphant community…merit the highest praise. By their
organising ability,… by the tenacity , sagacity and fidelity
which they have displayed in the course of its opening phase; by
their utter consecration….they have set an example worthy of
emulation by the members of Bahá'í communities in
both the East and the West….On it,….will devolve the
chief responsibility of guiding the destinies, of supplying the
motive power, and of contributing to the resources of a crusade
which, for the first time in Bahá'í history, involves
the collaboration, and affects the fortunes, of no less than four
National Assemblies, in both Hemispheres and within four continents
of the globe….To be singled out as the chief agency in the
prosecution of a task of such dimensions, such significance, and
the harbinger of events so glorious, is indeed at once an
inestimable blessing and a staggering responsibility with which the
British Bahá'í community … has been honoured at
so critical and challenging an hour in the fortunes of mankind
…"
First Native Believer
On the 18 June, Mr and Mrs Musa Banani, Mr and Mrs
Ali Nakhjavani and their baby daughter Bahiyyih and Philip
Hainsworth flew to Dar-es-Salaam via Geneva, Rome and Cairo
stopping off at each place to meet the Bahá'ís
arriving 28 June . Jalal's wife, Darakhshandeh and her brother,
Farhang Naimi with the Nakhjavani children, Mina and Hoda had
joined Jalal in Dar -es-Salaam on the day we left London and by the
time they reached there a consultant engineer, Thomas Hansford from
the Isle of Man and Mr.M Thomas from India had also arrived at
their pioneer post.
During the time the party from London were in
Dar-es-Salaam, the Faith was introduced to an African clerk who was
a native of Nyassaland He subsequently became a
Bahá'í and when he returned home was the first native
believer in that country
Hassan and Isobel Sabri left England for
Dar-es-Salaam on July 6. While in Dar-es-Salaam the party from
London learned that they should proceed to Uganda where they
arrived in Kampala on 2 August. Within a very few days teaching had
begun.
Due to untimely death of husband of Marguerite
Welby Preston in Nairobi, the Guardian agreed that Kenya could be
reinforced and Ted Cardell left on 7 October as pioneer for Nairobi
where he met up with Bahá'ís in Cairo and Khartoum en
route.
Third African Goal Achieved
On 22 October, Ethel Stevens, first American
pioneer for Africa flew to Accra, Gold Coast, thereby opening our
third African goal territory.
On November 24 a commemoration meeting for Louis
Gregory was held in Kampala at which the five pioneers and
Marguerite Preston (Kenya) were joined by twelve Africans. In
December, the first two native Uganda Bahá'ís had
been accepted - Fred Bigabwa (Mutoro) and Chrispin Kajubi
(Muganda). By the end of the year Eric Manton and his son Terry
left England en route to Northern Rhodesia thereby becoming the
first pioneers to settle in South Africa, and William Foster (USA)
had settled in Liberia.
Abbas and Shomais Afnan had married at the British
Summer School, 1951 and had later obtained approval from the
Guardian for Abbas to return for while to Persia and Shomais to
pioneer to Africa. They eventually settled in Ethiopia..
In January,1952 Mr and Mrs Banani went on
pilgrimage from Kampala and while there Mr Banani was made a Hand
of the Cause. The Kampala Bahá'ís held a meeting to
coincide with a time the Guardian was known to visit the Shrines
and Mr Banani was to ask him particularly to pray for Uganda as
with the five pioneers and three African believers, they needed
another Bahá'í to ensure an Assembly. It was at that
meeting that the first member of the Teso tribe expressed his
desire to accept the Faith.
Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga
He subsequently went on leave, started the
teaching work among his own people and began the process which
eventually led to thousands of his fellow tribesmen enrolling; he
later became the Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for British
Cameroons, was designated by the Guardian as Abul Futuh (Father of
Victories) and in October,1957 was appointed as the second negro
Hand of the Cause -he was Enoch Olinga..
The Guardian had instructed Mr Banani to purchase
a Hazíratu'l-Quds and new pioneers from America - Rex and
Mary Collison became its first caretakers in April,1952. The five
pioneers with Fred Bigabwa, Chrispin Kajubi, Peter Musoke and Enoch
Olinga formed the first Spiritual Assembly of Kampala at
Ridván and a sister Assembly was formed in Dar-es-Salaam
consisting of Jalal and Darakhshandeh Nakhjavani, Hassan and Isobel
Sabri, Denis Dudley-Smith Kutendele, Leslie Natola, Farhang Naimi,
Gopalkrishnan Nayer and Eustace Mwalimu..
The Plan had called for "a nucleus" in three
African territories yet in the first year two Assemblies had been
formed and pioneers had settled in several other African
countries..
The First Inter-continental Teaching Conference
was being planned for Kampala in February , 1953. This proved to be
an outstanding occasion, held in a large marquee in the grounds of
the Kampala Hazíratu'l-Quds The tent, bought in America was
brought by pioneers to Uganda, Alan and Mary Elston. About 230
participated in the Conference which included ten Hands, some 40
Iranian believers and more than 120 Africans.. 19 countries were
represented and some of the visitors subsequently went to other
parts of Uganda, Nairobi, Dar-es-Salaam, Ethiopia and Egypt .
The End of the Two Year Plan
By the end of the Two Year Plan, Assemblies were
formed in the capital cities of Kenya, Tanganyika, the Gold Coast
and 10 in Uganda. A total of 11 African Territories had been opened
to the Faith and the British National Spiritual Assembly was
co-ordinating the pioneer/teaching work of six of the eight
National Spiritual Assemblies. This national assembly co-operation
enabled the Guardian to cancel a third American Seven Year Plan and
instead launch the 10-year Global Crusade in 1953. .
Subsequently the British National Spiritual
Assembly was responsible for the establishment of "daughter"
National Spiritual Assemblies in Central and East Africa (later
Uganda and Central Africa, Kenya, Tanganyika and Zanzibar); Guyana,
Cyprus and the Republic of Ireland, and over the years pioneers
from the United Kingdom have settled in over 140 countries..
The unparalleled vision of the Guardian had been
fulfilled, but it all really began fifty years ago with the
launching of the Two Year Plan whose anniversary we are now
commemorating.
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