Centru Tbexbix – Malta
Centru Tbexbix is an educational and social service project in the heart of Cospicua. The project has been running for almost four years, and offers a place and programmes of quality education to children and families focussing on members of the community suffering from social and learning disadvantages. Centru Tbexbix provides a joyful learning experience for children from four years of age. It has become a safe place for different age groups to explore, to gain confidence, build friendships, to cooperate, communicate and to socialise free from the dangers of drugs and alcohol; a place where young people meet to learn, play, grow and discover their potential, how to achieve their personal best.
Programmes are offered free of charge so that all can participate regardless of circumstances. At present there are various programmes, among them the Sunrise English Club which provides innovative ways of learning English, emphasizing exposure to the language, playful learning and confidence building. Creativity classes help to explore talents and new skills, stimulate original thinking while having fun. Children experiment with different art media and gain confidence in expression beyond language.
Weekly athletics sessions under the coaching of a professional trainer provide a challenge in perseverance and personal achievement; stimulate self-discipline and healthy lifestyle choices. Yoga is also an integral part of the programmes.
Summer Club is held during the school holidays. For three hours in the mornings the children enjoy various activities of the programmes above mentioned, including crafts, play, English, drama and yoga. Working together and sharing these hours together has brought a sense of family among the children beyond their age and peer group feelings.
The number of children benefitting from these programmes has increased over the three and a half years of operation. The number enrolled for the last summer club ending in August 2010 were 50.
Yoga Shoots is a recently inaugurated morning programme spanning through the scholastic year, bringing the yoga experience to children of primary schools and first year of secondary schools around Malta. From December 2009 till May of this year, once a week without exception and sometimes twice, a class of around 25 children accompanied by two teachers participated in a session of yoga for kids, as well as an intercultural presentation and creativity session. A short session on food sense introduced the children to a vegetarian meal prepared by the project staff.
As a follow up to the intercultural presentation, the children were encouraged to exchange messages and drawings with children from schools in Europe. In all about 25 classes took part in this project.
Centru Tbexbix is registered as a non-government organisation and is run by the Women’s Welfare Department of Ananda Marga Malta. Didi and Kamala manage the project and a number of volunteers whose activity is funded from various sources, take an active role in planning and implementing different activities according to their skills and qualifications. Till now 26 such volunteers have worked at Centru Tbexbix for periods of from 3 to 12 months. Ongoing training ensures that in spite of the continuous substitution of human resources, the essence of Neohumanistic Education is retained in all the programmes.