By Alexandra Mansbach
Carrboro Commons Writer

Mookho Paw, Mark Perry, Varqa Kalantar, Omid Akhavan, Azadeh Perry, Elizabeth Tun, and Alejandro Sanchez sit down to dinner on Saturday. Each week, the group does an activity based on the theme of the day. Saturday’s story was about a family sitting down to dinner together, so the group planned and cooked a meal to enjoy together.
Staff photo by Alexandra Mansbach

The Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program aims to create “champions of justice and builders of unity.”

In Carrboro, they are doing just that.

“One of the main goals is to help [youths] understand that their community extends past their ethnicity,” said Mark Perry, a drama professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and founder of The Drama Circle, a Bahai-inspired theater group. “Another main goal is to enable the children with a sense of their own spiritual potential.”

Perry is also a group leader, or “animator,” of a Junior Youth group in Carrboro. He and his wife, Azadeh, work with neighborhood kids on personal growth and empowerment.

The group meets regularly to promote spiritual development and self-expression.

“That really needs to be encouraged because the forces of materialism are so strong,” Perry said. “And by materialism I mean anything that dampens the light of the human spirit.”

During weekly gatherings, the group participates in games, sports, reading, prayer, and artistic activities such as singing and playing instruments.

The group enjoys the outdoors with a game called “Wax Museum.” One person is declared the museum guard and the others pose as statues. While the guard isn’t looking, each player has to change positions. But if the guard catches you moving, you’re out.
Staff photo by Alexandra Mansbach

“It’s using the power of the arts to kindle the light that’s within us,” Perry said.

Azadeh is also a group animator. Originally from Iran, she loves working with children and encourages each of them to be confident in themselves.

“They have so much to offer,” she said.

The Junior Youth program provides a supportive environment for kids to express themselves, study materials to develop an understanding of morals, and opportunities to participate in service projects.

One service project took place after a member of the local Junior Youth group passed away.

The kids in the group raised money for the project by writing newsletters and, with the help of a landscaper, constructed a beautiful memorial garden.

After seven months and a lot of work, the garden was complete.

“It was a really blessed project all the way through,” Perry said. “I’m very cynical, and this program gives me a lot of hope.”

The Bahai faith strives for the unity of humankind, regardless of ethnic social or economic differences. According to Azadeh, anyone is welcome to participate in the group, including those who are not Bahai. “We try to invite the whole neighborhood.”

Her husband agreed. “The goal is to instill a sense of spiritual connection, and we don’t want the name to become a barrier,” Perry said. “These kids don’t have to give up their Christianity to realize their spiritual potential and work for change in a time that needs change.”

The couple makes sure to stress that point to the group’s kids.

“I try to tell them, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white,” Azadeh said. “No matter what color you are, you are human.”

“It’s like a garden,” she continued. “A garden with many different colored flowers is beautiful.”