by Roger Packham, Director of Sathya Sai School

It was November 12th 2008 when I arrived at the school at 8.45am on an overcast day. I was to represent the board of the Sathya Sai School NSW (Inc) at this auspicious event to mark the beginning of the construction of the new School buildings. It was an eagerly-anticipated event that goes back more than ten years. The School originally commenced at the "Sai Temple" at Mount Warning, and then moved into the town of Murwillumbah itself to be more accessible to more students. The school quickly outgrew the rented premises being used, and through generous donations, we were able to purchase an existing hall nearby, that had room underneath for classrooms. Again we quickly outgrew this, and demountable classrooms were added as plans were drawn up for permanent school buildings to meet the long-term needs of the school. Having done this and circulated the plans to all interested, the challenge remained as to how to turn this 'dream' into a reality?

Through the generous donations of many Sai devotees, the wonderful support of the Government Building grants programme, and a loan from the St George Bank, the Board of Sathya Sai School NSW (Inc) was finally in a position to approve the commencement of stages one and two of the building programme. This is what we were celebrating on this day.

An elaborate outdoor event had been planned by the Principal (Bob Malloy) and the staff involving all the children at the site of the new Library-to-be, but as the weather became wetter, so came a rapid change of plan. The chief guest - the deputy Mayor of Tweed Shire Council - the project manager, the builder, and other special guests, together with the student leaders, braved the rain with the help of umbrellas to perform the ceremony as planned, while the other children and guests stayed dry in the hall. We all then returned to the hall for the rest of the ceremony. This commenced with a wonderful musical presentation from the school recorder band - a band which will be playing in nursing homes and elsewhere over the next few weeks up to the end of term. There then followed speeches from the Principal, myself and the deputy Mayor, followed by a vote of thanks from the two school captains. In attendance were many members of the school community and the local Sathya Sai Organisation, including parents, teachers, administration staff and others.

The rain did not dampen our spirits; in fact it was seen as a positive omen to help the school to 'grow' quicker! The event can be viewed through photographs that follow this commentary. Once phases 1 and 2 (that here commenced) are completed, it is hope that sufficient extra resources will then be available to go on and complete the final stage three (a four-classroom block), and thus complete our Sathya Sai School building programme.

by Roger Packham
Chair, Central Council Sathya Sai Organisation of Australia and PNG
Director, Sathya Sai School NSW (Inc).

You can view a pictorial record of this occasion in this photo album.