from today's MUM Review: 4. South Africans from CIDA City Campus Join Assembly
Four recent graduates of CIDA City Campus in South Africa and a current student spent a month on the Invincible America Assembly. Their goal was to enjoy the benefits of group practice of the TM-Sidhi® program while also fostering the link between CIDA and Maharishi University of Management. Founded in 2000 by a group of Governors and Sidhas and offering students the opportunity to learn the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi programs, CIDA City Campus has gained renown for being innovative, for being the only virtually free university in southern Africa, and for providing higher education to intelligent and motivated young Africans. The students come from impoverished townships surrounding Johannesburg as well as from rural communities, farm schools, and squatter camps in South Africa and other sub-Saharan countries. CIDA currently has over 1,300 students and offers a cutting-edge business and technology B.B.A. degree, along with Consciousness-Based education. The four grads are among a core group of 10 who are serving as teaching assistants and are committed to growing CIDA and its Consciousness- Based education programs. They had a deep desire to spend time at Maharishi University of Management in order to experience a university with decades of experience in offering Consciousness-Based education. ³They were excited about their trip here,² said Brian Horsfield, a faculty member at Maharishi University of Management who spent six months at CIDA this past year. ³It was an eye-opener and strengthened their commitment to making CIDA a fully efficient Consciousness-Based education institution.² The four teaching assistants, Peter Mabila, Tommy Mkansi, Piloko Tsubane, and Lulama Ntozini, were accompanied by undergraduate student Tukiso Mokoena, who last year at the age of 20 already started his own Consciousness-Based education school that enrolled 24 students. He is part of a program in which CIDA students have the opportunity to travel to their home area and mentor at least 50 other students. Also joining the Assembly were Dr. Taddy Blecher, CEO of CIDA, and Marlene DeBeer, codirector of Consciousness-Based education. The participation of the CIDA personnel and students was made possible in part by support from the Howard and Alice Settle Foundation for an Invincible America. The Community and Individual Development Association (CIDA) was begun in 1995 during the era of apartheid for the purpose of teaching the Transcendental Meditation technique in the townships. CIDA City Campus began in 2000 and was given buildings vacated by a major bank. CIDA City Campus subsequently received support from a number of South African companies. And now with the help of Fairfield resident Dr. Melanie Brown, CIDA is successfully garnering support from major foundations in the U.S. For more information about CIDA Foundation in the U.S., see the website http://www.cidafoundation.org. Those interested in working to help establish Consciousness-Based education at CIDA City Campus may contact Mr. Blecher at [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more information about CIDA City Campus, see http://www.cida.co.za.
