Resource Type: Films

Meet Kaia, activism isn’t just something she does — it’s a part of who she is. Growing up, she saw inequality in everyday life: in the classroom, in the streets, and in the way people’s voices were silenced. But instead of turning away, she decided to speak up.

Her journey into activism started with small steps — attending local marches, sharing posts online, and joining community groups. Over time, those steps became a movement of her own. Through protests, campaigns, and honest conversations, Kaia found the power of her voice — and the strength of the people standing beside her.

In this film, we hear Kaia’s story in her own words. She talks about the moment she realised silence wasn’t an option, the challenges she’s faced as a young Black woman, and the hope that keeps her going.

Transcript

An Activist Tale Transcript

Kaia: My name is Kaia. I'm a racial justice activist, and I'm passionate around inviting people to be a part of the discussion to change the world. I would say that activism found me at a time of which I couldn't put into words what I was doing. I just started to question the education system and wanted to find out why the gaps were there, especially around minoritised communities.

And from seeing those gaps, I naturally started to learn about myself and my history and my lineage, and wanted to invite others to be a part of that journey. So I started to create infographics, which basically is informative posts which are short bite size information to share in a digital realm. Due to the death of George Floyd during 2020, it really platformed the work that I was doing. And naturally from that point on, I really was passionate around sharing not just the trauma and the realities of people's lived experiences, but also the joy of which we can embody, which is a fundamental part of activism. I found it important to share what I was learning, because it's something of which the education system won't tell you.

Organising a Black Lives Matter protest in Brighton comes with conflict. Because yes, it is you being framed as somebody who is organising and doing great things and a champion for the community, and they're here to bring change, which is especialy what I'm trying to do. But with that came with the realities and the epiphany of sitting with what I would be dealing with in terms of the legal system, what it meant in terms of my relationship with the police and how they would see me and perceive me, but also the necessity of showing up and doing it regardless. Because who will bring change otherwise.

A year and a half later, marching through the streets in Brighton, it's a trend that's no longer socially convenient because it feels too uncomfortable. And that's what we can call performative allyship. Performative activism is an activism that anyone can fall into. It often is an emotionally driven response, so it is often short term. It is often affected by what you see in that moment. And rather than it being a sustained action, it actually is a that's so shocking. Let me do something now. But when we think about maybe a week later, you've forgotten about it. When we think of grassroots activism, it is often the most strongest forms of driving social change, as long as you make it a sustainable effort and an ongoing, consistent journey. And it may not be in my lifetime. It may not be the lifetime of which generations are to come. It may be in distant futures, but I know that I've done my part in driving that social change, just like my ancestors have done.

What empowers me to keep going is, I think, sitting with the weight of it all. It is a challenging thing to sit with. There's so much more I still need to learn. A big humbling thing around allyship is that it's a continuous learning journey and also understanding. It's about the joy and the more of which I do it, the closer we are to revolution. The closer that we are to social change, the closer we are to a world of which we all can coexist in. Black girl we may never meet. But I hope you know that you have a family. By blood and through melanin. A collection of black souls present and gone. Knighting you in gold, but proud nonetheless. No matter what society reflects, look in the mirror and digest? Does the vision of yourself reject the power of colonialists and supremacists? Because black girl, you are a queen and made so stunningly black girl past, black girl present and black girl forever? You are a sacred shadow, one that persists through light and flows through darkness.

An Activist’s Tale

Video length - 05.00

Published date - Oct 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Welcome to the Jewish festival of Sukkot, which is celebrated in the autumn soon after Yom Kippur. Lasting for a whole week, Sukkot is sometimes called the Feast of Booths, and it’s all about remembering the time when the Israelites lived in tents in the desert after escaping from slavery in Egypt. To mark the festival, Jewish families build a sukkah, a temporary hut, often decorated with fruits, vegetables and leaves. They eat their meals inside it, and in some traditions even sleep there. We explore the use of the “four species” the etrog (a citrus fruit), the lulav (palm branch), myrtle and willow and how they are shaken together during prayers. Sukkot is both a harvest festival and a spiritual reminder to be thankful for food, shelter, freedom, and the importance of welcoming others into your home!

Transcript

Sukkot is, I think, the happiest festival of the Jewish year.

It's a harvest festival. So at this time we will be praying for rain, which we get most days anyway, so we probably won't have to pray that hard for that, I wouldn't have thought.

We thank Hashem or God for everything that Hashem has given us.

So we celebrate Sukkot by building a sukkah, which we have behind me.

Sukkot is the celebration of the Jews escaping from Egypt and wandering in the desert for 40 years. They have to have somewhere to live. So they built these booths and that is what we are celebrating.

It is a hut that we build with wood, metal poles. You can make edible Sukkah's. It symbolises the houses that our ancestors, the Israelites, built in the middle of the desert.

Sukkot is when we build a sukkah and make and eat in it, and it lasts for seven days.

However, outside of Israel, many communities make it last for eight days. This is to do with being absolutely sure of the starting timing by seeing the full moon. It's the same time in the Hebrew month. It's always around September. October. But why do we do Sukkot in the first place? Well, there's a number of reasons. It's a harvest festival, so the harvest would have come in and you need to celebrate. So when you see our sukkah, you'll see we always have fruit and vegetables hanging up in it. It's also a festival where we remember the journey of the children of Israel from Egypt to Israel long, long, long time ago, recorded in our Bible, in our Torah. And it says there that the Israelites had to live in temporary structures, which they called Sukkot. So when we build a sukkah, it's a little bit like having that experience ourselves. And there's another reason, which is if you're a farmer or if you're just somebody growing food, you need rain. And if you haven't got rain, it's not going to grow. So this festival is also a festival where we begin to pray for rain. So our community comes together and we create a sukkah, which is a temporary structure. It can't be a permanent building, and it's got to be made, if we can, out of natural materials. And what we'll tend to do is take bits and bobs out of our garden and use them to make the sukkah look beautiful.

They would provide shade during the day and shelter during the night, and obviously were not designed to be this far north because they're not quite rain proof. One of the great joys of Sukkot is getting to decorate our sukkah. It's a little bit like my Christmas tree. I have a box of decorations that I bring out every year. Memories come out of the box, things the kids have made, and it's really special. We also celebrate by inviting lots of guests into our sukkah, to celebrate in the festival, to enjoy hospitality and good food, and to keep each other warm.

Many people will sleep in the sukkah and, you know, literally barely walk out the Sukkah unless they're going to work. This is important because, you know, it is a celebration. Yes, we're praying for rain because it's harvest. I've had many meals in the sukkah and got absolutely drenched.

And we also have the four species which the Torah tells us to bring together and shake. They are the etrog, which is a giant citrus fruit. The lulav, which is the palm. hadass, which is myrtle and willow. Some people say that the citron, the etrog, represents our hearts. The palm represents our spine, which should be tall and proud. The hadass. The myrtle represents eyes because the leaves are eye shaped, and that we should look out on the world and see goodness before us. And the willow is the shape of our lips, so it represents our lips that we should only speak goodness in the world. And of course, with the citron being our heart, that it should we should have a good heart in the world as we go into this new year.

The etrog is really important because it's for someone who does good deeds and also knows about Torah, which is the Old Testament. If you like the Jewish Bible, I have a terrible sense of smell, but I'm told that it's got a wonderful sweet fragrance.

We wave them in six directions. We say a Baruch, which is a prayer. And then we wave them forwards, to the right, behind, to the left, up and down. We shake them in those different directions so that it encompasses the whole world, and that we are praying for rain.

On Sukkot we come to synagogue. We'll do that on Sukkot evening, and we'll do that on Sukkot morning. We'll do that for one day. In some synagogues. They'll do that for two days, and it'll be a beautiful service, a lot of celebration. Everybody gets the chance to shake the lulav. As we say, the Psalms called the Hallel in the Bible, these are Psalms 113 to 118, very specific set of psalms. And we know that Jews have been singing those psalms on Sukkot for 2000 years, maybe 3000 years. It's a very celebratory service, and it finishes by going out into the sukkah for what we call kiddush, for a lovely, special meal that we have together out in the sukkah.

I think I have two favourite things about Sukkot. The first is the smell of the etrog, which is incredibly fragrant. If I could bottle it, I would spray it all over myself. And my second favourite thing is being able to decorate our sukkah with memories and joys that we've packed away each year and bring out again.

My favourite part of Sukkot is when you go into the sukkah and eat food.

My favourite part is eating all the tasty food.

I like most about Sukkot decorating the sukkah because it's a really fun task, and I do it with my family and it always ends up with a really pretty outcome, which is what I love the most.

And then all the way through the festival of Sukkot, we'll continue waving the lulav. Often we'll have tea parties in the sukkah. Often schools come to visit our sukkah, and the sukkah will then be taken down. And that's it for the year.

Sukkot

Video length - 06.36

Published date - Oct 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

In this film, we explore Sikh perspectives on climate change through the lens of religious teachings and ethics. Sikhism teaches that the Earth is sacred, a divine creation of Waheguru, and must be treated with reverence and care. The principle of ‘Sarbat da Bhala’—working for the well-being of all—extends to protecting the environment and all forms of life. The Sikh faith emphasises humility, selfless service (seva), and living in harmony with nature as core spiritual values.

Sikh commitment to sustainability is deeply rooted in practices like communal kitchens (langar), which promote plant-based diets and reduce waste, and the use of renewable energy in gurdwaras around the world. Through these teachings and practices, the Sikh tradition calls for urgent and compassionate action to address climate change, highlighting both personal responsibility and collective effort to safeguard the Earth for future generations.

By linking spiritual values with environmental activism, Climate Change: Sikhism shows how faith can inspire a more just, green, and sustainable future for all.

Transcript

Climate Change: Sikhism

Prubhjyot: My name is Prubhjyot Singh and I am a co-founder of Eco-Sikh UK. Eco-Sikh UK are here to inspire the youth of the Sikhs here in the UK to come out and look after their environment and realise that we need to change ourselves, change our lifestyles to make a change for the environment and look after our well-being and our future generations well-being. Sikhs come from an area in India called Punjab, which is in the north west bordering Pakistan. A lot of Sikhs back in the days were farmers who would grow their own food and feed their families and live sustainably. Land of Punjab is very rich in agricultural land in terms of farming. Making our own food, growing our own food and feeding our families. Traditionally, we would pass down the knowledge of good farming and living sustainably and being stewards, good stewards of the land, down generation by generation. A lot of these values have now been lost when our families have moved into the Western world. As Sikhs, we believe in Guru Granth Sahib ji and Guru Granth Sahib Ji.

Whereas most people will see it as a book where it has all of our messages written within it, we as Sikhs don't describe it as a book. Guru Granth Sahib Ji for us is a living guru which has all the knowledge contained within it. The Guru Granth Sahib Ji actually begins not with a word but with a number, and the number is one, and the number one symbolises oneness of everything. As Sikhs, we believe there is there is one God. But however, that one actually has a deeper meaning to it, which we believe it to be is there is nothing but God. So if you see that as everything is created by that oneness, we are part of that oneness. As human beings, as the animals that are out there, the environment, the trees, the water, this planet, the whole universe is part of that oneness. There's a line in Guru Granth Sahib Ji which says Pavan guru pani pita Mata tata mehat, which basically translates to that pavan. The air is our guru, the water is our father and the planet Earth. The mother is our Mata. So we need to look after the three elements.

We need to look after the Mother Earth for it to provide us with a living environment, a fresh air environment where we can go and have fresh water. We need to be able to live in balance, in sustainable balance within the creation and the environment around us. When it comes to looking after the environment, it's important for us to have a sustainable view. We need to be able to live within our means. We need to be able to look after the environment that we live in. So rather than destroying the trees or cutting them down or building on agricultural land, we need to have a balance where we're provided with the elements that we require. We require fresh air, we require water, we need all these elements to survive. And one of the biggest facts we need to remember is that Mother Earth will thrive without human beings. Whereas human beings cannot live without the natural environment and the fresh air and the oxygen that the environment provides us.

So two really important concepts in Sikhism is a seva. And sever is all about selfless giving. You might have seen Sikhs go out there and feed the poor. You might have seen Sikhs donate a lot of money to a good cause. However, we're not very good at when it comes to the environmental things. And now I think that's where sarbat da bhala is very important. So sarbat da bhala basically means. Good for all. While feeding the poor is feeding the poor. And obviously you're providing food and you're providing money for good causes. But when it comes to the environment, by planting a tree that will give oxygen to anyone that walks past that tree, and it brings that sarbat da bhala concept into a whole new vision. As eco Sikhs have been planting trees alongside Canal and River trust, we've been part of the longest orchard in the world. We've helped clean up canals, we've helped pick up litter. We've helped communities live in a better environment. Eco-Sikh is not just an organisation in UK, it's a worldwide organisation and one of our biggest teams is currently in India working on a project called Guru Nanak Dev Ji Sacred Forest. This was to celebrate Guru Nanak's 550th birthday. The concept of this project is to bring back biodiversity back into the areas where we had lost it over the last 40 to 50 years. For every tree we plant, it acts like a home or a habitat for insects, birds and animals. It's great to bring that wildlife back to the local community there. It also helps in carbon capture and bring down the pollution within those areas. So in 2019, it was Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 550th birth anniversary. This is a really important celebration for the Sikh's all around the world. While planting the 550 trees involved, we were approached by the Holy Trinity Church vicar and he wanted to celebrate Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 550th alongside the Sikh community. This was a great idea. The whole community got together, and we decided that the 550th tree would be planted in the courtyard of the Holy Trinity Church.

At this event, we had various different faiths, including the Sikhs, the Hindus, Muslims, Christians, the Jews and all the local community. This event really encompassed the message that Sikhi really brings out and Guru Nanak's message of oneness, that everything is one. The whole universe is created in that one's form. There is nothing but God. God is in all. And this event really showed that if the communities can get together and work together, we can really make a positive change in saving our environment. While a lot of the skills that we required in Punjab are not required here in the Western world, here at Ecosikh, we want to make sure that we're still keeping the values of being good stewards and sustainability, and we're passing them down to our younger generations. We can do that by reducing our plastic usage within our houses, eating local food rather than getting food from across the world, eating seasonal food, maybe reducing our water usage, maybe walking to the local supermarket. There is so much you can do at home. Start at home and then take it to the local communities. Take it to your local groups. Take it to the local gurdwaras. It's important for us all to push together and make a positive impact for the environment. Eco-Sikh hold regular talks with gurdwaras our place of worship, where we talk about how to make Gurdwaras environmentally friendly. There's many ways of doing this. This could be from looking at solar panels, using electric usage, reducing our water usage, or how we recycle our food waste from our langar, which is our community kitchen. There's so many ways of getting the community involved in helping out with all of this, but the most important part is it's not just the Sikhs, it's all the communities together. Whether you're a muslim, whether you're a Hindu, whether you're Sikh, Christian, it doesn't matter who you are. It's going to take not just one community. It will take all the communities to work together. It will take all the religions to work together. It will take the whole planet to work together. It's about everyone saving the environment for the future generations.

Climate Change: Sikhism

Video length - 07.47

Published date - Sep 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

This animated film is part of a portrait series that brings big names from history and faith to life. In this episode, we take a closer look at Jesus of Nazareth—someone whose life and message have shaped the world in a monumental way.

Told through bold animation and down-to-earth narration, the film covers the key moments in Jesus’ life: from his birth in a stable, to being baptised in the River Jordan, to the way he taught and connected with people from all walks of life. We follow his journey through the highs and lows—including his crucifixion and the mystery of the resurrection.

Whether you know a little or a lot about Jesus, this film offers a fresh take on his story—showing why his words and actions still matter today. It’s an animated snapshot of a life that changed history, packed with themes of love, justice, sacrifice, and hope.

Transcript

A Portrait Of Jesus Transcript

Narrator: Down through history, there have been special people who stand out because they were inspiring. They challenged beliefs, had new ideas, and sometimes even changed the world. One of those people is Jesus of Nazareth and here's a portrait of his life. Jesus began Christianity, and nearly everything we know about him comes from the Christian holy book, which is called the Bible. This is what Christians believe. Jesus was a Jew who was born in Bethlehem to a virgin called Mary in about four BCE.

A little over 2000 years ago, he started out as a carpenter, but when he was about 30, he was baptized by his cousin John and became a travelling preacher. During his famous sermon on the Mount, Jesus summed up his teaching with the words do to others what you would have them do to you. He also told stories with a point called parables that gave his audience something to think about, and he performed miracles changing water into wine, calming storms, healing the sick, even raising the dead.

He chose 12 men known as disciples, which means pupils or followers, to help spread his teaching. They describe Jesus as the Messiah in Hebrew or Christ in Greek. At first, they hoped he would be a new king of the Jews, but the better they got to know him, the more they came to believe that he was actually God in human form or God's Son. When he was about 33, Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman governor. But on the third day after his execution, he came back to life, which shows God's power over evil and the promise of life after death. Jesus rose up to heaven, promising that one day he would return. Today, Jesus's example and teaching continue to inspire billions of people around the world.

A Portrait of Jesus

Video length - 02.05

Published date - Aug 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

From the critically acclaimed BBC Two and iPlayer series Pilgrimage follows well known personalities of differing faiths and beliefs on a personal journey of discovery as they tackle some of the most famous walking routes across the UK and Europe. In this series the Pilgrims go to Wales in Pilgrimage The Road Through North Wales.

Jay and Helen have a chat about what it means to be atheist or agnostic, and how the death of a loved one can affect a person’s belief in the afterlife. Does anything survive after we’re dead?

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Transcript

Pilgrimage Moments: Life after Death?

Narrator: After a hard day. Helen is having a drink with Jay.

Helen: Do you wanna sip?

Jay: Yeah go on babes, thank you.

Narrator: Raised Catholic. Jay became an atheist in his teenage years, but recently has realised he's more agnostic.

Helen: What I want to know with you is because we talk about atheism and we talk about agnostic being agnostic.

Jay: There could be a lot more than meets the eye in this world and beyond and beyond.

Helen: So you are saying there's something else, right? And because I believe in God, there is something else.

Jay: You do believe in God.

Helen: I do believe in God when we die. What happens to our soul? I don't think life just ends. I'm just thinking that we. We live on in who we've touched. Don't you ever get a sense of something or.

Jay: I'm tempted to think that, but no, I think that I want to think that.

Helen: I know that when like when my mother died, for instance, when you're having to face grief, then that person is still with you. I get a sense of her being with me. Um.

Jay: One second. Just going to have a little cry in the toilet.

Helen: Okay do that.

Jay: I'll be right back love.

Helen: Right. Got it. No. Do the cry.

Narrator: In 2022, Jay lost his close friend and bandmate Tom Parker, who died from cancer aged just 33.

Helen: All right.

Jay: Okay, I'll probably go again, but don't panic.

Helen: Yeah, I'm not panicking because I was great. Great to see you back. No, but no, but it's interesting because I said that about my mother. Only because being the one left behind. Um, you have to think about it. So I know your close friend Tom died. Did you know that he was dying?

Jay: Yeah. Um. So they knew it was serious quite quickly. And, um, there's not really lots you can do.

Helen: Did it make you think a person is here? And what happens to you, um, when that person's not there? Oh, totally.

Jay: Um, I think it felt. Really senseless.

Helen: Did that make you believe less than God? I mean, it's so painful to think of the end of a human. Yeah. All the joy, all the little micro cells that made that in him. Then you just go, well. Is that it? What was it all for?

Jay: I think as much as you can be. I'm agnostic. I'm really open to the idea that there's something. But I haven't got a clue. I haven't got a clue.

Helen: But you have got a clue. You've got loads of clues. That's why you're agnostic. If you're an atheist. It would be like, yeah.

Jay: You've got loads of clues.

Helen: Yeah.

Jay: I'm missing something I think.

Helen: Yeah, but we need to work on it, don't we?

Jay: Yeah, probably. But knowing that someone that I really respect and really love believes in God is a big comfort to me. Thank you. I just don't know if I'm exactly there yet, but.

Helen: And you don't have to be. I'm going to drink some wine now.

Jay: Yeah, maybe I'll get one.

Pilgrimage Moments: Life after Death?

Video length - 03.55

Published date - Jun 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Helen, Steph, Jay and Jeff have a brief chat about what they think the afterlife might be like and even consider what Coffee will be like in heaven!

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Transcript

Pilgrimage Moments: What’s Coffee like in Heaven?

Steph: Helen is there an afterlife in the Jewish faith?

Helen: Do you know? I don't know about the afterlife. I don't think there's a heaven. I, I should know, shouldn't I?

Steph: No, no.

Helen: Do you think that there is a place called heaven?

Steph: I used to think about this a lot as a new Christian thinking. I don't really want to go to heaven if we're just gonna sit there and play harps like.

Jay: What do you think happens from a personal perspective when you die?

Steph: I don't think this is the end. When we die, I think there will be something else. I think I will still be me, but in a different form.

Helen: It's interesting how cautious I am in thinking I'm not going when I die. I'm not going to a building that's white or something. I'm not going to go up there and be me.

Steph: I think there will be a resurrection of such. I don't ever think I'm going to be an ethereal spirit floating like I'm not going to exist without a body. To the extent where sometimes I think about, I wonder what coffee would be like in heaven, because I think it's going to be great.

Helen: Did you just say you were wondering what coffee was like in heaven? I just thought I misheard that. But what a what a thought. Yes. Good coffee.

Steph: I can't say those are orthodox views, but that's what I think.

Jay: Would we have beer in heaven?

Steph: Oh, yeah.

Jay: Okay, great.

Steph: Jesus's first miracle was wine. I bet he makes awesome beer.

Helen: Yeah, we could maybe relate to that.

Jay: Yeah.

Pilgrimage Moments: What’s Coffee like in Heaven?

Video length - 01.47

Published date - Jun 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Eryl the Pioneer Priest talks about Celtic Spirituality to the Pilgrims. Tom, Christine and Eshaan respond especially well to being in a “thin place”.

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Transcript

Pilgrimage Moments: A Thin Place

Narrator: The church belongs to the Anglican Church in Wales. It's run by Eryl Parry, who has an interest in Celtic Christianity, and she is what's known as a pioneer priest.

Eryl: So as a pioneer priest, what we do is we create worshiping communities, faith communities for people who wouldn't necessarily find themselves sitting on a pew that might be on a mountainside. For me, there's a deeply authentic expression here, which is Celtic spirituality, and there are so many people who seek to make some kind of sense of their lives out in landscape.

Eshaan: And what is Celtic spirituality? It's not something I've heard before.

Eryl: So it's the Christian faith dating right back to the Saints in the sixth century. So here, Saint Callanan. So if you're here at the top of the hill, the lens of Celtic spirituality would be saying God is in the landscape. We're not worshiping nature. We're worshiping the creator.

Tom: Yeah, we've seen a lot of that today. The sun coming through the clouds. God is speaking to us and God speaking to us through each other, I think. So, yeah.

Narrator: Eryl has her own way of leading community worship up here in the hills.

Eryl: So where are we going? Is just a lovely little viewing spot. What we call a ponder spot.

Amanda: Yeah. Let's ponder.

Eshaan: A nice bit of pondering.

Sonali: This is crazy.

Eshaan: Amazing.

Sonali: Absolutely stunning.

Eryl: So as we look across the mountains, I would ask you just to let your eyes settle on something that's speaking to you. It might be the meandering river. It might be the mountains. I'm just going to give you a little bit of time on your own to imagine what it is to be in a thin place. A thin place, we would say, is somewhere where you have a sense of the barrier between earth and heaven being thinner. You get a sense of the awesome nature of God or the awesome nature of the universe. So guys, just take a few minutes to ponder. Do you mind if I share your ponder spot?

Tom: Hi. I've been looking at the Mountains where it literally just disappears into nothingness. Yeah, and it struck me. That's the thin place. That's essentially as close as you get to heaven on earth. It made me have a feeling of prayer, that hoping when I actually see heaven after I die, I recognise it for what it is. And it seems like this is a glimpse of what it might be like. It's, uh. No. It's awesome.

Eryl: And that insight and this moment is a gift.

Tom: Mm. I do get pilgrimage now. There's not many places in the world where you're supposed to sort of stop and look and consider yourself. And the thin barrier between heaven and earth. Oh, thank you for taking us here. I appreciate it.

Eryl: Thank you.

Christine: I just wanted to come back and look at the church again and really appreciate it, because I don't enjoy the feeling of death. As a mum it absolutely petrifies me. It's my biggest fear is leaving my children one day. My children are considered different because they're all autistic and so am I. And I have often had comments like, I bet you wish there was a cure or something to fix your children. And and I really don't. I think every single child is a miracle. But it just makes me want to be around forever because they're so magical.

Eryl: I think we're called to people and place. And you've been called as a mum.

Christine: It is my purpose in life, and I know I wouldn't be here if I didn't have my children.

Eryl: It's a high calling.

Christine: I just don't know what I'd do without the kids. I don't know what I'd do without my babies. I also don't know what they'd do without me. It scares me. Really scares me.

Eryl: Would a hug help or hinder?

Christine: Yeah. Thank you.

Eshaan: Um, I could associate this breeze with praying at my mum's grave when I go there. And. The breeze has made me think of her really. And. I just kind of found myself saying some of the prayers I'd say when I go to her grave. I think the tears are just kind of the love that I wish, I wish I could still give her. I think that's part of the reason why I don't take time to ponder, because I don't want to go into what's in my heart, really. The moment I think I'm going close to that bit of me. I think I don't want to. So, uh, it's nice to be able to just to ponder. That's the whole point, right? I guess it works. I guess it works.

Pilgrimage Moments: A Thin Place

Video length - 06.42

Published date - Jun 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

The Pilgrims talk about the Buddhist view of life after death with Lama Shenpen at a Buddhist hermitage. Christine, Sonali and Eshaan reflect on her words.

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Transcript

Pilgrimage Moments: Buddhist Teachings

Narrator: Once back at the Hermitage, the pilgrims meet Lama Shenpen, its founder and spiritual leader at the stupa.

Lama Shenpen: So you could say that the stupa represents the center of the universe and the center of the universe could be anywhere or everywhere. So this is, if you like, a representation of it that actually contains the essence of it. So when we walk towards the stupa, we're walking to the center of the universe, which lies beyond all our thinking and opinions. It's considered to be radiating love and compassion, so it's considered to be very powerful. And the center of it is called a tree of life. Because really, in a way, Buddhism is about finding, well, what is the significance? What is life? What is birth? What is death? You could say, well, our life is a pilgrimage. We start with birth. You have this vision of a journey and the significance of your life. And then life ends. Your body dies. Yeah?

Spencer: Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I just have. I have a question. Yeah. I've always just felt that energy and people's energy. Because I believe you can feel the people's energy. Like it's a physical thing that you can feel. Why would the energy die with the body? So I've always assumed that, you know, when I take my last breath in this body that something will happen to my energy.

Lama Shenpen: Yeah. Other cultures would find it. Mad to think that actually, that's all that happened. It lasted one lifetime and then it disappeared. What are you talking about? You die, and then you just manifest again in another body, in another place, in another time.

Michaela Do you believe that you go from one body into another body, or is it just an energy that comes out and and circulates?

Lama Shenpen: I think one way you can think of it is it's more like the world we create collapses, and then we've got to start again with a another situation, which is our new life.

Eshaan: I sometimes feel like some of these ideas exist to give solace to the people that are left behind in a sense, like. But actually, we don't really know. Like, I don't know where my mum has gone. I have no idea. When I pray to her, I have no idea if she is in an afterlife. I'm just praying into the ether and hoping that she receives some of my energy or whatever it might be.

Lama Shenpen: It's beautiful, isn't it? There's an intuitive sense that there's a meaning to that. A lot of people do seem to find those ideas helpful.

Narrator: Lama Shenpen invites the pilgrims to take part in a ritual at the stupa.

Lama Shenpen: As we live our life, we actually are creating a story. That's our life. And then we're holding on to things that we think are us.

Narrator: The ritual helps nurture the path to spiritual awakening and enlightenment.

Lama Shenpen: In some ways. When we walk around the stupa, go on our pilgrimage around the stupa, we come back to where we started, but maybe with a different perspective.

Christine: As a mum. Of course. I don't ever want to leave this earth. I want to be around forever. To be with my children. Everything Lama explained made perfect sense. It was very much that. You know, your energy lives on. Okay your body might leave, but your soul and your energy is there. And that's amazing. That, for me is something that I want to believe in. That means we get to live on forever, doesn't it? I'm not scared of death anymore. I'm not scared of death.

Sonali: Lama Shenpen said that life is a pilgrimage and that no one has ever said to me. I've learnt that today and it's so right. I always say I'm of Jain origin. I'm not practicing. That term practicing kind of always, it's difficult for me because then I feel like I've got to prove I'm doing something concrete. And maybe today has just confirmed. Maybe I should just say I am Jain. And then whatever I do, my intention of living a good life with as much non-violence as possible is probably all right.

Eshaan: My mum felt like the centre of my universe, so I felt a real connection to this physical manifestation of centring of the universe. Every time I went round, I could feel my brain and my heart going. This is a new thing. So this was the first time where I got a sense that my stupa is missing, which is why I feel this way. I feel like I'm floating through the universe without anything to anchor me.

Lama Shenpen: Thank you.

All Pilgrims: Thank you so much.

Michaela: That was beautiful.

Pilgrimage Moments: Buddhist Teachings

Video length - 05.45

Published date - Jun 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Nelufar and Steph chat with a refugee from Afghanistan, which has a special resonance for Nelufar because she was also a refugee from Afghanistan.

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Transcript

Narrator: Nelufar and Stef have gone to the town of Bludesch. On the outskirts is a refugee centre run by Caritas, an international Catholic charity. Nelufar came into the UK as a refugee from Afghanistan at the age of seven.

Nelufar: It's one of the invisible things that make me who I am. But I am nervous.

Stef: I feel like this is quite a personal story for you.

Nelufar: Yeah.

Narrator: They're meeting Faisal Karim. He's lived at the centre for a year with other international refugees from a range of backgrounds and situations.

Faisal: Hey.

Nelufar: Hi. Good to meet you. I'm Nelufar. Salaam alaikum.

Stef: Stephanie.

Narrator: Faisal Kareem was brought from Afghanistan by people traffickers and spent a difficult year moving through various countries before finally arriving in Austria.

Nelufar: With his own eyes.

Nelufar: How important was your faith in your journey?

Nelufar: He says when you're a muslim, you're a muslim. His deen, his belief was always the same.

Nelufar: Wow. Here. He's free to pray or not pray. But in Afghanistan, he had to pray. So then. Which is faith, which is real? You know,

Stef: May I ask, what is your hope for the future? What is your dream now?

Nelufar: Just normal things really ordinary things that we all have.

Narrator: For now Faisal Karim has a job locally, studies German and spends time with the other refugees.

Stef: Thank you so, so much.

Nelufar: Bye!

Pilgrimage Moments: A Refugee Story

Video length - 04.18

Published date - Jun 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Helen engages in a thoughtful and emotional conversation with Daliso, delving into her Jewish heritage and exploring the layered, often conflicting emotions she feels about the tragic fate of her father’s family, many of whom perished in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Theresienstadt. As she reflects on this painful history, she grapples with the question of whether she has the right or even the responsibility to claim and “own” that legacy as part of her personal and cultural identity, especially given the generational distance and the complexity of inherited trauma.

See the whole episode on on iPlayer here.

Transcript

Pilgrimage Moments: Jewish Roots

Daliso: On this pilgrimage. When we are going through these places, the memories like, how do you feel?

Helen: It's triggering so much of, you know, obviously my father loved Austria so much because as a boy he would come to Austria. But then the more you know about the actual role that the Austrians purportedly played in the war, the two things are in conflict because a lot of Austrians were part of the Final Solution. I mean, this is the thing about numbers. The thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of people who died, including my father's family in Auschwitz. I mean, it's just beggars belief, doesn't it?

Daliso: Yes. So it was your father's family. How did your father get get away?

Helen: Well, I think what was usual in 39 is you had to have a sponsor in England. They sent my father to school in Margate early, and then his parents followed and his sister followed.

Daliso: And when you were growing up, was it spoken of or never spoken of.

Helen: It wasn't largely spoken of because of the need and the gratitude to be English and wanting to put. The past you know, behind you and celebrate like we are just celebrating now, but move forward.

Daliso: Yeah, do you feel your Jewishness plays a big part in your life?

Helen: The Jewishness is complicated because I wasn't brought up in a Jewish home. We didn't. My mother was English, not Jewish. But when I think about my grandmother and the way she spoke and her sadness because there was obviously sadness, um, it's a conflict because you you've inherited this, like, paranoia that there's something you can't talk about, you can't overclaim it, because that would be a disservice to those people who are central to it. But it's really coming. It's kind of I'm feeling it now.

Daliso: I'm feeling it here.

Helen: So pick up your sticks. Let's go and catch up with the others.

Daliso: I enjoyed a brief rest.

Helen: A little rest.

Daliso: Let's do it.

Helen: More pilgrimage now.

Pilgrimage Moments: Jewish Roots

Video length - 02.41

Published date - Jun 2025

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

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