Baháʼí Faith in Kiribati
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The Baháʼí Faith in Kiribati begins after 1916 with a mention by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, then head of the the religion, that Baháʼís should take the religion to the Gilbert Islands which form part of modern Kiribati.[1] The first Baháʼís pioneered to the island of Abaiang (aka Charlotte Island, of the Gilbert Islands), on March 4, 1954.[2] They encountered serious opposition from some Catholics on the islands and were eventually deported and the first convert banished to his home island.[3] However, in one year there was a community of more than 200 Baháʼís[4] and a Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly.[5] Three years later the island where the first convert was sent to was found to now have 10 Baháʼís. By 1963 there were 14 assemblies.[6] As the Ellice Islands gained independence as Tuvalu and the Gilbert Islands and others formed Kiribati, the communities of Baháʼís also reformed into separate institutions of National Spiritual Assemblies in 1981.[7] The Baháʼís had established a number of schools by 1963[6] and there are still such today - indeed the Ootan Marawa Baháʼí Vocational Institute being the only teacher training institution for pre-school teachers in Kiribati.[2] All together the Baháʼís now claim more than 10,000 local people have joined the religion over the last 50 years and there are 38 local spiritual assemblies.[2]