As we light the Chanukah candles, it’s time to reflect how this particular festival relates to Kisharon Langdon. Chanukah commemorates the miraculous defeat in the second century BCE of the powerful Syrian-Greek armies by a poorly-armed group led by Judah the Maccabee.
Historical comparisons aside, it’s perhaps best to focus on the word ‘Chanukah’ which has its roots in the Hebrew word Chinuch – education.
As the late Rabbi Sacks pithily puts it: “To defend a country you need an army, but to defend a civilisation you need education.”
Education, learning and development is the bedrock of what we do at Kisharon Langdon, and it underpins every support service we offer.
I was delighted that the recent Ofsted monitoring visit to Kisharon Langdon College recognises: “In a short space of time, new trustees, leaders and managers have made notable improvements. They benefit from the wider expertise of the charity, such as in social care. Staff and learners identify the positive and open culture.”These observations encapsulate what we are about.
In supported living from Bury to Edgware, local authority inspections have commended our services and at an All-Party Parliamentary Group Chanukah commemoration earlier this month in the historic Westminster Hall (built in 1097 and the oldest building on the Westminster estate), another communal leader came up to me to commend our social work and safeguarding expertise.
While external validation is nice to hear, the voices I listen to most keenly are those expressed in the recent family and employee engagement surveys.
While I am pleased by the exceptional levels of positivity recorded, the true strength of these surveys is in recognising that these views are not universal, and we learn, from the large body of feedback we also receive, what we can do better from people motivated to improve what we offer members and people we support.
In Jewish law we read ‘education brings peace to your children [banayich] – but read not ‘children’ but bonayich ‘your builders’ (Berachot 62a). May we educate ourselves and all our children this Chanukah to build peace and goodwill for all.
Over this holiday period, however you celebrate, may everyone involved in Kisharon Langdon continue to go from strength to strength, building on our achievements to date and with the knowledge that the work we do is rewarded by positivity and appreciation from those we support, their families and the wider community.
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