Remembering Mashuri Warren

Our dear brother Mashuri Warren passed away on February 14, 2022, in his home with his family around him. He had been living with Parkinson’s disease for a number of years, although he continued to be active with the Walnut Creek Subud Center.

A long time Subud member, Mashuri was very involved in supporting Subud California’s development during the early days of the Region. He also served many years as a helper, first with the Marin Subud Center and then with Walnut Creek Center. He leaves his beloved wife, Rahima Warren, and children from a prior marriage.

Mashuri’s life in the world included attaining a PhD in Plasma Physics from UC Berkeley and a career including 10 years as an Environment Staff Scientist for Energy Environment at Lawrence Berkeley Lab.

Those will knew and worked with him over the years will have fond memories. Please share your stories and thoughts about Mashuri in the comment box below.

*Walnut Creek Center members gathered in 2021 (left to right): Rahima Warren, Priscilla Couden, Henrietta Haines, Hannah Kusterer, Mashuri Warren, Frank Dill, Henry Couden, and Mary Weikert*

Two California Initiatives win SESI awards!

Subud members from around the world competed for a share of a $100,000 award pot offered by SESI at the World Congress. There were forty-eight presentations about Subud-led enterprises and projects, made over a three day period. Each participant made a challenging “Shark Tank” style three-minute presentation before an audience and a panel of three judges. The judges then selected 20 finalists.

One of the 20 finalists was given a private grant and, to their surprise, the remaining19 finalists had to give their presentations again. Osanna Vaughn, who organized the event, was clear that their committee wanted the Subud community to witness what members inspired by the Latihan were doing all over the world. And it was inspiring — the projects were as unique as we are as members.

The expectation was that the second presentation would again winnow us down to even fewer in number. But two days later, when it came time to name the final finalists, Osanna announced that all 19 would receive grants! What a gift! What a recognition for all these very fine projects.

We are delighted that two projects presented by members from Subud California were among those receiving awards:

Emmanuel Williams (Subud CA at San Joaquin Valley), being unable to make the trip to Germany, made his very effective pitch via a video recording. He asked for funding to produce and distribute via social media 20 short video stories to help teenage girls cope with a range of life challenges, from bullying to overuse of screen time. This creative project received an award of $2500.

Henrietta Haines (Subud CA at Walnut Creek) requested funding to enable the Venezuela Food Connection to expand beyond sending food shipments to Caracas to also deliver seeds and Spanish language educational material and “how to” books for urban gardening.

The Venezuela Food Connection received $3000. Thank you to the SESI donor and to the Judges who worked so hard for more than a week to make this possible. And, thank you to all the other donors who have made it possible to send food to Venezuela for more than a year. In the photo below, Henrietta (far right) enjoys a celebratory a moment with Subud members involved with food relief activities from India, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela. Next to Henrietta are the President of Subud Venezuela, her mother (behind her), and Sandra Diez.

A complete list of SESI winners and awards is available here.

Venezuela Food Connection

The Walnut Creek Subud Center has sent a third food shipment to Caracas, to arrive in time for Christmas. This shipment was funded primarily by a generous contribution from Subud Vancouver. For a history of this project, see this earlier article.

The hunger crisis in Venezuela needs ongoing support, so it is exciting to announce that the Venezuela Food Connection will become a Susila Dharma project in 2018.

Donations to support future shipments welcomed. Checks should be made out to Subud Walnut Creek and sent to Rahima Warren, 3270 Theresa Lane Lafayette, CA 94549. Please earmark for the Venezuela Food Project.

Giving Center to Center

Subud California at Walnut Creek’s initiative to send food to the Caracas Subud Center in Venezuela has shown that a small group can have a big impact. They are now raising funds for another shipment, as described in this letter from Henrietta Haines:

Dear Brothers and Sisters

I wanted to let you all know we are about to send a second shipment of food to Venezuela, which continues to experience extreme food shortages. Subud members there are suffering from the inability to afford the food available on the black market. The Walnut Creek Center collected money to send the first shipment of food to the Subud Caracas (read the story here). When the food arrived Caracas, the group held a Salamatan to celebrate the kindness of the brothers and sisters in California.

At the Regional Congress, members were able to meet Walnut Creek’s newest member, Trina, who is from Caracas. Many were moved by her situation, and made donations toward a 2nd shipment (read the story here.)

As with the first shipment, we are sending over 500 pounds of rice, beans and corn flour, to be distributed to 22 families in 4 centers and also 3 isolated members. We buy it online and it is shipped from Miami to Venezuela by ocean freighter. Because we are shipping only food, the transportation company gives us a deeply discounted rate. We are so grateful to them.

We are now planning a 3^rd shipment which we hope to send in time for Christmas. Because it takes about a month to get from Miami to Caracas we will have to send it mid-November. We are hoping to send a few festive food items in this shipment to make Christmas a bit more Merry and Bright.

If you would like to contribute, please join us in what may be our final shipment. Checks should be made out to Subud Walnut Creek and sent to Rahima Warren, 3270 Theresa Lane Lafayette, CA 94549.

For the Venezuela Food Project

Henrietta Haines

Giving from the Heart at Regional Congress

The Walnut Creek Center has an initiative to raise money to send shipments of food to Caracas, inspired by Trina, their new member from Venezuela. Read about the start of this project here.

At the Regional Congress in August, many members were able to meet Trina. She is a professional dancer and she performed a dance that showed the grief and loss she experienced by being unable to return home, which deeply touched many wo made generous donations (left, Trina after her dance, with Congress Co-chair, Rosana Schutte).

This feeling was shared by the children who were at Congress. They had created an enterprise of selling little cards with sayings of Bapak as well as the sayings of the children themselves (“give children more ice cream”). They decided to give the money they made to the Venezuela Food Project. We are so proud of them!

(Below Subud children presenting their contribution at Congress)

Walnut Creek is working on a second shipment. The streets of Caracas are barricaded during the day because the rule of law has broken down and trucks and vans are being attacked. So, when our shipment arrives in Caracas, it must be sent from the port at night to the home of one of the earliest Subud members, where Bapak and Prio stayed when they visited.

So much has been learned about how to provide this kind of direct aid. Thank you to all who contributed to this crucial relief effort!!

Walnut Creek Center Moves to Reduce Hunger

Dear Brothers and Sisters

Probably some of us don’t realize that the most serious problem driving people into the streets in Venezuela is the severe lack of food. People are hungry. They are beginning to starve.

Through Trina Frometa, the daughter of one of the Subud families there, we came to know just how desperate they are. Her own family has hosted the latihan for the Caracas group since the beginning of Subud there. It was her home where Bapak stayed when he visited, and where Prio and his children came.

Their situation has touched us deeply and we have started a project to send a relief food shipment to the Subud 15 families (37 people) who are in Caracas. Between the Palo Alto and Walnut Creek members, we have collected over $700 towards this effort. I am proud to say that we will be sending 529 pounds of food to Venezuela: 185 lbs. of rice, 296 lbs. of black beans, 37 lbs. of lentils and10 lbs. of powdered milk for the children.

The food began its journey by ship from Miami to Caracas in June 30th, and will take about 4 weeks to get there.The cost of shipping is relatively modest. The food has been repackaged in plain boxes so it will not recognizable when it is delivered. When it arrives the members will take selfies with the contents and send them to us, so we can share in the arrival. What a happy day that will be for all of us!

Trina Frometa was opened last week in Walnut Creek and is now our newest sister. You can meet her at the Regional Congress in Santa Barbara. She is a dancer and is working in a new dance program for people with Parkinson’s.

Last night, Emmanuel Williams began the process of perhaps further support when he asked “could we send more”?

We invite anyone who would like to join our ongoing relief effort to send donations to Walnut Creek’s Treasurer: Rahima Warren, 3270 Theresa Lane, Lafayette, Ca 94549. Please earmark as: Venezuela food project.

We would love to have you join us in this effort to support our Brothers and Sisters in Venezuela. Maybe you could send us selfies, too, to include in our letters to Caracas.

With gratitude for help already given and for future help,

Henrietta Haines

WELCOME Nelly Garcia, new member Berkeley / Walnut Creek!

A warm welcome to Nelly Garcia, who was opened March 19, 2014 at Berkeley Subud. She lives closer to Walnut Creek, so will be attending latihan there too. She also met with Palo Alto helpers too.