From Venezuela to Ukraine: Food and Aid for Subud Communities in War Zones

by Henrietta Haines

Many of you will recall an initiative begun within Subud California in 2017, which raised funds to purchase and ship food directly to Subud members in Venezuela. It has been a great hope of mine that the funds left over after the program could no long send food to our sisters and brothers in Venezuela would be used for survival needs in Ukraine.

For those who may not know the background, these donations came about when many of us heard and were touched by the story of a Venezuelan Subud Sister’s experience of seeing the life she had grown up with disappear. She shared with us the sadness of cultural loss and the sorrow of watching as people grew physically unable to find food.

When I first heard her story, I was in the lovely Northern California church where our group did latihan. The contrast was inconceivable. Within a mile I could have secured enough food in an hour to fill every square inch of my car, feed us all and give away the rest so that everyone there would have had enough to feed their families too. It was an overwhelming feeling that we must do something to ease the suffering.

Our group agreed that we would donate money and use it to send food. As more members across Subud California learned about it, and as we learned how to ship directly to Subud members in Venezuela for distribution, the project grew. In the end we sent tons of staples such as rice, beans and dried milk, and at Christmas, chocolates to allay the sadness and loss they were feeling.

Unfortunately, when a society loses its structure, so many things that were taken for granted get lost. Over time the roads we used for delivery became dangerous and eventually we were no longer able to send truckloads of food through the streets of Caracas. Also, many of our members left Venezuela to become refugees in other South American counties. Fortunately, all funds not used for food and shipping have been kept safe.

Now, a pathway for them to reach the Ukraine has been created through SDIA (Susila Dharma International Association), which has been supporting the needs of Ukrainians members and their families. We are so grateful to be able to redirect these funds to their efforts.

Thank you to all the members who made donations to the Special Fund for Venezuela. That generosity now continues to have a humanitarian impact as part of a committed community supporting our sisters and brothers in another war zone, in another part of the world.

Susila Dharma Int’l Relief Fund for Ukraine

A Message from Suyono Sumohadiwijojo, WSA Executive Director and Hamida Thomas, SDIA Executive Director

As the invasion of Ukraine has unfolded, so too has a growing humanitarian situation throughout the country. Many of Subud members have written to see how we can help. SDIA is designated by the WSA to take action in humanitarian crises where Subud members are ready to become involved in the response. At this time, the Subud Ukraine Chairman has requested to receive assistance such as QuikClot gauze and mats, and other needs will become apparent with time. SDIA is sending an advance of $5000 USD to allow the Subud members in Poland to purchase needed supplies to be distributed by Subud members in Ukraine on the ground.

If you feel to support this cause, please earmark your contribution to the SDIA Emergency Response Fund – Ukraine crisis at susiladharma.org/donate/. Or, to benefit from a tax deductible receipt, send the donation with same earmark to Susila Dharma USA, as outlined at susiladharmausa.org/donate/

The Fruits of our Receiving

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

As the Ramadhan fast has come to a close, your Regional Committee would like to take this opportunity to ask each of you to forgive us for our faults and any missteps this past year. It is solely our intent to do the best we can on behalf of the entire Region.

Whether having fasted or not, this is still the perfect time to donate to Susila Dharma USA (click HERE) or to a charity of your choosing. Subud remains firstly the latihan and then the fruits of our receiving in helping others.

We wish all of you the best and would like to close with this short quote from one of Bapak’s 1600 talks: Therefore Bapak hopes you will feel that Subud is you and that you are Subud. Do not have the attitude…”let Subud take care of itself, I won’t get involved.”
Stay Well and Connected and Involved,

Raphaela, Jane, Hasan and Luqman

Transformed by Love

Margaret Teichman recently made a donation to Susila Dharma in memory of Simon Whalen. She writes this remembrance of him:

This is in memory of Simon Whelan, a Subud NY brother who in his later years had become quite transformed by the love he experienced in the latihan. Every other week, he would travel alone for hours on public transportation just to do latihan with a sick brother. Later he was joined by another brother and got a ride part of the way.

He would always bring two dozen roses because they brought smiles. These roses were also shared with other rose lovers in the facility. And it happened one day that people began to ask after Simon. They wanted to tell him that the roses they were given two weeks before were as fresh as the day they were first put in water. In fact, one had begun to grow a new leaf. They had never seen anything like this before.

When Simon came for the last time that week, they surrounded him with feelings of love and awe. He got so much appreciation -he was amazed! But he never returned. That was his parting gift of love before COVID took his life a short while later.

May Simon’s love carry forward to help others in need through this donation.

HOLIDAY CARDS ARE BACK!

Make a Difference with Susila Dharma

An invitation from Fauziyah Ishak, Chair Susila Dharma USA

Susila Dharma USA is seeking new board members and, most urgently, a new treasurer. Below are short descriptions of the positions. Find information about Susila Dharma on our website and our Facebook page.

1, Susila Dharma USA Treasurer:

oversee SD financials including donations, payments, endowment fund, taxes
serve as a member of the Fundraising Committee
attend monthly virtual SD USA board meetings and in-person meetings twice a year (quarantine permitting)
time commitment varies but averages 10 hours a month
should have some familiarity with accounting, payment systems, balance sheets, spreadsheets, online banking

2. Susila Dharma USA board member:

serve as liaison between humanitarian projects and the board
serve on one or more sub-committees (Fundraising, Communications, Media)
attend monthly virtual SD USA board meetings and in-person meetings twice a year (quarantine permitting)
time commitment varies but averages 10 hours a month
useful skills: communication, fundraising, writing, basic computer skills, most important is a feeling to serve, interest in the humanitarian projects we support and work as part of a team

Interested? Have questions? Please contact me at fauziyah1214(at)gmail.com. The rewards of SD work are many!

Fauziyah Ishak, Chair Susila Dharma USA

Protective face shields for those at risk from COVID-19

Dainuri Rott (Subud CA at Palo Alto) and Merrill Snell have begun production and shipment of plastic face shields for use as COVID-19 protective equipment.

For high-risk groups in need, including elders, front-line retail, and care/retreat center environments, these shields are available at no charge beyond shipping, provided that they get donations and grants to cover basic costs and keep the lights on. They are very thankful for the initial $500 grant received from Susila Dharma USA’s Melissa Wallis fund.

The shields have been field-tested. A prominent ER physician working on the front lines said “I like the changeable face shield and general size and distance from the face.”

TO DONATE: Donations to support the cause are welcomed. The cost of materials alone is $20, not including labor. Donations can be made at: https://www.merrillsnellenterprises.com/

Look for the COVID-19 face shield donation button at the right of the home page. See more photos of the product.

TO ORDER: Send an email with your name, need for a shield, and ship-to address to dainuri@goodlifemobility.org (Dainuri) or madon16108@gmail.com (Merrill) and they will respond with the shipping cost to your location.

Shipments are daily via UPS nationwide, inventory permitting. They will rapidly turn around requests, with customers covering the shipping costs.

Subud Youth Opportunity

Human Force Camp, planned for Crestone, CO in summer 2020 has been postponed due to the pandemic. The 2020 program was to be a hands-on experience learning how to earthbag building, a sustainable construction technique, offered jointly by Human Force, a non-profit focused on volunteering for social change and the Atalanta Association.

The camp is expected to resume summer 2021, and it is likely that two Subud youth scholarships will again be available. If you are interested in learning more about the camp or applying for a 2021 scholarship, please email Rifka Several rifkaseveral@gmail.com and she will forward the information to the event organizers.

Human Force is a member of SDIA and was supported last year by Susila Dharma USA with a grant to hold their Human Force Camp at Atalanta. Previous Human Force Camps in Indonesia and Colombia were funded by those country’s SD organizations and SDIA.

Atalanta is a nonprofit corporation with Subud members on the board. It is also registered as a “member” with Susila Dharma International Association (SDIA). SD USA awarded funding for the 2020 camp, in response to an SD USA grant application submitted jointly by Atalanta and Human Force.

Reaching Across the Border to Mexico

by Mikail Collins, Project Director

The Tijuana Family Outreach Project supports 70 low-resource families in El Florido on the outskirts of Tijuana Mexico. The project provides community integration by building relationships with other neighbors and offers families some of the resources that they need.

We provide special events for Day of the Child, Easter, School Supply giveaway day & Christmas. We have also started a baking project so women can learn to bake cakes and have a way to earn some extra income. We also provide used clothing & household items. On the first Sunday of the month, we offer lunch with craft & games afterward. There is also a monthly nutrition class.

The program events are held in a donated location called Casa Martita after Martha, the woman who coordinates the program and owns the property. It is a shack with a large play area out back with swings, see-saws & a sandpit, plus a kitchen.

Martha has attracted a strong team of local volunteers who contribute to the success of the project and are dedicated to supporting their neighbors. There are also visits by counselors from the Counseling Department of the University of Baja California.

Funding comes from a yearly grant from Susila Dharma and from a variety of generous individuals. Read more about the project on SDUSA’s newsletter HERE. Make a donation to the Tijuana Family Outreach Project on Susila Dharma website HERE.

Thank you on behalf of Subud Venezuela!

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Donations from Subud CA, other parts of the country and Canada, with last minute help from Susila Dharma board member Abdul Mu’Izz, have supported the 3^rd shipment of food to Venezuela. This shipment weighs in at 550 lbs. and is mostly rice, beans, lentils and corn flour. But, this time there is a box of chocolate milk mix for each family – a little Christmas present.

We have received a heartfelt thank-you letter from Trina, our Subud member who alerted us to the very severe food needs of our Subud family in Venezuela. An excerpt from her letter is below.

Thank you all for making this outreach personal and possible.

Henrietta Haines, for the Walnut Creek Subud Center

—————————————————————————————

Dear Appreciated and Adored Subud Family

I see them and I think … who gave life to whom? Every day I wonder … What would have been my life, since I arrived in California without the support, love, and company of my Subud sisters and brothers … My Subud family has been my emotional, material and spiritual foundation, which has helped me survive and overcome the journey, now living in this imposing nation.

Subud Venezuela is immensely grateful for the humanitarian aid it receives from brothers and sisters in California. They are currently preparing an excellent report of the second shipment of food received (for families outside Caracas) with photos and evidence that will demonstrate the levels of poverty, hunger and basic needs that our people are suffering. On behalf of Subud Venezuela, I THANK Subud California for feeding stomachs, hearts and Venezuelan souls.

I wish that this Christmas overflows with blessings to my Subud California family and that the New Year will give them tons of health because, as we say in Venezuela, “The rest comes by itself””

I LOVE YOU MUCHIIIIIISIMO

Trina

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

The Meaning of Charity

Submitted by Philip Lindstrom, Chair, Subud CA at Palo Alto

Subud Palo Alto and Susila Dharma USA sponsored a fundraising event for Susila Dharma humanitarian projects on September 23. The idea started with Palo Alto’s desire to hold an event which would engage the group with a better understanding of the causes that Susila Dharma supports, rather than simply writing a check.

As it was our first venture into “fundraising”, we had second thoughts about how it would come together, but managed to pull through because we had already sent out the invitations! We were very pleased when we had 36 in attendance and participation from several other centers.

The event started with latihan, where the women tested the meaning of charity. This was followed by social time and a delicious Indonesian buffet.

After dinner, we enjoyed brief presentations on several initiatives including:

Aminah Herrman, Chair of SD USA, highlighted “Kitchen Gardens,” a project being managed through a group of schools in India in which students learn to grow food to supplement their families’ diet.
Mardiah Tarantino encouraged people to connect with the Elderberry project to visit and support our ageing Subud community
Henrietta Haines gave an update on Walnut Creek’s Venezuela Relief project.

Mardiyah Tarantino (far right) talking about Elderberry

We raised $2,700 during the evening for Susila Dharma. To top it off, that amount is being matched by both the Palo Alto and Portland.

Aminah Herrman’s “Tree of Life,” sold at the auction, now graces the Subud Center in Santa Cruz.

The muscle behind the fundraising came from Benedict Herrman who led the Chinese auction. Many thanks to all who helped pull this off and special thanks to the Palo Alto organizing team including Alexandra Boyer, Doug and Lianne Card, Lalia Helmer, Irena Olender, Dennis and Manuel Oliver, Rifka Several, Elizabeth Trudell, and Humphrey Williams.

SDUSA would welcome an invitation from centers to come visit and give a similar presentation. We hope that this type of grassroots fundraiser social may inspire events in other Subud communities.

Susila Dharma USA’s Vision and Work

The vision of Susila Dharma USA is a world where all people are held sacred, and able to live fulfilled and satisfying lives. This vision springs from our passionate belief that by empowering individuals, communities will be strengthened to create a better world for all.

SD USA supports 22 projects, seven within the United States, with others around the rest of the world. We work closely with the Susila Dharma International Association (SDIA), and partner with other Non-Governmental Organizations such as Oxfam, The United Nations and World Vision. You can learn more about our ground breaking, unique and exciting projects on our website, or our Facebook Page

The Women Worldwide Initiative (TWWI) leadership team in New York City.

TWWI empowers women and girls living in the poorest and most marginalized communities to strengthen their agency and improve their well-being. Read more…

Seeking New Board Members for Susila Dharma USA

If you have been feeling that the time has come to get more involved in charitable work, Susila Dharma USA, a well-established organization with a deep sense of caring, is inviting you to apply for a board position.

Join us in July at the National Congress to test for the position. If you can’t attend, we will find a way to work out testing. We would like to have three more new board members.

We promote awareness of the compassionate work of Subud members and their associates here in the US and abroad and we fund raise to assist their efforts to develop humane and trustworthy projects. Doing this work can be deeply rewarding. Here are some of the values we appreciate in a board member:

Seeks personal understanding on the inner significance of Susila Dharma
Ability to work with others
Able to follow through on tasks
Some computers skills are helpful
Availability/flexibility for evening weekend conference calls as well as periodic busy periods
Able to attend granting meeting in February and Subud USA national congress (up to 50% reimbursement of travel expenses).
Committee work experience is helpful
Willingness to conduct business via frequent emails
Interest/experience in a specific area, such as organizing events, writing, nonprofit management, fundraising, finance

Contact Evan Padilla if you have questions: 425.458.8072 or email: evan.padilla@gmail.com
THANK YOU!!!

Helping Veterans with Limited Mobility

Subud CA member Dainuri Rott recently received a grant from Susila Dharma to support his work in helping veterans.

The Idea

Several years ago, when Dainuri’s father, Nicholas, could no longer qualify for a driver’s license, he began feeling isolated. Dainuri used his engineering expertise to build a battery-powered tricycle, restoring his father’s sense of freedom and mobility. Dainuri then considered how this concept might apply to a sport he had spent much of his life engaged in: surfing. As a military veteran himself, he realized that this technology could serve military veterans with limited mobility, and GoodLife Mobility was born.

The Opportunity

Military veterans who are paralyzed or become amputees as a result of their military service receive adequate healthcare. But, when released with artificial limbs and wheelchairs, many begin to experience depression and a sense of isolation.

For those who previously enjoyed outdoor activities, or would like to begin, there is little opportunity to do so, especially when it comes to recreational water sports. By applying battery power to kayaks, these veterans are enabled to experience freedom again! On their own, they can explore any flat water such as a lake, river, or estuary, using the power assistance of the craft along with their own body strength. Safety features such as GPS monitoring from onshore provide confidence for veterans and their families.

Building a Community

Funding so far has come from personal investments from founder Dainuri Rott, grants from The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, The San Diego Foundation, and The Silicon Valley Foundation. Going forward, the organization is seeking grants from organizations that support recreational activities for the disabled and military veterans. They are reaching out to veteran groups such as the VFW, American Legion, Wounded Warrior Project, Fleet Reserve Associations and the like for sponsorship.

Dainuri Rott said, “We are grateful to be included in a Susila Dharma grant request for our organization. Receiving the support will provide impetus to get our jet-propelled kayaks into the hands of deserving military veterans with limited mobility, giving them a renewed sense of freedom and independence.”

Susila Dharma Donation Challenge

Sacramento Subud has established a Susila Dharma matching fund of $1000 to encourage donations from groups and individuals. Please help with a donation of any amount before the August 1 deadline.

If we reach our goal, Pacific NorthWest Subud will match the $2,000 from California, doubling to a generous $4,000. If Subud New York can rise to the occasion with a further match, your donation would help generate $8,000 to help people in need throughout the world. Please help us achieve this goal and quadruple your donation! Send checks to: Attn: Subud Sacramento Treasurer, 1839 Markston Road, Sacramento CA 95825.

Susila Dharma USA Matching Fund

By Farah Hess

Subud Sacramento is pleased to announce its first SD USA Matching Fund of $1000. We will match donations up to a total of $1000 between now and August 1st, at which time the entire sum collected will be sent to Subud Portland… to be matched again!

Thanks to a one-time grant from SES, Portland has a substantial matching fund of its own – so let’s take advantage of it! If we can turn our $1000 into $2000 (or more) through your donations, we can then grow it to $4000 with a match by the Portland fund.

What to do? Send your donation, made out to Subud California at Sacramento to the address below, and put SD USA in the memo line.
Attn: Lucas Hess, Treasurer
Subud California at Sacramento
1839 Markston Road
Sacramento CA 95825

Please send all donations to be matched by August 1st. We will collect the funds, and send them to Portland for further matching on August 2nd. All donations are tax deductible.

Secretly, we hope Subud NY will have a matching fund again this year, too… which could mean – dare we say it – another match! So far, however, there is no word about NY’s plans. Stay tuned!

Thank you. Together, we can make great things happen.