by Sulfiati Harris
We are working to transform the Sierra School in Badger, closed for many years, into a community center. It all began with a discussion in May of 2018 between me and a local man, the grandfather of two girls who came to Camp Badger. I told him of the ideas that the Mertens and I had been having. It turned out that he was still on the board of the Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School district that owned the school, and he said he would bring it to the next School Board meeting. That surprised me.
After this, the superintendent of the school district, Yolanda Valdez, came up to meet with us in Badger and we went over to tour the school. I had never been inside the building and was excited to see that it was even better than I had imagined.
Around this time, Amelia and Emmanuel Williams moved to Badger and this was key to the project. Amelia, with her strong background in working with local government agencies and nonprofits, brings what I don’t have. I fly high and she grounds me. Together we are a much more balanced team. And, wouldn’t you know it, we were both born on April 17!
In May we sent out postcards to everyone in the local area to invite them to community meetings at the beginning of June. In June, the school district approved our plan, pending the set up of our own 501-c-3 nonprofit. From the community meetings, we developed committees to set up the nonprofit entity (Amelia) and for fundraising (Sulfiati). We will meet again in August to draft and approve the contract between the community center and the school district.
The exciting thing is that we are working with local people from all the various groups in this rural area and the school district to create this center that will benefit everyone. We have been able to bring together disparate parts of this isolated community: ranchers, Hare Krishna devotees, a group of retired NASA scientists, artists, church people, and what the locals call the “Subuds”. We few Subud members are guided and inspired by the latihan and by the love that is at the center of that experience. We are being given the tools and the way to work together in an amazing way, and doors are falling open for the project. I find it quite astounding!
One of the local people in Badger has set up a Go Fund Me account. More information about the history of the project is on our website: https://www.