SDUSA’s Annual Fall Fundraiser is in progress. Most of you will receive a flyer asking for donations and containing statements from those who have benefitted in the past from grants from SDUSA. This is the only fundraiser SDUSA does each year. Donations can be made either by returning the enclosed envelope from the mailing or by going online to
SusilaDharmaUSA.org/donate.
SDUSA funds projects from all over the world and here in the US. The projects provide solutions to local situations and also give a voice to people who otherwise might not have the ability to communicate with others outside of their communities. These projects literally change people’s lives for the better, and they also give hope when there was little to none.
Your donations will help to continue the work of SDUSA. The amount of grants SDUSA is able to give to projects each year is dependent on how much is raised during the Fall Fundraiser. Please consider donating, even if you have never before contributed. No amount is too small.
Thank you in advance for your generosity.
A tree grows in Carbondale
Dr. Pevec started a Child’s Garden of Peace. This program is an example of what can happen when someone develops an idea and receives funding from SDUSA to bring it to fruition.
My experience visiting the YUM project
By Michael Barber
The most impactful and memorable part of the recent world congress was, for me, our visits to the humanitarian projects. So, I was glad to be asked to write about my visit to Yayasan Usaha Mulia. As the SDUSA liaison to YUM, I follow the progress and challenges of the Child Stunting program, communicating with Vanessa (YUM’s Director). Still, meeting Vanessa – and the many others who serve YUM – in person and being on-site was… what can I say? …revelatory.
Most memorable: The booklet they developed for the “Kaders” (female volunteers to find, visit and educate mothers locally) with pictures on one side (facing the mothers) and words on the other (reminding the Kaders what to say). The small chef station they set up so that we could sample some of the recipes they developed so that families would accept the more nutritious but unfamiliar foods they were recommending. The personal stories they shared of triumphs and difficulties the project faced.
And that’s just the Stunting program. Staying in the M.Bahalap hotel in Palanka Raya we saw first-hand the need for trained, English speaking hospitality staff. So, visiting the YUM classrooms where they teach English, computers, and hospitality to young adults, I understood the difference this would make in the student’s lives and the community. I could see YUM’s heart.
Then Daniella Bustillo walked us through the Agroforestry project. She showed us the many soil enhancing materials that they had developed to increase productivity and resiliency and described the challenges they still face in finding a practical system that they can roll out to local farmers. She also asked whether any of us were mechanical engineers because they are looking for a way to efficiently process Rambutan (remove the big seed and keep the fruit) for canning – to create a market that local farmers can sell to.
I was left with and even greater admiration and gratitude for the amazingly substantial and compassionate people who create and operate the humanitarian projects in Kalimantan. If you ever have a chance to visit, I advise you to take it.
New National Helper liaisons
SDUSA welcomes two new National Helper Liaisons. Reynold Orchard is a new National Helper from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Halimah Brugger is a new National Helper from Boise, Idaho. The National Helpers provide an invaluable perspective to the SDUSA Board’s decision-making process for funding projects.
Finally
Finally, the SDUSA Board would like to extend its sympathy and compassion to all those on the East Coast whose lives have been impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. One huge storm leaves an indelible mark on people. Two huge storms so close together may seem as if the world may never again feel safe or livable. Nature has a miraculous way of healing. It is the same with people’s lives. As people find a way to renew, we wish you all that you need to rebuild your lives.