Fall Fundraising Letter

We hope the photos, words and project updates we share in this year’s letter will help you feel close to the wonderful projects your donations support. We thank you for all the help you have given and continue to give to Susila Dharma USA.

Introducing Michelle O. Fried and FUEGOS (Food for Change)

Michelle is a North American citizen who has lived and worked in Ecuador since 1972. She held the position of Program Director for the World Food Programme and is well known in Ecuador as the woman who wrote the first cookbook of Ecuadorian food. The cookbook became a best seller and is still sold in airport shops as well as in grocery and bookstores. Besides cooking, Michelle had a role in helping to promote women’s organizations, through food to bring about awareness of domestic violence issues. In her early years living in Ecuador women were not allowed out of the house without their husband’s permission so they could not seek help if they were being abused. Michelle, along with an Ecuadorian doctor who worked with new mothers, offered a class in cooking and childcare. Since the class was about cooking and children the men permitted their wives to attend. Through this class, women opened up about their abuse and a movement to help these women began. These issues are still not completely resolved but greatly improved from those early days.

Although Michelle has retired from her United Nations position, she is still involved in development work through food. Along with others in Ecuador she recently founded FUEGOS, “Food for Change”, an organization of the civil society which uses food to bring about social, economic and environmental change. FUEGOS successfully opened a restaurant and food & hospitality school in San Vicente, a small fishing town near the epicenter of the 2016 earthquake this past year.

Open the link to learn more about this project or follow them on Facebook.

Giving Back To The World: Meet Fennisya

The BCU School in Kalimantan, Indonesia recently shared a story about one of their students who is now using what she learned at BCU to give back to Society.

As a young child Fennisya Veronica saw an ad in the newspaper about the BCU School. Although she didn’t speak English she begged her parents to send her to this school. She just knew it was what she wanted. Her parents relented and Fennisya became a student in 2005 and graduated in 2011. Here’s what Fennisya would like to share with SD USA members:

“BCU’s learning method focuses on practical interactions and nurturing human values as well as an enriching learning environment. BCU School has taught me how to adapt and be tolerant to differences. At this moment, I have created an International Foundation, Euroweek School of Leaders Indonesia in Central Borneo that values humanity and differences which focuses on enhancing English, leadership skills, Social, Communication, and creativity skills, and understanding different cultures, and being tolerant. BCU School has given me the mindset of giving and sharing and has also greatly impacted my personal development and professional skills indirectly. I stand for those same values until this moment that BCU taught me.
BCU is not just a school, it is like my home, a very welcoming place, and I want my community in Central Kalimantan to experience what I had.”

Visit SD Network Passport

If you want to feel good about the world visit SD Network Passport and enjoy. Posted on this network are presentation from SD projects like Quest, I Protect Me and many others. Just go to YouTube and search SD Network Passport.