Subud Portland members have been working hard all year long to generate funds to be used to create the seed money for its 2020 annual matching fund for Susila Dharma USA. This is our tenth consecutive year of “matchmaking” for SD USA, bringing SD’s diverse and inspiring projects to the attention of our remarkably generous Subud USA membership to attract their greatly appreciated support each year. It is something of a match made in Heaven!

Starting in 2011 with a matching seed money total of $1,027, we have been able to grow our annual pool of seed money up to $5,000 for each of the last six years, resulting in a doubling of that amount of money for Susila Dharma. $5,000 becomes $10,000. We have been able to put up these annual matches by mounting many different kinds of local fundraisers over these ten years – potluck dinners, musical events, plays, interesting educational and artistic classes, a tea party, direct appeals to members, and several fun clothing exchanges and silent auctions, both at the Center and at Menuca. We also have a member who puts out coffee, tea, and snacks every week after Sunday latihan and each of our fundraising events, as well as several members who give extra personal donations to Susila Dharma throughout the year. In short, we are a busy Subud group!

In addition to our own fundraising, we have been lucky enough to have had the partnership of two other Subud Centers, Sacramento and New York, and Subud Enterprise Services for six of our ten matching funds. That has been extremely helpful, and we are always looking for partnerships to build up our pool of matching seed money to create a large match each year. Our most recent fundraiser, a book sale, had to be cancelled due to the covid virus pandemic. But we are holding on to those books until we can safely get back on the fundraising trail for Susila Dharma….

Speaking of the covid virus, our Susila Dharma projects have been hit very hard by the pandemic, with most of them having to redirect their efforts to local life-saving emergency relief efforts.  Projects like Anisha and I Protect Me have joined with other local agencies to provide food and on-the-spot care for impoverished families caught in the crisis.  It is a tribute to our projects that they have been able to respond so quickly and flexibly.  This reality, combined with hard-pressed Centers not being able to partner with Portland this year, we are putting up one of the smallest matches in our ten year history of “matchmaking”.  We hope that everyone will be able to respond extra generously this year.  The need is extra great, and your donation can make all the difference in funding Subud’s own humanitarian effort, Susila Dharma. 

Deepest thanks to everyone from Subud Portland. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, IPM has shifted to a model called 2train10 that will train women to protect themselves from gender based violence due to the confines of the lock-down and economic uncertainty in South Africa.

The Covid-19 lockdown has seen an exponential increase in intimate partner violence, which started the first day of lockdown where partners are trapped together with no work. Unemployment is almost 10% above the national average, and people living in poverty were estimated at 51% before Covid-19 lockdown. In the Nelson Mandela Bay inner city area where the project operates, the population is close to double that of the province. Families are hardest hit in overcrowded township houses. The anti-sexual violence TEARS Foundation say they have received 30% more text messages and calls over the past month. Victims who are able to break free are unable to travel far to shelters because they do not have money, no cars, and are prohibited by lockdown restrictions.

2 Train 10

School doors are locked to us, probably until 2021.
So we are doing GBV (gender based violence) awareness with a difference.

It is called 2Train10: Each person who learns about keeping safe is asked to volunteer to go into their street, friends, family and clubs to train another 10. Like a relay, where the baton is passed from one group to another, down many lines. The aim is to teach Covid-19 safety and safety from domestic violence and intimate partner violence.

We teach it to people who do not have access to the internet, who do not have data for online learning. So it is done person to person, face to face, in backyards, in front rooms – while keeping social distancing and without power-points or big overhead projections. We share from bits of paper and active demonstration.

Covid-19 is giving us a chance to extend our reach. We aim to reach 1000’s of abused families BEFORE abuse happens.
We are doing a movie and will let you know of progress. Watch for it.

Monica Bennet
Chair of I Protect Me

FYI – Monica was 1 of 30 winners chosen from a field of 1,200 applicants to become Fellows of the 20/20 Gratitude Network. These outstanding project leaders are all highly successful change makers for children.

This past month SD USA was able to support two new projects that fulfill community needs during the Covid-19 pandemic.  The money for these two projects came from the Melinda Wallis Memorial Fund.  For those who never met Melinda, she was a remarkable human being who helped others within Subud and in the broader community throughout her life.  In a way Melinda is still here helping out through these grants.

Facemasks

Cassidy Sterling from the Boston group received a grant for materials to sew facemasks to protect against Covid-19. He has donated over 400 masks so far to hospitals, nursing homes and individuals. He makes two varieties, a fitted mask in two sizes and pleated “surgical” style masks. Cassidy has said that this emergency filled him with the “fight or flight” impulse and, since flight is not an option, making masks is a way to fight. The personal benefit to Cassidy has been huge. 

Face Shields

Dainuri Rott and Merrill Snell of Santa Clara, CA are using their 3D printing business to make Face Shields to give away to support health care workers in their area as well as retail employees and others at high risk for getting Covid-19. They have already made 50 shields and are busy making more to give away for those in need. We were happy to provide $500 to help them fulfill their new mission: “Our mission has become to produce Face Shields. As a small company we will do our best to get Shields to you.”

Idul Fitri Greetings

We pray that everyone observing the Ramadan fast receives God’s grace and blessings. For those wishing to give Zakat*, we are collecting donations for an emergency fund set up by SDIA (Susila Dharma International) to support projects affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Your donation will be distributed between five projects assisting with essential services in areas of dire need:

YUM: distributing hygiene kits, leaflets and food packages to families in Kalimantan and West Java

Anisha: distributing food kits to landless families in Karnataka, India

Susila Dharma Congo: distributing masks and protective equipment to staff at Health Centers operated by SD Congo

Enthum House (UK): supporting extra teaching costs associated with one-to-one tutoring for young unaccompanied asylum seekers

Mis Corazones Alegres (Colombia): purchasing an industrial freezer to store food for elderly residents with cognitive disorders

 *Zakat is a charitable donation traditionally given at the end of Ramadan. Unlike regular donations to SD USA during the rest of the year (that are disbursed annually as grants to projects), zakat donations are sent immediately to the projects in need. All are welcome to send zakat contributions, whether observing the Ramadan fast or not!

Thank you for your support!

On the last day of our annual granting meeting – which took place over the Presidents Day weekend in Sacramento CA – we sat quietly together and shared how remarkable the experience had been and how grateful we are to have been part of it.

Because of your support;

19 projects in the USA, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, South Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Indonesia were awarded grants. Three are brand new projects just starting up: Sequoia Community Center in Badger, CA; FUEGOS Hospitality School & Restaurant in Ecuador; and the Community Learning Center for Women and Girls in Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

This year, when we met to finalize grant amounts for 2020, we faced the challenge that requests from projects totaled far more than the balance in our bank account. But, with God’s grace (and a large withdrawal from our endowment fund which had increased by over $50,000 ) we were able to support all the programs, wonderful programs, that had requested grants.

Testing confirmed for us the truly profound effect that each project has in the world, and also that the small grants we give really do make a difference. We left the meeting feeling energized and inspired, with a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to do this work together. Thank you, Subud USA membership, for your ongoing support of Susila Dharma!

Changes in the Board

We say goodbye and a very big THANK YOU to departing board members Aminah Herrman (Chair), Hamilton Chaffee (Treasurer), and Cassidy Sterling (Director and Webmaster). We are most grateful for everything you’ve given to Susila Dharma and will miss you all.

New officers tested in are: Fauziyah Ishak as Chair, Myriam Ramsey as Vice Chair, and Sonya Shooshan as Treasurer. In the coming months, we will be seeking up to three new board members to join Susila Dharma USA. More details soon.