Mother and Child at the hostpital
Decades of conflict and a lack of government investment have made it hard for people in the DRC to access basic healthcare. The distances, cost of transport, lack of health infrastructure, bad roads, burden of disease, poverty and poor nutrition combine to create a toxic mix that results in one of the highest child and maternal mortality rates in the world. Continue reading
“What is the Susila Dharma Network?” This question came up in a recent flurry of emails—and it surprised me. It surprised me because I use this term frequently in my writing about Susila Dharma, and I had supposed that everybody knew what it meant. One of our board members thought it meant SDIA, the international Susila Dharma organization. But this is not right.
The Susila Dharma International Association (SDIA) is not the “boss” of Susila Dharma, nor is SD USA the “boss” of Susila Dharma in the United States. Actually, the opposite is true. The organizations are here to facilitate Susila Dharma work, but we are more like servants than masters. Our responsibility is to help create a structure through which Subud members, working in community, can carry out humanitarian work, and to express through action in the world what we receive in our latihan kedjiwaan.
So why do we use the term Network? Well, it is a network of projects and supporting organizations like SDIA and the SD National organizations, but most importantly, it is a network of people. Some of these people work on projects, some work on fundraising, some contribute their time and money, and some are not even in Subud. The people we are trying to assist are also part of the Susila Dharma Network, and their contribution, while less obvious, is perhaps the most important of all. Walt Whitman wrote: “The gift is to the giver and comes back most to him. It cannot fail.” By giving this work and this support, each of us receives. “It cannot fail.”
So, the Susila Dharma Network is all of us. Because we are a network, there is an opportunity for communication from the top down or from the bottom up, but communication can also move in unexpected sideways directions and this allows space for the inspiration of the divine, which is almost always unexpected, to enter.
SD USA has set aside money—$1000 in the first year—available to fund grant proposals submitted by Subud USA members to engage in small local charitable efforts that address humanitarian issues and interests that are “within the meaning” of the 501c3 tax status of SD USA.
Melinda Wallis, who held Subud USA together for so many years and constantly helped others both within Subud and in the broader community throughout her life.
Projects can address humanitarian, educational, environmental, or scientific goals. (If you are unsure whether your project is elegible, don’t be shy, ask us.)
The grants will be quite small, up to $500 each, and are available for one year only, not renewable for at least one year after the initial year.
To apply, submit a brief project proposal. Grant proposals will be reviewed by the SD USA Board on a first come, first served basis, so act now! Here is a link to the application form.
Who can apply? Individual Subud members, groups of several Subud members, or a local Subud center Center. (We encourage applicants to work collaboratively on proposals.) These proposals would then be reviewed and grants would be awarded by the Board of Directors of SD USA as they come in. These grants are not tied to the regular granting cycle of SD USA and the criteria for granting is less stringent than those we use for larger grants. We want these projects to succeed! So, if there seem to be problems in the application, we will try to work with the applicant(s).
Kids can apply, too! Members of the Subud community of any age can submit proposals, but those under age 16 should under the mentorship of a local adult Subud member.
Proposals should be submitted between March 1 – Dec. 31 of any given year. A brief progress report will be required from the recipient(s) at the end of the year.
Click here for the application form.
NB: If you have difficulty downloading this form through your browser, try right-clicking on the link (Windows), or Control-Click (Mac). Then select, “Download this Link.”
Contribute to the Melinda Wallis Memorial Fund