Category Archives: Education

Anisah Center – Rohingya Refugee Education

by

Anisah Center – Rohingya Refugee Education, is a school to uplift the plight of Rohingya refugees from genocide. It is run by Subud member Nadya Holland, daughter of the late Muhtar and his widow, Nuraisjah Holland. Nadya is a Subud member living near a Rohingya refugee community in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia where she serves some sixty refugee families. The primary mission of the Anisah Center is to teach Malay, English and Arabic languages – the most necessary tools for success in Malaysia. Additionally, the Center assists the community with basic needs including transportation to/from classes, clinics, and prenatal checkups, etc.

Students in their new school uniforms

As of 2019, Anisah Center  held classes in a leased space which Ms Holland remodeled and equipped with her own hands and the assistance of her students’ parents. Twenty-five students attended daily classes taught by Ms Holland and a volunteer teacher. Government covid policies then prevented classes from being held at school temporarily but as a work-around, Ms Holland set up tutoring services in individual homes and outdoor spaces.

Nadya Holland in white

From December 2021 classes resumed at the Anisah Center with new school uniforms for the students which really made them proud and happy. A new teacher, also a Rohingya refugee, a nice man with a “disability” (what Nadya prefers to call “otherwise enabled”) has begun to teach the refugee students.

Rohingya fathers working on the new school house

In 2022, Anisah Center became a newly funded project of Susila Dharma USA. Anisah Center is also supported by Hasnah Endowment Fund, a charitable project of Subud Winston-Salem, USA, as well as by contributions from individual Subud members. Currently all students receive a full-tuition scholarship.

school house building after the mortar has been spread over the brick

“Anisah” means “friend”. Ms Holland began this project in 2017 with limited funds but great faith that she could make a difference. She wishes to thank the many friends who have supported her befriending these refugees over the years. Already there are more than a hundred children wishing to learn at Anisah Center. In an effort to provide more space to accommodate this interest Rohingya fathers are currently in the process of building more classrooms. It is hoped that with continued and increased funding there will be the ability to meet the demand.


The Rohingya genocide is a series of ongoing persecutions by the Myanmar military of the Muslim Rohingya people. The first was a military crackdown that occurred from October 2016 to January 2017, and the second has been occurring since August 2017. The crisis forced over a million Rohingya to flee to other countries. Most fled to Bangladesh resulting in the creation of the world’s largest refugee camp, “Cox’s Bazar”, while others escaped to India, Thailand and Malaysia and other parts of South and Southeast Asia. Malaysia has over 150,000 Rohingya refugees.

To read more about this project go to www.subudwinstonsalem.org/anisah

Donate

The Guru Krupa Foundation Award to Anisha

by

In the rural area of southern India where Anisha is located, marginalized farmers and landless families, often headed by single women, struggle to meet their most basic needs. Approximately 70% of these people are members of the lowest social caste in India and their children often lack adequate nutrition and health care. Without extra support, many of these children drop out of school and become trapped in the child labor sector of the local mining industry.  These families suffer from the results of the Green Revolution of the early 1960s in India. Farmers were encouraged to adopt the use of commercial fertilizers and pesticides, as well as non-native seeds. Soils were depleted across India and many farmers were forced to leave their homelands for slums in India’s major cities.

Four years ago, a partnership began between Anisha and a private foundation located in New York state, the Guru Krupa Foundation.  The Foundation took the step to support year one of Anisha’s Kitchen Garden Project in 2016, a four-year program designed to teach over 1400 middle school students at 23 participating schools to grow organic kitchen gardens at their homes.  They also expressed the intention to fund the project for three more years if the terms of the grant were satisfied.  We are currently at the end of year four of the Kitchen Garden Project and feel very grateful to the Guru Krupa Foundation for its continuing support of the project.   The  Foundation has contributed a total of $40,000 over these four years to allow Anisha to operate its four-year educational project that has had a dramatic impact on the lives of its participating students and their families.

These students live in the Martalli Region of Karnataka State in Southern India. Their families struggle every day with extreme poverty and everything that results from it. They live in a drought-prone area that is also hard-hit by the effects of climate change. Learning to grow small-scale kitchen gardens producing organic vegetables grown from native seeds (initially supplied by Anisha’s own native seed bank) has made a significant difference in improving the standard of living of many families in this area. 

The Guru Krupa Foundation is considering a proposal that would extend the KGP by at least one more year and expand its operation into 30 new schools with 1500 students new to its program.  We  so appreciate the support provided by the Guru Krupa Foundation to help Anisha do its vitally important work!  Please visit their website to learn about their impressive work in both the United States and India – www.guru-krupa.org.

School Supply Giveaway Day in Tijuana

by

Imagine having to choose between sending your child to school and providing basic necessities for your family. Sadly, this is the reality for many parents at back-to-school season. Required school supplies and uniforms must be purchased in order for children to attend school. Families with multiple children are especially burdened by the financial demands that come with a new school year. 

Tijuana Family Outreach Project, founded and directed by Mikail Collins of Subud San Diego organizes monthly gatherings for financially struggling families that have no other community support or services. School Supply Giveaway Day has become one of their most highly attended events. At the annual gathering, gifts of backpacks filled with school supplies are presented, a meal is served, and bonds of friendship are strengthened among neighbors. Muchas gracias to Tijuana Family Outreach Project for organizing these monthly gatherings filled with camaraderie and caring, enabling families to receive much-needed charity while maintaining their dignity.

Susila Dharma USA board member Diego Salgado visited this year’s School Supply Giveaway Day and met many local families. Following are testimonies of gratitude from some of the parents in attendance:

“There are many kids who do not attend school because their parents don’t have the means of sending them to school. Even though there are public schools, the parents are still not able to provide for their kids. They’re not able to buy their kids a uniform or shoes. God has provided the sponsors with a magnificent and noble heart. Maybe for the sponsors this is just a simple event but for a lot of us parents and the kids this all comes as a blessing. It is a very big help.” (Griselda, mother of two)

“A pencil or a notebook helps tremendously as many times parents do not have money to buy their kids supplies. I have been in situations in the past where I was not able to buy my kids school supplies. I am currently studying law so this makes us be 3 students at home. So, a backpack is a big blessing. Not only on the physical level but also on an emotional and a spiritual level as well. As a single mother I feel very blessed for my kids to be a part of Casa Matita.” (Griselda, mother of two)

“Seeing the kids smile is the biggest satisfaction… People come from as far as Rosarito and Tecate to attend… Parents usually make a family outing of that one day a month they visit. They also receive donated clothes and shoes, which are laid out before them to take as needed.” (Alma, volunteer and mother of three)

“Casa Matita always offers us support and backpacks for the kids and with several events throughout the year. We have been here for the Day of the Child and for Christmas, where gifts are handed out and a nice meal is prepared. The gatherings are very heartfelt.” (Gladys, mother of three)”

Donate

Anisha Kitchen Gardens

by

In the rural area of southern India where Anisha is located, marginalized farmers and landless families, often headed by single women, struggle to meet their most basic needs. Approximately 70% of these people are members of the lowest social caste in India and their children often lack adequate nutrition and health care. Without extra support, many of these children drop out of school and become trapped in the child labor sector of the local mining industry.

These families suffer from the results of the Green Revolution of the early 1960s in India. Farmers were encouraged to adopt the use of commercial fertilizers and pesticides, as well as non-native seeds. Soils were depleted across India and many farmers were forced to leave their homelands for slums in India’s major cities.

Susila Dharma USA  is proud and happy to report that Anisha has received the second year of funding for its Kitchen Garden Project from the Guru Krupa Foundation based in New York state. The Foundation has given another grant of $10,000.00 to Anisha this year (2017/2018) to continue its four-year educational project to teach over 1400 middle school students to grow organic kitchen gardens at their homes. These students live in the Martalli Region of Karnataka State in Southern India. Their families struggle every day with extreme poverty and everything that results from it. They live in a drought-prone area that is also hard-hit by the effects of climate change. Learning to grow small-scale kitchen gardens producing organic vegetables grown from native seeds (initially supplied by Anisha’s own native seed bank) can make a significant difference in improving the standard of living in this area. It can help to stem the flow of farming families that are forced to abandon their homes in India’s countryside and move into the dumping grounds of India’s big city slums.

Youngsters at Anisha make “seed balls” out of cow dung and other ingredients. These balls protect the seedlings and give them a headstart with important nutrients.

We are so appreciative of the support provided by the Guru Krupa Foundation to help Anisha do its vitally important work! Please visit their website to learn about their impressive work in both the United States and India – www.guru-krupa.org.