Hello Subud friends!
With this eNews we send you the following news from the Susila Dharma network:
1. Welcome to new associate member!
2. Network News:
a. SD Germany celebrates 25 years!
b. YUM Malaria Control Project funded
c. ICDP News link
d. SD Canada fundraising drive
3. Resources & Outreach:
a. Book: Culture, Spirituality, and Economic Development: Opening a Dialogue
b. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
c. Jakarta Weekend: Article on Subud
d. Help Prevent Child Abuse Nov 19, 2007
4. Story: Illene in the slums of Rio de Janeiro
5. From the Office:
a. DR Congo development plan
b. Board Activities
c. Fall fundraiser update
Warm wishes to you all from the SD office team!
1. Welcome New Member - Puppeteers without Borders
Erica Sapir and her international team from Marionnettistes sans Frontières (Puppets Without Borders) have become associate members of SDIA. The project is based in France and is active in Israel and various countries in Africa. This non-profit organization has experience with puppet theatre, artistic creation, performance, education and training. They offer their services to disadvantaged communities around the world to make puppets and plan and prepare performances with educational, social and cultural aims. They train teachers, doctors, nurses and social workers who deal with problems like the spread of AIDS, domestic violence, abuse and human rights.
This month Erica and her colleague Pilar have been invited to Norway by Rukman Hundeide, to participate in an International Child Development Programme (ICDP) training session and to see how they can use puppets to teach ICDP methodology. To learn more about Puppets Without Borders go to: http://susiladharma.org/news_0711/marsansfron/index.html
2. New from the SD Network
SD Germany Celebrates 25 years!
Imke Wolf-Doettinchen writes to tell us: "You may have heard that SD-Germany is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Two weeks ago we had a whole weekend of workshops, panel discussion and a ceremony for our members. Now I am producing an issue of our magazine 'Umschau' celebrating this anniversary. Congratulations to SD Germany who have been a leader and invaluable member of the SD Network since the beginning."
You can read more about this on SD Germany's site http://www.susiladharma.de
YUM Malaria Control Project gets 4 year funding
Olvia Reksodipoetro recently informed us of their fundraising success for YUM! Congratulations to the YUM Project in Indonesia who, through their partnership with SD Germany have been granted €250,000 over 4 years for the Malaria Control Project in Central Kalimantan. This project is an SD partnership that has worked for 2 years to prepare this application to the BMZ [spell it out], the development agency of the German Government. The project will work in 6 villages around Rungan Sari, Central Kalimantan and will involve 11,000 inhabitants. To find out more about YUM go to our website:http://susiladharma.org/members_asia_indonesia_yum.html
or to YUM's website: http://www.yum-irdn.org
ICDP News Page
Lailah Armstrong let us know that ICDP has a news page on their website which can be accessed by clicking on NEWS in orange letters on the home page www.icdp.info where each month there are new items...
There are new projects in preparation in Norway, South Africa, Serbia, Kyrgizstan and Colombia at the moment. There was recently a network meeting and workshop in Oslo for 35 trainers who are overseeing ICDP implementation all over Norway and training workshops in Bucaramanga, Narino and Bogotá (Colombia) and in Guatemala. In the near future, workshops will be delivered in El Salvador and for representatives of the Bernard van Leer Foundation in Oslo.
The ICDP pack of materials will be adapted for use in Norway in refugee centres, in Guatemala and El Salvador for use nationwide and in Serbia as part of UNICEF's manual for parents. We are working on evaluation projects in Norway, Mozambique (where recently a British expert visited and produced an evaluation document), and El Salvador. During this week a party from Sweden will be discussing evaluation procedures with the team in Oslo.
SD Canada Fundraising Drive
The new SD Canada team launched its annual fundraising drive October 6 with this effective poster describing the eight projects they support this year. With the support of the Subud Canada network and 'talking it up' at the group level, within a month generous Subud members in Canada had contributed $17,000 towards the goal of raising $18,000 to meet this year's budget and to support the work of SDIA. Congratulations to SD Canada!
3. Resources & Outreach
Culture, Spirituality and Economic Development
Bardolf Paul recommends this out-of-print book by William Ryan called Culture, Spirituality and Economic Development: Opening a Dialogue that you can read on line. http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-9384-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html#begining
Description: Security, sustainability, and stability often depend on a system of values that has taken centuries to develop within a specific society. Current development strategies, however, tend to ignore, often underestimate, and sometimes undermine cultural values or the cultural environment, which are essential to healthy human development. The question, then, becomes: How can human values and belief systems be properly integrated into the modern economic development paradigm?
In Culture, Spirituality, and Economic Development, author William F. Ryan S.J. begins to tackle this question. He does so by reflecting upon a series of interviews conducted with scholars from various disciplines and all corners of the globe. The results confirm the fallacy of searching for a new development "grail." Instead, this book prompts scholars and development professionals to look to a variety of development paradigms, each rooted in its own ethical and spiritual worldview, mutually dependent, mutually respectful, and mutually enriching.
William F. Ryan, S.J., has been involved extensively in the social and ethical dimensions of development in Canada and overseas for many years. He is currently the director of the Jesuit Project on Ethics in Politics, based in Ottawa, Canada
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Bardolf Paul also sent us this information about the role of businesses and development:
Innovative approaches to reduce poverty through trade are bringing business, NGOs, government and aid agencies together in new ways.
"We believe that the leading global companies of 2020 will be those that provide goods and services and reach new customers in ways that address the world's major challenges - including poverty, climate change, resource depletion, globalization and demographic shifts."
This statement does not come from a United Nations (UN) conference or a non-governmental organization (NGO) congress. It comes from companies themselves in their "Manifesto for tomorrow's global business", signed by eight major businesses, members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Tomorrow's Leaders group.
This example of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on a collective scale is not the only sign that businesses are becoming more socially responsible. Social entrepreneurship is also on the rise. These trends reflect a rise in partnerships between the profit and non-profit sectors.
An Example: A British Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 award shows how an eco-tourism resort in Mozambique can reduce poverty through trade. Built to environmentally friendly standards using local materials, techniques and labour, the resort employs 55 local staff, who in turn support over 500 family members (a third of the village). The concept will be duplicated in other locations. (Source: http://www.bespokeexperience.com)
Subud Featured in Jakarta Post Weekender
SD Indonesia chair, Ariana Susanti, who was part of the group being interviewed at Wisma Subud for the article, sent us this link to this week's article about Subud in the Jakarta Post Weekender. http://www.thejakartapost.com/weekender/10center4.asp
Help to Prevent Child Abuse on November 19th:
Please let us know if you are participating in any way in this November event which we mentioned in the last SD eNews: SDIA is one of 781 international and national organisations from 128 countries to join the World Women's Summit Foundation's coalition to observe and promote the World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse on November 19th, 2007. Many of our projects are already involved in the prevention of child abuse through their work as educators and caregivers to families and communities. For those who would like to be more involved, consider:
- Organizing an event with schools and groups in your community;
- Inviting children and young people to participate and be the focus of the day;
- Talking about an SD projects in your group, and how it works to prevent child abuse (ICDP is a good example!);
- Engaging your religious and community leaders to mark the day and join the campaign to prevent child abuse;
- Reading, discussing and sharing with others the details of the UN Secretary General's Study on Violence against Children (www.violencestudy.org);
If you would like to hold an event or activity to mark the World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse, SDIA has a few posters to share. Contact us soon at info@susiladharma.org
4. Personal Story:
This month we feature Illene Pevec's story of her work in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. After Ramadan, Illene headed back to South America to visit the project she founded, A Child's Garden of Peace, and to make new connections with other projects. She is in Rio to work directly with a day care center in Rocinha, and is also doing an interview for a UNECSCO book about children growing up in cities.
I spent yesterday all day in Rocinha in two different day care centers. I could no more find it on my own, than find my way through a maze in a cave. Since I had Sister Rita and Thiago's mom with me, I just followed them with Rita hanging onto my hand. The little passageways actually are similar to those in Venice, except they are filthy with trash and way more people. The density of population in Rocinha must be one of the highest in the world.
For Illene's complete story on her experience go to: http://susiladharma.org/eNews07/enews0711-cgp-journal.htm
5. From the Office
Democratic Republic of Congo Strategic Development Plan
The SDIA office is coordinating the implementation of the strategic development plan for Subud in DR Congo that was developed in Ascot and adopted by the World Subud Council. Working with Lateef Bashua (Zone 8 and 9 rep), the office team is facilitating support for the national Subud committee, the work of national helpers, Emergency and Education support to Subud members, and support to social projects and enterprises.
SDIA Board
Paloma de la Viña is now in Argentina to meet with Projects and with the leadership of Subud Argentina. Laura Lesley attended the Subud Ireland Congress and we are pleased to announce that Susila Dharma Ireland has become an active member of the SD Network. The chair of SD Ireland is Morfinn Clarke.
With the exception of Paloma, who could not participate because she was traveling, the SDIA Board held its first conference call spanning Australia, USA, Canada, England, France and Germany. Among other decisions, the 2008 draft budget was approved. This budget will now be sent to voting members of SDIA for approval before the end of the year.
Fall Fundraising Update
Last month SDIA launched its year-end fundraising campaign with a target of $30,000. Since then generous Subud members have contributed $6,100 to SDIA general funds.
If you want to help us reach our goal, you can,
|
