Widening our footprint: a report from the SDIA meeting in Lewes, England
January 2007

Preface by Sharifin Gardiner, SDI Chair

THE SUSILA DHARMA MEETING AT PELHAM HOUSE in Lewes from January 25-28, 2007 was dynamic and positive. It was attended by representatives of 8 National SDs, and we benefited from the presence of two International Helpers, Andrew Holloway and Farah Czwiertnia. Garrett Thomson, ISC Chairman also joined us for some of the time. We were able to cover many topics in great detail by breaking into smaller groups. Since it was only possible for SDs from Europe and North America to attend, we feel the need to share the results with the rest of the network where so much of the fieldwork is actually taking place. Money permitting, we hope to have similar meetings in the next two years in other parts of the world.

This was the first opportunity since the European SD meeting held in Hamburg in March 2003 for SDs to meet to discuss our work in depth. This time members also got to know our new Executive, Virginia Thomas. Latihan and testing, and sharing experiences strengthened our mutual understanding and trust, and enabled us learn from each other and establish common goals for the next three years.

This report gives a detailed account of our discussions. The intention is to provide a reference or starting point for those who wish to go deeper into the topics we discussed which are likely to be important to SDs for some time to come.

I would like to express my thanks to all who attended, especially the two International Helpers and Garrett Thompson, and also to Rosanna Hille and Virginia Thomas who facilitated most of the meetings and worked hard on this report.

1. Introduction

The SD meeting was hosted in beautiful Pelham House, a conference center owned by a group of Subud members.

The SD meeting at Pelham House in Lewes from January 25-28, 2007 represented a long-awaited opportunity for European and North American SD nationals and SD International Association to come together as members of the Network to do latihan and testing together, share experiences, strengthen mutual understanding, learn from each other and establish common goals for the next three years. Indeed, it seemed that the 'inner dimension' of latihan and testing was at least as important as the substance of the discussions in various workshops.

It was with much regret that participants recognised that many important members of our Network were absent. SD nationals from many countries, as well as project leaders, could not assume the cost of travel to the UK. This meant that the perspectives and experiences shared were not representative of the broad diversity within our Network. There was a strong commitment at the end of the meeting to try to organise similar SD events and retreats in Latin America, Africa and Asia, in order to widen participation.

However, the meeting was extremely successful in a number of ways, allowing participants to:

• Identify successes and challenges to SD nationals in relation to engaging their own national members and enhancing the life of Subud members and groups;
• Articulate our experiences, concerns and lessons learned from support to Subud and non-Subud initiatives;
• Share information about developments in specific projects, countries and regions of the world;
• Initiate a discussion around our mission, goals, principles and strategies for the Network over the coming three-year period.

This report follows the sequence of the weekend's workshops, summarising plenary and small group discussions, with a particular emphasis on extracting goals, recommendations and action-items that will feed into a plan for the Network to take us to World Subud Congress in 2010.

In terms of process, our emphasis was to structure the event so that learning could be documented and shared with others and used as a base line for future meetings.  It was also important to re-establish ourselves as a network of linked organizations and individuals who want to develop our future direction together. The sense of functioning as a network with common understanding and energy for collaboration had started to fade.  At the beginning of each day, agreeing on our focus for the day helped to ensure all participants stayed engaged.  Small groups had a facilitator and a recorder so that the discussion resulted in recommendations and action items. We started each day with a short latihan before the meeting and also had a latihan in the evening, accompanied by testing if people wanted. The fact that Farah and Andrew stayed attentive and present throughout the meetings contributed greatly to their ability to assist us in understanding our work.

2. Morning, Day 1: Strengthening our Project Support

Support for the social, educational, humanitarian and development initiatives of Subud members is central to our work in Susila Dharma. A main focus of the meeting was how SD nationals can strengthen their project support. Money is only one expression of the support, partnership and assistance that we provide within the SD Network. Participants expressed that communication, feedback and mutual understanding are actually the first, and most important forms of support. SD Germany, for example, will not allocate funds to a project they cannot dedicate the time and resources to getting to know very well. In fact, a key strength of our approach in SD is that we work on a smaller, more intimate scale than do large development institutions.

Some SD nationals frequently have difficulty justifying the cost of travel to projects to their donors, given the small scale of their project support. Yet if building long-term relationships and partnership - including travel, telephone and e-mail communications - are seen as central to the way we work in Susila Dharma, rather than simply an expense, we need to begin to educate donors about the value of this approach. Establishing effective communications and mutual expectations was the theme of the first breakout group.

Part of strengthening our project support includes having project selection criteria and approaches. Some SDs nationals, like Spain, always use testing to help guide their choice of projects to support, and the Blond Trust tests about each project and the amount of support. This became the theme of the second breakout group.

The issue of how to finance building the types of relationships we want was discussed. SD Britain and SD Germany have succeeded in getting government counterpart funding, and in Norway, there is the possibility of the government paying 90% of project costs. Yet we still remain quite reliant on direct contributions from Subud members. There is a need to learn about external fundraising. Despite the difficulties in doing so, it is important for our network to support social initiatives at each stage - from the smallest and most fragile - to the well-established projects that are more costly to operate. This leads us to begin to look for funds outside of Subud with which to support our larger projects, but only where everything is in place on both sides to deal with the often heavy reporting requirements of outside funders. This became the theme of a third breakout group.

GROUP 1:  Establishing Good Communications and Mutual Expectations

This workshop discussed the importance of establishing and maintaining good relationships in partnership with projects. This often requires an investment by the SD national in regular communications, including travel, telephone and e-mail.

Lessons learned about building good partnerships are:

• Find out the needs of the community and how the project is proposing to meet these;
• Choose an aspect of the proposal you can fund, given the priorities of your national SD organisation;
• Encourage sustainability - help partners plan for an end of your funding;
• Communicate the needs of your SD organisation - for reporting, monitoring, evaluation, training needs and programmes, etc.
• Set aside resources to made sure that evaluations actually take place;
• Be flexible - appreciate the different cultural norms, technological means and economic situation of your partners;
• Use relevant evaluation tools and approaches;
• Make a personal connection - look at backgrounds of the people involved, make field visits to get to know the country and context.    

Since travel can be expensive, it is also good to take advantage of travel by others - Subud and non-Subud members - who can bring back valuable information:

• Talk to people travelling and encourage them to visit the project  
1. Invite them to SD meetings
2. Prepare them for the visit - What questions can they ask for you?
3. What should they look out for?
• Develop a volunteer programme - as part of the agreement, specify that volunteers should write reports, give talks and help to fundraise when they come home.

GROUP 2: Project Selection Processes and Criteria

There is a great diversity of approaches to project selection among SDs present. The group noted the importance of the quality of the project and the people involved. As SDs we should try to get good information about projects, for example encouraging all travelers (International Helpers and other Subud and non-Subud travelers) to share information about projects with the Network. Some of the following themes emerged:

• It was generally agreed that the initiative for carrying out projects has to come from inside the country - it cannot be imposed from outside;
• For some SDs, Subud involvement is essential, yet for many others, it is not a must. Each SD is free to decide whether to support only initiatives run by Subud members, or if they will support any project of quality that is of interest to their members.
• Testing is helpful. There can be risks associated with giving too much money or giving it at the wrong time. Testing about the capacity of the project, helps us get an inner feeling and avoids using the heart/mind alone. Testing with donors, with national helpers, national committee and others can also help widen circle of participation in decision-making.
• While having a strong feeling to support a project is important, it is also helpful to balance the heart within the team.
• We need principles to guide our project selection, but we also need to break them! It is important to look at each project on a case-by-case basis.
• Duration of support differs from project to project and there is no clear rule. By building long-term partnerships, we get to know the projects well enough to know when and how to withdraw support. It is important to be aiming at self-sufficiency and avoiding dependency. The key is building capacity of the project itself to get the funds it needs to ensure its longer term security and sustainability.

The group also explored a number of related issues. What do we mean by success? What are our expectations of our projects? The issue of sustainability came up several times throughout the meeting. Why do we feel it is necessary always for our projects to continue? To grow? There are cases where the same conditions that generated successes, i.e. Pestalozzi, also lead to difficulties, i.e. Peaby in Ecuador. We as a Network have not yet begun to document the experiences and lessons learned from supporting projects..

Another issue explored concerns the types, scale and number of projects we attempt to support as network. Do we have too many projects? Are we able to support them all? What about those that we cannot support? How do we look after the broad range of needs within our Network?  Throughout our meetings, a recurrent theme was whether and how to support projects in the areas of healthcare and education which provide basic services for poor populations that often cannot pay for them. An important task of our network will be to explore different approaches to meeting this challenge.

In relation to the number of projects we are trying to support, this is another challenge, given the need to attempt to communicate with all of them. As SD's we should recognise that projects, in addition to doing their daily work under often difficult circumstances, are trying to communicate with many SD nationals. SDI should facilitate the flow of information, make it available to all SD nationals, and take a load off projects. Overall, the SD network should be supporting Subud members, no matter what the size or strength of their projects. What is important is to develop our knowledge, skills, networking and resources to provide the right amount and type of support to projects and initiatives at each stage.

GROUP 3: External Fundraising

This workshop focused on coming up with recommendations, strategies and actions to be undertaken by SDIA and SD nationals to increase our ability to access non-Subud funding particularly for our larger projects. Looking for outside funding does not solve all problems. SD Germany, for example, has established a long-term relationship with BMZ, which sets a limit of 4 years on counter-part funding. Thereafter running costs have to be covered by the recipient. This poses a problem in case of schools, such as Mithra. While its Training Centre may generate income sufficient to carry out its own operations, it is not likely to generate enough to support Mithra's work overall. While there are a range of possibilities that should be considered in terms of setting up enterprises to support social/educational projects, it is important that these do not distract or take away from the original intent and purpose of the project.

Again, the importance of good communications was emphasized. Visits by SD representatives are often useful because they give project managers an opportunity to take a strategic view of their own project, and to consider potential sources of funding. We have to work with project leaders to help them understand that they need to participate in their own fundraising. Funding from national SDs is only one source and our means are very limited: it is important to consider local sources, approaches and target groups. Fundraising can be an important opportunity to build local awareness and ownership of the project.

SDIA and SD nationals who are interested in doing outside fundraising should ask them selves: Are you ready for fundraising? Do you know the mission statement of the organisation? Do you have a designated fundraiser or team? Do they have 3 hours a day to spend on fundraising? (For more info, see http://www.snpo.org/funding/step5.php ) Often, in SDs our members and Boards are inexperienced and consequently unable or unwilling to speak about or fundraise for SD projects and activities. They need to articulate why SD work and projects are important to them so they can convince others.

Recommendations from this workshop were:

• Help our projects express what they do in a way that is 'fundable' both within and outside of Subud: Proposal writing is an art. Our projects may need training to understand how giving basic education or healthcare, which are normally the responsibilities of the state, may be harder to find funding for than if they express what makes their services different and necessary, in relation to other similar undertakings.
• Help our projects focus on local sources of support and work in a participatory way: It is important to work WITH not only FOR (like missionaries) the communities we are trying to help. Put in place participatory process where the benefits of our activities remain even after the 'project' as such has ended. Involving local businesses, institutions, government, other NGOs and project beneficiaries is important for building the long-term local ownership and commitment to maintaining services on behalf of the community. There are few really poor countries, but rather a lot of concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few. It is important to play our role in influencing local attitudes about helping each other and redistributing wealth.
• Use our influence as 'outsiders': When we come into a situation as outsiders, sometimes we have a surprising ability to open doors for our projects. We can make appointments to visit local government, big NGOs, chambers of commerce, large enterprises, etc. with our project leaders that would sometimes be difficult for them to do on their own. We can help facilitate access to local funding sources for our projects.
• Learn about fundraising and fundraising opportunities within our countries: On behalf of our projects, work through 'NGO associations' and intermediate bodies like Bond Trust (UK) and USAID to learn about the opportunities that are out there.

Actions to be taken:

• Identify a handful of strong projects and help build their capacity to access non-Subud funding.
• Develop training activities to help our projects strengthen their management and proposal writing skills. Develop a seminar on fundraising for SD nationals that can be carried out in different parts of the world.
• Share information about national and international funding sources — by project type (education, health, etc.).
• Look for ways to broaden the impact of sustainability of our project activities — encourage projects that involve local community 'cadres' in taking over from paid project staff. Encourage training of local people who are then responsible for passing on their knowledge to others.
• Speak to rich people (both locally and internationally) within our Subud and non-Subud networks - rich people usually know other rich people so get them to help you contact others who can help.

It was suggested that to effectively pursue outside funding, we need:

• Dedicated person(s) with time to spend on fundraising;
• Building long-term relationships with donors (like SD Germany's 20 year relationship with BMZ);
• Good project proposals that have clear analysis of the local context, related objectives and activities, indicators of success and procedures for monitoring and evaluation. (Are they helping the poorest of the poor? How to propose to make social change?);
• Know each donor's funding criteria and formats for proposals;
• Know the scale of funding (small, medium, large budgets) that interests the donor;
• Know people who have been successful at getting grants from specific donors and learn about what they did right.

3. Afternoon, Day 1: SDIA and SD nationals working together

The focus of this session was on the relationship between SDIA and SD nationals. What are the strengths of this relationship, what do we want to change? What is or should be the value-added brought by SDIA to the network of SD nationals and projects?

Both through testing and discussions, the need of our network for better communications and information sharing was clear. There exists a great diversity in terms of needs among members - while larger, stronger SD national organisations, such SD Germany, Britain and USA may have certain needs and expectations from SDI, other smaller SD nationals may have different ones. For example, while project monitoring and evaluation is something that SD Germany does not need SDIA to do on its behalf, many other smaller SD nationals, such as SD Canada, SD France and SD Holland as well as individual donors look to SDIA to facilitate project evaluations on their behalf.

The discussion identified the following as important aspect of SDIA's role:

• Develop and maintain website for the network.
• Provide training for members and be a reservoir of information
• Evaluate SD projects
• Facilitate volunteering
• Coordinate project funding
• Coordinate the flow of information within the network
• Communications with members including translations
• Liaise with international NGOs and the United Nations
• Research external funding sources and contacts
• The working group concluded that the following services of SDIA should be improved:
• The way SDI facilitates communications between SD nationals and also between Subud committees.
• Create a database of Subud expertise in International Development; "Resource bank" for members.
• Improve accessibility of website (#1)•    
• add a confidential SD nationals chat room
• consider re-establishing a section restricted to the public - an SD working space.
• Be a central point of grant request clearing.
• Foster the development of SD nationals.
• Explore cross-project initiatives/services and seek funding for this.
• Deliver services suitable for other NGOs as well as SD members (training for example) and charge for them.
• Work with Int'l helpers to strengthen understanding and practice (inner aspect) of Susila Dharma.

The discussion on how the network might contribute to making all this happen concluded that this is the practical responsibility of the SDIA team.

While there was good feedback on what members wanted the SDIA (the network office) to do for them, there was no discussion on the roles and responsibilities of the SD nationals within the network.  SDIA is a legal membership based organization registered in the USA, with a Board of 10 (8 elected by members), a staff of 2 and numerous volunteers, many of whom are also volunteers with SD national organizations.

4. Evening, Day 1: How we're doing as SD Nationals?

The evening of the first day was given over to sharing between SD nationals about the way in which they are organized and the challenges they are facing. A few things emerged most clearly. First, we are a very diverse group of organisations. Each has a different history, membership, decision-making processes, priorities, problems and potentials. When we come together as a Network, we bring our own needs and experiences, but are also learning together. Second, there are some common experiences. Most national SDs are having difficulty involving the broader Subud membership. As committed as we are to SD work, there is a danger that we become isolated from our fellow Subud members and stop trying to involve members of all ages in this aspect of our Subud life.  

SD BRITAIN: Registered as a legal charity in 1985, with 8 people on the board, SD Britain benefits from bequests and capital of approximately 250,000 GBP, as well as individual donations, so they don't need to do a lot of fundraising. The Board meets every 3 months, and SDB supports a wide variety of projects, but is unable to make many site visits, which leads to a feeling of being distant from them. The relationship with the National Committee is improving, and attempts are being made to build bridges with entrepreneurs. It has a budget of 20-30,000 GBP. It has 46 voting members, which are the group chairpersons. SD Britain's criteria for projects: must be sustainable and reach break-even point after 3 years. Schools do not fit these criteria.

SD France: Dahliani Drejza, Arnaud Delune, Solen Lees-Gratiet (Henrietta Normaand and Heather Cooter missing)

SD FRANCE: Subud France has 200 Subud members spread out over the country: Versailles, Toulouse, Lyon, Provence, La Source, Brittany, Atlantic Coast, etc. Annual budget is 18,000 Euro. Since Subud appeared on a list of sects, there is a fear among members of letting it be known that they are part of Subud, so one has to be circumspect. Yet SD France is bringing back some vitality to Subud France. It meets once every 3 months. Reports are prepared for donors, such as information bulletins, and personal contacts are maintained. Direct communications with members and fundraising are important, as there are no significant assets yet.

SD GERMANY: At the annual meeting the calendar for the year is prepared. SD Germany has a team consisting of 20 people. They produce a weekly email newsletter for the SD Germany team, of which half are Subud members. Their Annual Meeting in Hamburg is open for the public; afterwards there is a meeting for Subud only. Quarterly reports to donors include up-dates and newsletters.  Christmas time is good time for fund raising. Subud publications are used. At the Subud National Meeting SD is the star attraction. SD has an office, with paid staff. Training for this person is intensive, because SD has to be professional. 6 to 8 members of the team form the executive team. There are about 500 Subud members in Germany: Potzdam, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Munich, etc. SD Publications have a circulation of 950. There is a small reserve, but no capital. The challenge is that the team is very close, so that other Subud members find it difficult to join. An attempt has been made to approach Subud members to tell them about SD, but the result was disappointing.

SD USA: SD USA was formally registered as a not-for-profit in 1981. Some bequests were received, but they have been spent. SD USA has national projects, as well as international ones: for example the Tijuana children in San Diego and community kitchens. Fundraising is done through a variety of events e.g. Concert in Sebastopol. All members of SD are Subud. They have no longstanding board members: the maximum is two terms of three years each. Continuity is difficult. SD Board does not travel a lot. SD USA supports both Mithra and Anisha. Imbert Mathee is the driving force behind Clear Path International which now has co-financing with the US Government. The donor base is an important fundraising tool. Each Subud group tends to support an SD project, which has become an important focus for group life. The Annual budget is of 50-70,000 USD.

SD NETHERLANDS: The main problem is the lack of Subud interest in joining the board or getting involved. There are 4 board members, of which one is the SD Netherlands Chairlady. SD supports quite a few projects in, for example, South America, India and Ukraine. Lawrence Leetz visits the South American projects on a regular basis; Maarten Giel the Ukraine; Sabrina and Rene India. SD meets every 3 moths. SD NL is a foundation with capital. Its proceeds determine size of budget. No fundraising is done, and there are no 'members'. Closeness to the project is imperative to get members more interested. Progress reports from projects are highly valued.

SD NORWAY: SD Norway has 26 members: 6 from outside Subud. At Christmas fund raising among 80 Subud members in the Oslo area was carried out and netted 660,000 NK, which is more than 100,000 USD (WOW!). Peter, the Chairperson, mentioned that he would like to start a project in Kosovo and in the North of Pakistan. Projects in Indonesia, India and Congo are supported. SD Norway is a registered charity. They are waiting for land deeds after purchasing land in Congo. The Norwegian government can match SD funds to 90%, provided we could identify good project proposals to put forward for counterpart funding.

SD CANADA: 400 Subud members in the country; only 30 were SD members until last year. A membership drive was held with a target of 100 SD members, paying a $20 minimum membership fee. This target was not met, but 92 members was not so bad. Membership cards with pictures of Ibu and Bapak were offered. Fundraising is the only way: last year $35,000 CND were raised. SD Canada's goal for the next two years is to double its membership again and access counterpart funding from the Canadian government. Because of the country's size, they have only e-mail or telephone board meetings. Fundraising is essential and should be carried out with humour and lightness!

5. Morning, Day 2: Hot Topics in for SD Nationals

A number of topics emerged from the meeting that require more attention within our Network over the coming months and years. These include the importance of facilitating volunteer and employment opportunities within social and educational projects, improving our communications, cross-cultural understanding, and increasing our capacity to carry out translations (in Spanish, French, English, German, etc.). On the morning of day two, participants broke into two groups to discuss the most pressing issues, which appeared to be improving our communications between with Subud members and the issue of 'sustainability' as a criteria for project support.

Improving Communications with Subud members

Many SD nationals struggle with how to involve more Subud members in their work. This is not just related to fundraising but raising awareness of the inner aspect of SD work, finding volunteers for their committees and generally creating enthusiasm and moral support for this aspect of Subud.  Some suggestions from the discussions were: finding and using the skills SD members had, encouraging members to join SD to develop their talents, using humour, linking a group or a member with a specific project, finding out what small scale projects members were already doing in their communities which are not associated with SD, and promoting the idea that SD makes Subud life more exciting.  This last idea came from Sebastian Tedrow who has experienced how American group life has been stimulated by SD work in the neighbourhood.  This opens up the concept of a group in other countries working with non-Subud partners on a local project.

Sustainability as a criteria for project support

This workshop looked specifically at the issue of 'sustainability' as criteria for project selection by SDs. The workshop focused on a discussion of schools and educational projects run by Subud members for several reasons. Schools make up a large number of our SD projects and many of our Subud members are attracted to supporting this type of project. At the same time, when schools are not directly financed by the state and are serving poor communities, they can rarely be expected to become fully self-sustaining. This poses a dilemma to SD nationals who consider 'sustainability' and long-term self-sufficiency as important criteria for project support.

The discussion revealed the range of different views and experiences among SD nationals. For some SDs 'sustainability' is an important criteria for project selection because we can be drawn into a set of never-ending needs. Also, by taking responsibility for the provision of basic services, like healthcare and education, we are permitting the state to get out of its obligations to its citizens under international law.

Yet for others, sustainability is not an important criteria for project selection. Institutional sustainability is not the same as sustainability of results or impacts. In some cases our projects 'fail' but the knowledge we and they gain from the process is important to future success and is not a loss. Even if projects operate and provide services for a short time, some service is better than no service. Lastly, any child who gets an education is a sustainable investment, in terms of an ability to provide for her/his life and to contribute to the community. We can be broad and flexible in terms of our definition of sustainability. However, once we begin to fund a project, we need to be clear on what our responsibility entails, how long it lasts and clearly communicate these conditions to our projects.

Sometimes we support schools or educational projects because we recognise that some social processes needs to happen outside the formal educational system, because there is a lack of access for some children, or because we are dealing with a group of children that have special educational needs. But as time goes on, we, as project partners, should be a step ahead, looking for ways to help projects broaden their impact and build local ownership. Educational projects can raise funds from fees, enterprises run by the school or associated with it, government funding, special project or programme grants, local businesses and community participation. As SDs we should be helping our projects plan for the future, broaden their funding bases, and build local participation. We are not 'missionaries' building parallel structures where these are not required.

Within our Network, it is important to learn from and respect the differences between our approaches and experiences. There are lots of projects to support, and we don't all have to support the same initiatives in the same way. Instead, we have to make these differences work for our projects, to maximize the impact of the resources we have between us. For example:

• Some SDs like SD Germany can access BMZ money to help build school buildings, but others who are more concerned about sustainability of their funding could support teacher training or other forms of institutional capacity building that will help the project enhance its services and management. We can be creative and complementary in the way we work together as SDs with different definitions of 'sustainability'.
•  We learned about "Despertar", a mobile library project based in Mina Clavero, Argentina, which brings books to kids and parents in rural schools where the illiteracy rate is very high. This is a good example of an educational project that is working through existing rural schools, and improving literacy of parents and interest of children in reading.
• The case of Inka Samana was raised as an example of a Subud-run school that was eventually taken on by the government as a fully funded state institution and a model for the rest of Ecuador in Indigenous education;
• Suhada, a now completed project in Sri Lanka, was given as an example of an educational project that ended, but left many important skills and impacts in the community in which it worked.

Within our Network, we have not begun to pull together the wealth of experience we have in supporting school and educational projects. A recommendation that arose out of this workshop was to work together as projects and SD nationals to produce a number of case studies that explore different issues and dimensions of 'sustainability' with respect to schools and educational projects. It was proposed that the Guerrand-Hermes Foundation For Peace might be interested to partner with the SD Network on such an initiative. It was agreed to try to form a Working Group on Sustainability that would include: Lusana, Heather, Garret, Arnaud, Polly, Paloma, Ridwan, Hamid, Romina, Lawrence Fryer, Sebastian, Lawrence Leetz, Dag, Sachlan and Daisy to further our thinking in this area.

6. Afternoon, Day 2: Regional Up-dates

For more detailed information on the many SD activities discussed below and others not discussed, see http://www.susiladharma.org/

ASIA


AFRICA

LATIN AMERICA


For projects that are not currently registered as Susila Dharma projects but would like to be, visit: http://www.susiladharma.org/secure/members_forms_membership_info.html to download associate member application forms

7. Morning, Day 3: Goals, Actions, Benchmarks to 2009

This session provided an opportunity to summarise the goals and priorities for the Network that had been identified over the course of the weekend:

1.    Reach out to Subud members of all ages. Help build awareness of the inner and outer significance of Susila Dharma in their daily lives through sharing personal stories and project experiences - including with children and youth who are interested to learn about the conditions of other children far away:

2.    

• Ensure communications, information sharing and coordination of SD activities with helpers, National Subud Committees, and all other wings so that SD is not perceived as separate from the rest of Subud.
• Facilitate opportunities (within project realities) for volunteering, meaningful holidays and 'visits' to projects for youth and Subud members of all ages.
• Encourage activities for children that help them feel connected to global issues and their fellow human beings (storytelling about projects, showing pictures, etc. at Congresses, camps, Subud events);

3.    Improve networking, communications and information sharing between all members of the Network (project-to-project; SDs-projects; SDs-SDs) and the Subud community (SDs with Helpers, other Wings, and National Committees):

4.    

• Revise the SDI website as a space for sharing relevant information, documentation and news between all members of the network;
• Facilitate Project Support Groups to address problems as they arise;
• Encourage, to the largest extent possible, close communications between SDs and projects including visits to projects, telephone and e-mail communications;
• Facilitate the sharing of project evaluations and reports with all SDs in the network.

5.    Increase our learning and knowledge about our project support work. Draw out our successes and challenges, and document our lessons learned as a network so that we can continually learn from and improve our practices. Learn from and value the diversity and autonomy of all actors (projects and national SDs) within our network:

6.    

• Consolidate lessons learned from our longer term project support of educational projects (What have we learned about the issue of sustainability and how best to support school projects such as Amor, Nkembo, Lemba Imbu, Mithra, Suhadha, Inka Samana, etc.);
• Gather and share all existing project evaluations (e.g.. from SD Germany);
• Encourage all SD nationals to set aside project support funds to support an eventual independent project evaluation;
• Encourage all our projects to plan and implement monitoring and independent evaluations.
• Specific actions and benchmarks:
• Develop a proposal for GHFP for funding for a pilot project.

7.    Increase our capacity to support SD initiatives at ALL STAGES of their development (from the very smallest start-ups to larger, established projects);

8.

• Encourage testing and latihan as another learning tool.
• Provide training and tools to projects at different stages of development;
• Encourage members to seek local capacity building opportunities independent of Subud
• Increase our capacity to leverage non-Subud funds for our larger projects
• Create project support groups to share information and make mutually supportive decisions

Specific actions and benchmarks:

• Association Vivir Support Group - Julia Frischeisen-Koehler
• Amor y Fe Support Group - Virginia Thomas
• SD India Support Group - Lawrence Fryer
• Africa Projects Support Group - Rosanna Hille

9.    Articulate our common vision as a network

• Develop an agreed to Mission Statement, Operating Principles and Strategic Plan;

• Create a working Group on Mission Statement
• Prepare and submit draft Mission Statement and Operating Principles by AGM in August 2007.

10.    Widen our 'footprint' - our impact and influence as a network — both within Subud and with non-Subud donors, partners and institutions


7.    Work together towards the sustainability of the network and its members.

 

ANNEX 1.  PARTICIPANTS

 
ANNEX 2:  PARTICIPANTS' PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

HEATHER COOTER, SD FRANCE

I just wanted to thank you for the seminar/meeting in Lewes.  It was a glorious uplifting of the spirit to meet so many capable hardworking loving enthusiastic Subud friends and colleagues. The latihan ran through our gatherings like water and I felt we really started to build on previous success - we're really getting somewhere!  It was the most heartening Subud meeting I have attended, as they so often trail off into talk with no tangible results.  Thank you! And a special thank you to Sharifin for providing the perfect setting with its unobtrusive and therefore excellent organisation.

AN INVITATION TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD - BY SOLEN LEES GRATIET, SD FRANCE

 "Susila Dharma is like a fabulous story which we invite people to participate in — and who could refuse that?" This is how Rosanna Hille - interim executive director of SDIA - described the work of SD during the European gathering of this organisation held at Lewes (UK) on the last weekend in January.

These words were spoken during a workshop on communication, a theme which came up again and again as being essential for the success of our network. Even the title of the gathering ("networking meeting") encapsulates the essence of this event where sharing and exchanging on all levels was the order of the day.

The subjects discussed - the role of SDIA, communication between all the actors involved, the best way to support projects, sustainability, among many others - provoked lively debates, even if the atmosphere remained harmonious, often humorous, and sometimes emotional, especially after testing.

Inspiration

For many, there were inspiring or revealing moments. For example, we learned from Paloma de la Viña (SD Spain) about her visit to different projects in Argentina: micro-credit for women, an agricultural project, a theatre group for special needs actors, a cultural project for the women and children of the rural communities near Mina Clavero. .. A brief presentation by Lailah Armstrong on ICDP demonstrated that the international spread and recognition of a project can have modest beginnings, boosted by a small grant from a national SD. And Dahliani Drejza (youth representative for our zone) talked about the importance of sowing a seed in the hearts of our children. The seed may remain dormant for several years, but will waken one day to take the form of a desire to help others.

Strength in our unity and diversity

The cosmopolitan nature of this gathering meant that each nationality had something distinctive to contribute. At one point, Dag Lucke of SD Germany asked us to let him express his German angst! But the German delegates also taught us much about their way of operating, giving us a glimpse of a professional and effective methodology.

The Americas were also well-represented, with Lawrence Leetz and Sabrina Castillo of SD Holland, originally from Surinam and Chile respectively, but also Canadians Rosanna Hille and Virginia Thomas, who will replace Rosanna as Executive Director. Between them, these two led many of the meetings and workshops, professionally and with tact. Virginia brings many qualities to her new role and will surely leave her own distinctive imprint on the organisation. We wish her well, and already appreciate her vitality and humour.

Enthusiasm to continue

Personally speaking, I left Lewes full of enthusiasm to renew my work with Susila Dharma France. Meeting people who have up till now been names or email addresses, latihaning, eating, sharing and learning with them, make our communications more relevant and strengthens the feeling that what we do has continuity and meaning.

Susila Dharma France financed the participation of three of its board members at this gathering. Despite initial skepticism, I can honestly say that this was a good use of SD funds. We are now ready to work with greater efficiency and dedication in order to put the latihan into action for Susila Dharma, which is after all the very essence of Subud.

ANDREW HOLLOWAY INTERNATIONAL HELPER, UK

 I just wanted to say that during our last session together on the Sunday I was feeling the Latihan very strongly, usually an indication that we are on the right tracks.

I must say that I felt very privileged to be among such a committed group of Subud members, and hope and pray that the new directions of the SDI organisation as a whole may truly become a reality.

It is my belief that we made significant progress, and all who participated acknowledge their contribution. I feel gratitude to Almighty God that we were able to feel such guidance.

ROMINA VIANDEN-PRUDENT, SD GERMANY

I traveled with a happy feeling to the SD meeting in Lewes. Pelham House fulfilled all my expectations regarding comfortable old English stately homes. The fireplace in the bathroom, the terrace overlooking the well-kept lawns, the library with its heavy armchairs and dark paneling. Only the tasty and well prepared food didn't correspond to the usual clichés. So much about the general setting!

Sharifin Gardiner had mentioned in his invitation the hope of working on important basic principles and I was very keen to experience how I would feel amongst all these SD experts. To begin with, the women did some testing. What is the meaning of true communication for each of us? A good entry point! Further tests followed about working with SDI and with the national SD teams. To make it brief: I liked the combination of intense working sessions together with specific testing. There was an interesting tension between those mostly interested in working with the projects and the bureaucrats who evaluate, organise and put up the boundary conditions. I was impressed by the competence that everyone brought in their particular field. Virginia Thomas, our new SDI executive director, has taken the position on with great experience and with her lively personal temperament.

On Saturday evening we were invited by the Lewes Subud group for dinner and latihan and were greeted with great hospitality.

DAG LUCKE, SD GERMANY

If seven SD nationals meet after their international umbrella association has just put out a program in perfect expert-speak in which everything is going to be different in future - more professional, weightier, more centralistic, then one should expect to face some fairly stormy weather. To be on the safe side I flew over a day early so that I could study in nearby Portsmouth the tactics that the crafty seaman Francis Drake used against the Spanish Armada... But I won't say too much about this because this part of my preparations although amusing proved to be dispensable. The meeting was excellent. It turned out that several national SD's had come with good self-confidence and autonomy and that they were already beginning to practise the jump across the line between being a money distribution agency on the one side and experiencing active lively partnership with small projects in the South on the other. There was a lot to exchange between us. The Dutch and the Spaniards shared their enthusiasm over new intense contacts with north-Argentinean Indios. We discussed together the difficult problems a small school in Colombia was experiencing. SD-Germany could bring in their experiences with the projects Colegio Amor, Peaby and Reintegrar. It becomes quickly apparent that the strength of our network could lie precisely in its variety and in the lively learning opportunities it offers and that it isn't simply being a copy of the big NGO's but rather their complement.

"And how do you finance your project visits?" is a question often asked of the German Team. Then we point to you, dear friends of SD and readers of these lines. Of the roughly 32,000 Euros which our Christmas appeal brought in this year about 18,000 Euro were non-ear-marked. As you know, this is the life in the arteries of SD-Germany and a great proof of trust for our active team. It is only with these funds that the new members in our team can get local field experience and develop the necessary personal relationships with the project leaders. Only with this money can we manage to meet our share in our money multiplying measures with the German Ministry of Development. Only thus can we support a small office.

Our thanks to you all!

IMKE WOLF-DOETTINCHEM, SD GERMANY

It is simply this: however much we try to keep up a lively and efficient email communication and however good many of us are at this in the meantime - there is nothing above a meeting face-to-face! That is my personal summary of the European SD meeting in Lewes. The SD-Germany team had already discussed the recent developments in SDI and had reached an opinion that we were determined to argue energetically. We have of course done this and still have our basic convictions but thanks to the personal meetings the mutual perception and appreciation of each other has changed considerably. And then there was the latihan and testing together, this possibility to meet each other quite differently and to share experiences on another level. The international helpers Farah Czwiertnia and Andrew Holloway were present at the entire meeting, always prepared to help. They too have after this meeting a new and wider picture of Susila Dharma which they will carry with them on their journeys.

I have hardly been to international SD meetings in recent years and it was marvelous to see what has changed. The discussions were focused, competent, came quickly to the point and always to tangible results. The atmosphere was relaxed and respectful although everyone was there with their full commitment. And we didn't work until we were utterly exhausted as so often in the past but there was time for private conversation, for walks and shopping in the High street.

ROSANNA HILLE, SD CANADA

This meeting confirmed for me (again), why we need to organize ourselves internationally to achieve our big Susila Dharma goal - supporting projects in the right way.  There have been some questions in the last year about why we need SD international at all.  What value is added by spending human and financial resource on an international network office?  Personally I welcome this kind of vital questioning from time to time, an opportunity to revisit the root of things so we can become learning organizations. SDIA being labeled bureaucratic for example, was an alien concept for me.

We came together from eight different countries active with Susila Dharma, emerging from our respective heads-down-hard-work corners, all trying to do the right thing for what we believe both personally and spiritually. In trust we began to share our stresses and frustrations, our practical problems and various cultural approaches towards solving them. As we began to look up from our work, look to those around us struggling with the same issues, finding the human being in each other, groping for the clarity we can (if we are lucky) find in the latihan,  a new common energy and joy began to emerge.  We need to remain globally connected, not only in Susila Dharma but in all aspects of Subud.  Our understanding and experience of Subud grows when we travel and work with people from other cultures, with the same vision, with a common intention.

It may be one of those "you-had-to-be-there to understand what I am trying to express moments," but I think this awareness is common during international meetings - perhaps it is just unexpressed.  This elusive collective aspect of Subud transports us beyond our local, cultural and personal limitations, makes us stronger, richer and clearer and it is palpable if we pay attention.  What are the conditions we need to create when we come together to invite this transformation to occur?  How can we put the latihan into practice, not only to improve our personal lives, but to launch our joint efforts which are the ones we can call 'Subud'?

Coming together as members of the global Subud community, whatever our outer focus, is where we can find immense strength. I believe it is this strength and experience of unity is what enables us to continue to work together.