I should begin by explaining how I came to be Chairman of Susila Dharma Argentina. About five years ago I was working ten-hour shifts in a warehouse while fasting during Ramadan. When my fellow workers went on their lunch break, I would sit in my car and listen to political talk radio. After a month of this I made the decision to go back to university and do something meaningful with my life. A few years later, with bachelor degree in International Relations, I find my self living in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I chose Buenos Aires to perfect my Spanish, to gain international experience, and to study for my master’s degree. I was trying to support myself by teaching English and working in international “call centers” but I did not study four years to work in tele-sales. So I am starting my own enterprise (www.AdventureArgentina.com), an adventure tourism website, in order to support myself and fund my masters’ degree. By the end of the plenary meetings at the Argentinean national Subud Congress, I realized that Argentina was still without a Susila Dharma chair. I was interested in the position, however my Spanish was not its best at this point, and I did not yet consider myself a local. I mentioned my reservations at a meeting and was warmly encouraged to test for the position. The testing and the vote were very positive, and so I accepted to be the chair for S.D. Argentina.
This is the point at which I asked my self, “What exactly does an S.D. chair do?” I think this is a question that many people have after being tested or voted into any Subud affiliated position. So in the first few weeks I talked to the previous S.D. chair and got all the old documents and reviewed them. Next I made a plan for the things I wanted to accomplish (as I understood the position). These were: to fundraise, to support the operational projects in any way I could, to rehabilitate projects that had been put on hold, and to try to create new projects if able. In the following months, I visited the projects in operation here in Buenos Aires. The first of these was “La Obra Madre” or “work of the mother” (theater workshops and performances by people with downs syndrome, run by Bernard Salas). The second project I visited was “Tierraviva,” (bringing art into prisons as a form of “work” for mothers who live in prison with their children, run by Rasjid Cesar. The next project I was able to
experience was “Payamedicos,” or Clown Doctors, which brings happiness and laughter into the lives of terminal patients and their families, by visiting them regularly at their bedside. There is another project “Entre Lazos” in Cordoba with the International Child Development Project, which I will be visiting as soon as possible. By seeing them in action, I got a good feeling of the projects, their inspiration, and the impact on the people whose lives they touch. When I heard about the Zone 9 gathering in Brazil, I thought to myself, “great, a chance to get a feeling of the organization on another level”. However, being a recent university graduate struggling to get on my feet financially, I had no money to pay for the trip. A few months before the meeting I asked the Zone 9 representative if there was any way I could get some financial assistance to attend the zone 9 meeting, but the only funds that had been available were given to a representative from another country to attend the same meeting. I was a bit discouraged at this point feeling that the thing I would be remembered for in my time as chairman was not attending the most important meeting of my time in the position. The weeks passed, and as the meeting grew closer I still had no way of attending. So I took a big leap of faith, spending money I don’t have (via credit card) to get to the meeting. (In the end S.D.I. agreed to reimburse half of the funds it took to get me there, as a training/capacity building grant of U$ 20o and I am very grateful).
So I got a good deal on a midnight flight, and was there the next day. This was an important day for me, because although I grew up in Subud it was the first time I was able to work for the organizational side of Subud. In the meeting we all had an opportunity to share a bit about our “wings” and the work we were doing. This was an invaluable experience for me and came at the perfect time. I was able to get a feeling for the various wings and their work within the zone, I was able to get first hand experience representing a Susila Dharma national office in a zonal meeting, and perhaps most importantly I was able to get a real feeling for the people who are the administrative force behind a zone in the International Subud association. The thing that makes Subud so different from other international organizations is the spiritual training we have received, and the tools therein. I got to see the way in which the spiritual training can help us get through inter-personal barriers that otherwise would not be dissolved. This is a very significant use of the tools we have been given, not only applicable to the Subud organization but any important international body. And this entire experience reaffirmed in me the desire to study for my master’s degree in either conflict resolution or negotiations, a field that was received as my true talent for me by the helpers in my local San Diego group, when I was a child. Now a few months on, I am able to do my work here in Buenos Aires with a better idea of what is needed, as well as what is possible. I have been helping the S.D. Argentina project leaders in any way I can, attending events, photographing art work and workshops, facilitating professional translations and looking for ways to bring funds to projects in need. Also my personal project for Ramadan was to perfect my Spanish as best I could, I have been taking an intensive course and my Spanish is much improved. I now have more capacity to do the necessary work than ever before, and feel the future holds good things for Susila Dharma, and hope for other global communities as well.