Susila Dharma International Grant Procedure - Application Form
[Translation of application received from “Entrelazos Asociación Civil” in Buenos Aires, Argentina by S. van Beek (note: numbering in original application did not follow and has been corrected here)]
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1. and 2.: Contact information:
Entrelazos Asociación Civil
(1405) Colpayo 380
4° Piso, Departamento “B”
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
Argentina
2. Haydee Romero (Camila) ⎯ Presidenta
3. History of the project, if this is the first time that a grant is being requested from SDI; (when did the project begin, the areas of activity, management, legal status, number and qualifications of the people who comprise the principal team, accountability, significant grants which were formerly obtained etc.…):
We received grants from SDUK in order to develop projects with the ICDP (International Child Development Programme) during 2002 and 2003.
The History of Entrelazos is on our website: www.entrelazos.org.ar
At the present time we are soliciting funds in order to sustain our new programme “La Obra Madre” for the year 2010.
4. Description of the project or activity:
The project “La Obra Madre” has been producing workshops in Theatre and Dance, for people with different capacities, since 1997, with the Association of Parents of Special Children, in Bernal, Buenos Aires. Its objectives are to develop the psycho-physical capacities, and the artistic talents of its participants.
Project La Obra Madre for 2010 will include:
- Supporting its workshop days every week with the Association. Since 1997 the team of La Obra Madre has produced these workshops out of solidarity, without receiving any salary.
- The Programme Theatre=Work: this consists of organizing a cycle of paid functions in schools and private institutions and of sharing the funds received between the team of special actors. From this format we will begin a plan of integration with the said schools, through talks, visits and joint activities.
- Holding days of awareness and creative facilitation with family members and neighbours of the people with different capacities. These are meetings based on handcrafts, music, theatre and dance, during which parents, children and neighbours interact and discover new ways of relating and accepting. These meetings will be filmed and there will be reports.
5. Who will benefit from this activity?
- People with different mental, motor and sensory capacities who participate in our workshops, youth and adults between 18 and 50 years of age.
- The parents, brothers and sisters and neighbours of these people.
- The community, through the days of integration with schools and institutions.
6. What is the situation of the beneficiaries now and who will this change their lives as a result of the activities? Have the beneficiaries requested these services? How will they participate in order for this activity to be a success? (25-100 words)
The situation of the participants is uncertain. The team of La Obra Madre is not now in a situation of producing this activity in a complete format, and as a result, all the activities, those developing and those successful during these past years, run the risk of disappearing.
With the realization of this project in 2010, the participants and their families will be part of an annual programme sustained through our workshops and with a growing integration into the surrounding community.
7. What do you intend to achieve and in how much time? (25-100 words)
In one year we intend to obtain support for the days of workshops, including a day destined to group work and one for the trainings for individuals with more problems; [and] the organization and production of our cycle of paid functions and the monthly days with family and neighbours.
8. What is the strategy for attaining these objectives? (25-100 words)
The strategy is two-fold, involving internal aspects and external developments. The integration of those persons with different capacities needs to be understood, nowadays, on two levels of fulfilment: on the one hand, supporting and facilitating the possibility of expanding capacities and creative qualities and personal independence, and on the other, augmenting the possibility of involvement and participation in social and cultural milieus by being present and sharing between and with everyone as a vibrant and active sector of the community.
9. When will you know that you have achieved your goals? What are your indicators of success?
The integration of people who have different/special capacities, through their artistic talent, into different areas of the community; private conventional schools, cultural institutions etc.
The money when collected by the special actors through performances which will provide economic income as well as affirm confidence and personal autonomy.
The talks on Disability and Integration which La Obra Madre will be able to give in the said institutions and the possible joint programmes which could be designed in the future will permit the growth and sustainability of the project.
10. What are the risks you see which could affect the success of this project?
Above all, external risks to the project in itself, for example, health risks. The precarious and delicate condition of the majority of the participants in our workshops was severely affected by the appearance of the bird flu that we lived through last year. Several of them suffered continual outbreaks. And on the other hand, all school and social activity experienced suspensions and postponements.
11. Existing non-financial resources?
- Who will carry out the activities of the project? Will they be volunteers or with a salary in accordance with their capacities? Please describe the principal team members, names and professional histories. Is there an accountant on location?
La Obra Madre’s own team will carry out the activities:
Maximo Salas (Bernard), Professor, Theatre Director.
Lisardo Castro, Dance Professor
Cecliai Jiménez, actress, special trainer
Romina Barnardez, actress, special trainer
The coordinator responsible for the project: Máximo Salas is the only one who will have a salary, still less than the minimum salary in our country, but this is indispensable, because the development and sustainability of the programme Theatre=Work will require almost his total dedication.
The rest of the team is comprised of young people who are receiving training and experience in exchange for their part-time involvement with the project.
There is also an accountant: Guillermo Ickowicz.
The administrator responsible for keeping the books on solicited funds is: Jorge Chunco (Miguel).
- What other non-financial support do you have at this time (space, materials, equipment, volunteers etc.)? Will you have access to these during the time that the project is running?
The Parent’s Association for Children with Special needs (La Asociación de Padres de Hijos Especiales) has a big room for the workshops, a cupboard with clothing and rehearsal props, mats and bars for training, and microphones on wires which were recently donated, for the performances. In its turn the Association serves an afternoon snack to the participants.
- What kind of support do you have from the local community?
Local businesses have donated the microphones for performances and the costs of printing of programmes. Also electrical materials and paint with which to finish the workshop room.
12. What financial resources do you have at this time?
- from which organizations/individuals (including SD organizations) and for what?
- have you requested funds from other organizations which you have not received yet?
- is the support you receive long-term?
13. What is the amount in funds that you request in this application from SD organizations. Please include the budget with the application.
| Obra Madre 2010 programme: | annual(US$) |
| 24 hours per month of workshops | 2,304 |
| 12 hours per month of rehearsals for performances | 1,152 |
| 12 hours per month of visits/talks to institutions | 1,152 |
| 4 hours per month of meetings/work with parents | 384 |
| 1 annual purchase of material for clothing | 200 |
| 1 annual purchase of materials for stage filming | 200 |
| 1 annual purchase of books and handcraft materials | 380 |
| 1 administration costs | 530 |
| Total annual budget for Obra Madre in 2010 | 6,302 |
14. How will the project continue once this grant comes to an end?
The project, in one year, should become more consolidated both internally and externally, showing its achievement in the community and creating a strong network of local and provincial support.
15. Are you at this time collaborating with any national SD organization? Which one? How much funding did you receive in the past and for which kind of service? Who is the contact person in this SD organization?
In Subud Argentina there is no national SD representative. We have received funds from SDUK for ICDP projects, and our contact person was Laura Lesley, representative of SDUK during 2002 and 2003, with the support of Lailah Armstrong from ICDP.
16. Will this grant be received by a legal entity? Which one? If it is necessary to develop a piece of land, will this be a legal entity?
Yes, Entrelazos Asociación Civil (the name of the legal entity- “Interwoven Civil Association”).
17. Do you have permission to receive donations from foreign countries? If it is necessary, please fill in the registration number for foreign funds.
Yes, because NGOs with non-profit status are entitled to receive donations from foreign sources.
18. Please fill in the bank information (number of the account, number of the Bank, address, bank account, transaction code when necessary, currency).
In the event of a positive reply to our application we will provide the bank data.
19. Name and email of the person who is responsible for the communications and reports for the donating organization:
Máximo Salas (Bernard) obramadre@yahoo.com.ar He will report about the work in the field.
Jorge Chunco (Miguel) jchunco@yahoo.com is jointly responsible with our accountant for the making of a record of the funds.
In closing, we declare that the information contained in this application is correct.
Signed by: Haydee Ana Romero (Camila)
Position: President of Entrelazos Asociación Civil.
Date: 15 December 2009
The La Obra Madre Programme was created in 1997 in Buenos Aires for A.P.H.E. (Association for Parents of Special Children). Since 2000 it is a Susila Dharma International associated project and in 2003 started to develop as a programme of Argentina’s ENTRELAZOS Civil Association.
Funding request for the La Obra Madre 2010 project.
Continuation and widening of its theatre and dance workshops in the community of people with different capacities. New boost for its programme “Theatre=Work” and the development of creative days with family members and neighbours.
A brief history of La Obra Madre as part of A.P.H.E.
In 1997 La Obra Madre’s theatre and dance workshops, coordinated by the teacher and director Maximo Salas, began within the Association for Parents of Special Children (A.P.H.E. ) of Bernal, Buenos Aires. During 1997, the workshops started with 12 young people and adults with special needs at the local voluntary Fire Brigade’s premises. At the moment there are 30 participants and the workshops take place twice a week at the association’s own premises.
The adults and young people who participate are between 18 and 55 years old, with different mental, motor and emotional capacities. The vast majority does not know how to read and write, and they come from low-income families who are employed by social projects or who are unemployed.
The workshops programme combines various techniques of corporal expression, group improvisation in space, work with bio-dance and breathing, creation of theatrical characters and scenes, and finally the programme includes putting on shows in front of audiences.
La Obra Madre has managed to form close relationships with the actors’ parents and families. They study the scripts with their children in their homes, design and create costumes and props and participate collectively in set design. In this way they have produced 8 different shows, including shows for children, clowns, classical plays, works of poetry and dance etc. Every year there are also functions in schools, clubs, and local theatres and in the Quilmes National University. Since 2007 the actors themselves have asked to organize functions in solidarity with the beneficiaries of soup kitchens, old people’s homes and children’s homes. The actors with special capacities have managed to participate in local radio and television programmes.
The objectives of La Obra Madre's workshops as part of A.P.H.E.
- Development of motor skills and individual and group spatial coordination
- Freeing of the imagination through psycho-physical interaction
- Development of voice and sounds, the articulation of messages and different forms of dialogue and communication
- Creation of conditions for the learning of techniques and exercises to develop each person’s capacities
- Participation in the feelings of others through the representation of characters
- Generation of active and joyful participation where everyone can be listened to.
- Promotion of the understanding of human conflicts
- Increase self-confidence
- Development of group consciousness, mutual help and a sense of responsibility
- Making the stage and contact with audiences accessible to all.
- Integration of parents in understanding the processes of their children, helping them participate in their development and achievements.
- Facilitating the participation of the special actors in all cultural and community events, organizing functions in schools and institutions.
After 12 years of continuous work, the La Obra Madre workshops in the APHE Association have reached a critical moment which puts all its activities in risk of disappearing. In this period the Parents’ Association managed to buy a house, renovate and extend it with very few donations and a lot of effort. The parents first worked on finishing a spacious and comfortable area which would be able to house the Dance and Theatre workshops with their more than 30 participants. The workshop activity is primordial for the Association in order to make its work known to the community and obtain partners who will help maintain the house, pay the necessary insurance etc.
However, despite the success and recognition achieved, neither the Association neither La Obra Madre itself has been able to obtain grants or special donations for the workshops. Some local businesses and the Credicoop bank have made specific contributions for the purchase of microphones for the actors, cloth for costumes and printing costs for programmes and posters.
La Obra Madre’s actions of solidarity have been growing along with the development of its artistic programmes, and thanks to the optimism and support of parents, the frequency of the workshops increased to two or even, sometimes, three times a week. Free talks were also offered in other institutions, and in the Quilmes National University a theatre and dance workshop was given for final year Occupational Therapy students, with the participation of special actors.
At the end of 2009 we can see that these actions of solidarity are not sustainable without economic support. This year we have not been able to carry out our second weekly workshop and much less fulfil our two principal objectives: organise our Theatre=Work programme and hold our creative days with families and neighbours. These two programmes demand an amount of dedication and organization which far surpasses our material and staff capacity.
La Obra Madre Project 2010
Re-opening the second weekly workshop
The original workshop, on a Saturday, brings together more than 30 people with very different capacities and problems. It lasts 3 hours and its work on theatre and dance are about group aspects, group movement and exercises and scenes with several participants. The second weekly workshop was born from the necessity of realizing specific creative work such as concentration, diction, and finer and more sensitive corporal stimuli. This one is attended by between 12 and 15 people, on a rotational basis, and has seen participants make a lot of progress individually and as a group, because it tends to balance differences and gives opportunities for development to those who need them most. It also provides an opportunity to talk to the parents about their children’s domestic situation, know about their periodic medical visit and any changes in medication.
Theatre equals work
Up till now our shows have been free, mostly produced in State schools, or a hat has been passed round. The new initiative, however, is based around organizing a network of private institutions, mainly private schools, where we sell our shows; and the money earned is distributed among the special actors, as happens in any Theatre and Dance troop. On one hand the participants will receive a small salary from the collection, money earned with their own creativity and effort, thus helping their families, and on the other hand the private schools will be able to work on the subject of disability and different forms of integration and adaptation with their pupils. In order to realize this project, it is necessary to have portfolios, photos and videos, and the time to visit schools and meet with the authorities in order to organize talks with teachers and students.
Creative days with family and neighbours
The aim of these days is to consolidate relationships between the actors and their families and widen them to neighbours and friends.
Relationships in the families of disabled people are generally quite critical, or tend towards strict overprotection, resulting in a crushing of their emerging capacities, or they are too cold and distant. We aim to mobilize each family’s relationships, to exchange creative roles and for the parents to make contact directly with the talents and capacities of their children.
They are days of games and shows, with music, costumes and props, where the roles of authority and experience give way to creative functions, a permanent exchange of languages and specialities with the sole aim of realizing little scenarios, group exercises and moving paintings and sculptures etc. It is about living different forms of parent-child relationships, fundamentally based on humour and the development of creativity. We are especially interested in the participation of brothers and sisters, because in the future it will be their job to help their siblings.
The creative days will be organized every two months and will last 4 hours, at the end of which a snack will be shared. The events will be filmed and will conclude with interviews with the participants. A CD will be presented to each family and the Association will be able to show their experience in Congresses and Institutions.
Grant Request
During the past 12 years of work La Obra Madre has not received a salary from the A.P.H.E.. At the moment, the Association, through a minimal contribution of its members, aims to finish the renovation of the premises and pay all pending bills and taxes. The parents also give the workshop participants their daily snack, celebrate their birthdays and pay the Medical Emergency insurance premiums as required by law. Therefore the small amount of money the parents’ association can give to La Obra Madre is hardly enough to cover expenses.
La Obra Madre’s professional team is made up of its teacher and workshop director Maximo Bernard Salas and of three assistants, teachers from special schools, who take it in turn to help out.
For the 2010 programme to happen, 10 hours per week need to be dedicated to the workshops (3 hours each), to visits to the schools for the project Theatre equals Work, to rehearsals and functions in these institutions, and to the preparation and organization of the Days with Family and Neighbours.
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