Facing The Challenges of Communication Between Countries in Zone 6

Membership overview

Finances are a consistent challenge, and the pandemic has worsened the situation – what little that was received in member contributions are no longer incoming. As a result, there is no money to travel and no regular visits to countries. The availability of experienced helpers is also limited, partly due to there being little access to physical copies of Bapak’s and Ibu’s talks.

In Angola and Benin, latihan is held in members’ houses. In Benin, this had to stop due to noise problems, and there is a feeling of isolation amongst the members. In Congo Brazzaville the situation is not good because of the lack of room for latihan and other problems. In Algeria, the political instability means its core of dedicated but isolated members can only get together occasionally. There are also some members in Sengal, which is in the process of becoming a WSA member country.

Communication and activities

Due to a lack of funds, communication and activities in the Zone are very limited. Communication is only via emails and phone calls, and there were no Zone meetings or National Congresses in 2020. It is hoped that joint Zone 5 and 6 meetings will be possible before the next World Congress.

At the beginning of the year, some of the Area 2 International Helpers visited groups in Luanda, Angola, and also visited groups and two Subud houses in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as members’ projects and enterprises.

In November, members of Zone 6 and Zone 5 were invited to a Zone 3 council meeting on Zoom, with sharing and discussions about needs and how support could be given, both financial and in terms of communication.

Wing activities, enterprises and centerprises

The DRC is the only country with wing activities, and its own Subud houses. There are Susila Dharma Congo healthcare projects in Kingantoko and Kwilu Ngongo.