AFARI: American Friends of the Asian Rural Institute

AFARI Represented at the Presbyterian General Assembly in San Jose

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:24:00 +0000

AFARI had a table at the Mission network event outside the exhibit hall at Presbyterian General Assembly in San Jose for three hours on Sunday afternoon, June 22.

Here, Ram shares volunteer opportunities with a visitor while J.B. talks with a Rwandan pastor interested in how ARI's leadership training/sustainable agriculture focus enables pastors in rural areas to help their communities become healthier with local ideas and leadership.

Benefit Concert for ARI in CT

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 17:45:00 +0000

On May 18, 2008, the combined choirs of First Congregational Church (Branford, CT) and First United Church on the Green (New Haven) presented a stirring performance of Brahms' Requiem at the Branfourd Church. The Benefit Concert for Asian Rural Institute was made possible by the Friends of Music, United Church on the Green, and the Marjorie and Ford Dickie Memorial Music Fund of First Congregational Church, Branford. Pre-concert special gifts were given by members of both churches -- many in honor of Roger Manners, former pastor of the Branford Church and founder of American Friends of ARI -- and a free-will offering added to the support which will be received by ARI.

Both congregations had ARI-awareness events in April which familiarized many people new to ARI with its mission. So thoughtfully planned by choir directors Rev. Kathryn Nichols and Dr. Mark Brombaugh (at whose wedding Roger was best man :-) and the churches' music committees, the many ARI board members able to be present were delighted at this new way of sharing the good news of ARI in the world!

Rev. J.B. Redding, AFARI board member, joined Kathryn following the concert. Sister J.B. eloquently presented Asian Rural Institute's mission to all those assembled for the concert, in a way that beautifully augmented the written information shared in the programs. Our hearts were deeply moved at her sharing the depths of meaning of ARI's presence in the world.

Brass section of the accompanying orchestra

2008 AFARI Annual General Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Mon, 19 May 2008 21:33:00 +0000

The 2008 AFARI Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday, June 20, 2008 at Wesley United Methodist Church in San Jose, CA. They keynote speaker will be Dr. C. Dean Freudenberger, Professor of International Development & Mission (Retired) who whose speech is titled: "From Prophetic Vision to Sustainable Development: The Mission of ARI in the 21st Century". An article about Dr. Freudenberger is available here.

For details about the annual general meeting, please see:

2008 Annual Meeting Information, Page 1 (PDF)
2008 Annual Meeting Information, Page 2 (PDF)

If you would like to attend, please complete Registration Form.

We also ask that you bring $10 per person to the AGM to cover the costs of lunch and dinner.

Indianapolis Couple Describes 15-month Stay at ARI

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:14:00 +0000

Episcopal Life recently published an article about Meghan and Andy McConnell from Indianapolis who spent 15 months living and working at ARI. They "waded through rice paddies, cared for various barnyard animals, learned how to make charcoal and lived in community with people from at least 15 different countries."

Meghan comments, "A lot of what we did at ARI felt mundane -- cooking rice, getting up early to do exercises and farm work, sitting at meals together, but it challenged me to put spiritual meaning into those routines and to find a greater goodness in life."

You can read the Full Article or read more about their experience on Andy and Meghan's web site.

Reference: "Changing perspectives: Indianapolis couple learns about faith, chickens and computer ministry in Japan" by Kathryn Tietz Treece, March 25, 2008

Participant Profile: Florence Fomujong Mah from Cameroon, '07

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:54:00 +0000

Introducing Florence Fomujong Mah from Cameroon, ARI Class of '07

This posting is the first of what we hope is a series of ARI Participant Profiles. The following excerpts are shared from Florence's final participant report.

Special thanks go to two special ladies --- Tomoko san and JB Redding san, who both have inspired me with their way of leadership as women working with and leading men very successfully. From them both I learned a lot, either by asking questions or observations. They gave me the courage, confidence and inspiration on my vision which I trust they will still remain as mirrors and guides to help me succeed with it.

I narrate this story today as though it was a very smooth journey. The truth is that, there were times I felt as though I was sleeping on a bed full of thorns.

I was only interested in going to the classroom or field to learn more about organic farming.

It was not long that I started observing that at ARI, all was not just sitting in the classroom and learning from a teacher but a lot more was learned from observing the whole community, their reasons of being at ARI and the way they interacted with each other.

At ARI, a lot is learned in the classroom that is the theoretical part of the training. What makes ARI different from other Agricultural training schools is the fact that, all you learn in class, you are given the opportunity to practice on the field for nine months. This is done in what we call here, “Learning by doing.”

Florence

2006 ARI Annual Report

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:32:00 +0000

The ARI 2006 Annual Report (April 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007) is now available online.

AFARI SAFARI III

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 19:05:00 +0000

AFARI is planning AFARI SAFARI III in October 2008, and we would like to gauge your interest in participating. No firm commitment is required at this stage. For more information, please consult the AFARI SAFARI III Details.

"Take My Hand" Summer, 2007 Issue Online

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:53:00 +0000

The Summer 2007 issue of "Take My Hand" is now online.

Articles include:

Excerpt from: By Sharing Life We Live
Participants' Voices: Toshang Khaling, Manipur, India; Farid Juma Shariff, Tanzania
Graduate Letters: V S Roy David, India, 2003; Gilbert Hoggang [Jil], Philippines, 2004; Phoebe Mission, Philippines, 2004; Ariel del la Cruz, Philippies, 2005
Key Contepts of ARI Training
AFARI Tour 2007 by Father Laksiri Peiris
AFARI Board Selects J.B. Hoover as Development Coordinator
Three Willows Global Work Project by Anne Dance

ARI Video Documentary

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:04:00 +0000

Rod Booth and Berkeley Studios produced the following "That We May Live Together" documentary about the Asian Rural Institute (ARI) in 1994. The entire video is 29 minutes long; it is presented below in three parts:

Short video about life at ARI

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:43:00 +0000

Below is a four-minute video describing life at the Asian Rural Institute.

2007 AFARI Annual Meetings, Hartford, CT

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:34:00 +0000

The 2007 AFARI Board Meeting was held on June 21-22 at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford, CT. Approximately 25 ARI supporters joined us for the 2007 AFARI Annual Meeting at the same location on June 22.

[photos to follow]

Welcome to the AFARI Web Site

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:32:00 +0000

Thanks for joining us on the AFARI Web Site.

AFARI is the US-based non-profit fund raising organization for the The Asian Rural Institute in Japan's Tochigi prefecture.

The Asian Rural Institute, often known simply as ARI, is located in Japan and is an international training institute for grassroots rural leaders from developing countries, mostly in Asia and Africa.

Each year ARI invites 25 to 30 rural leaders of all ages, both men and women, for a nine-month training program to study sustainable food production in organic agriculture, the skills of leadership and community organization.

Participants in the program are not required to pay the cost of the training, which is now U.S. $16,000 each. Support for them comes from service clubs, churches, and many individuals.

We invite you to learn more about ARI's work and to join AFARI in supporting its efforts.

That We May Live Together: The Asian Rural Institute, Transforming the World One Village at a Time

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Thu, 03 May 2007 14:50:00 +0000

AFARI Board Member President Pam Hasegawa published That We May Live Together: The Asian Rural Institute, Transforming the World One Village at a Time (PDF, 112k) in
Japan Christian Activity News, Number 740, Summer 2006. It is reproduced with permission on the AFARI web site.

Photo Gallery: Nancy Inui's March, 2007 Visit to ARI

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:48:00 +0000

ARI friend Nancy Inui visited ARI in March, 2007. Please check out her Photo Gallery.

By Sharing Live We Live, Toshihiro "Tom" Takami, Asian Rural Institute

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Tue, 01 May 2007 14:46:00 +0000

BY SHARING LIFE WE LIVE

Toshihiro "Tom" Takami
ASIAN RURAL INSTITUTE
www.ari-edu.org

The Asian Rural Institute (ARI) is a training center in Japan for rural community leaders of all ages, both men and women in about equal numbers. They come from developing countries, mostly in Asia but also from other areas. The aim is for participants to discover for themselves a more desirable image of human community and the practical technical skills for achieving it together.

At ARI we live and work together, producing food from the good earth to support ourselves. For we know by experience that unless we become self-supporting, in staple foodstuffs at least, it is practically impossible for us to gain selfhood or independence. We work extra hard to replenish our land by plowing in tons of organic matter to keep the living soil free from deadly pollution. We prepare our own meals and share and eat together with dignity, joy and peace, trying to come up with a more just and peaceful system of distributing food and other resources for all. We are especially concerned about the farming people who are not able to rightfully share in the fruits of their hard labor, for which they shed their flesh and blood.

BY SHARING WE LIVE

Our motto at ARI is "That We May Live Together." Participants come to work hard in order to return to their own people to work and live even harder. Not only Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians, but also Muslims, Hindus. Buddhists and others share the life at ARI. For we believe the love of God in Jesus Christ is for all peoples and not only for us who confess our faith in Him. In fact we believe that by sharing life with others, we too may have the joy of living ourselves. ARI is a very hard community to live in. Participants come from widely different backgrounds --socially, politically, religiously, culturally. Only those who are strongly motivated, deeply dedicated and experienced leaders come to ARI. Many of them seem to have common characteristics of being strong-minded, power-conscious, quick for action, rather domineering, above average ability and with a high degree of self-esteem.

Each day we go through the difficult process of making corporate decisions --as consensus, not compromise. Each person --man or woman, young or old, rich or poor, strong or weak --has equal right and responsibility to participate. We know "people's participation in human development" is an indispensable key to realizing justice and peace. But this is easy to say and difficult to practice. Each of us must learn to be a good listener--especially to the poor and weak, the voiceless. At the same time, each person needs to become an articulate but not necessarily an eloquent speaker. Eventually each one learns to be a trustworthy spokesperson of his or her own community, in word and deed.

One of the most critical, painful and difficult experiences each person goes through at ARI is a process of image change. With such a variety of cultural backgrounds and values, the self-images of participants differ greatly. Equally varied are the images they hold of a desirable community. These images are important. They set the limits of what each Participant is going to be. They determine what kind of world he or she will try to build. We often observe Christian leaders consciously or unconsciously assuming an image of a leader according to their own cultural tradition--quite often dictatorial, paternalistic, or in keeping with an image of their former colonial masters.

Many come to ARI with their own images of a training institute. They expect it to be a conventional "academic institution" rather than a community of learning through a process of personal encounter. These Participants suppose that a set of normally accepted subjects in agriculture and social sciences will be taught by experts to students. Instead, what happens is that people have to go through the pain of creating for themselves a community of learning. In the process, each person has to find a new image--quite different form the one they came with.

Pastors, priests, school principals and others often find it very difficult to engage in physical labor--"spoiling" or "dirtying" their hands and knees. They think it is below their dignity to take a shovel or a broom to scrape up chicken or pig dung. Leaders are not supposed to do that: manual labor is below their self-image. Every year we hear some participants murmur, "We did not come to ARI to work in the mud. We came to Japan to study." People become indignant when their expectations are not met. We need to learn to listen to these indignant murmurs. In this painful process of having our conventional images shattered, we find ourselves emerging with new images--of ourselves, of leadership, life and culture. All this happens as we work together to produce and share food and other resources.

WITH GROANING AND HOPE

In other words, we go through a process of renewal--renewal of ourselves and our community. And in doing so we learn how to stimulate and direct the process of constant renewal in other communities. To be involved in this renewal is to share in the work of creation by God our Father. This process of renewal-creation is painful --we participate in it with groaning and with hope because in the experience of personal encounter we find the One who is the source of life. Here we find a new image of humanity as most clearly shown to us in the person of Jesus Christ--in His life and suffering for others.

We believe all this forms a life-long process of evangelism. For evangelism is a continuing act of proclaiming with our own life and work the Good News that we are ever-renewable people as we painfully participate in the work of God's creation.

Over 1000 persons to date have taken part in ARI training activities. Only about 1% have dropped out of the program, usually leaving because of illness or problems at home with work or family. This is largely because we try to avoid the danger of becoming victims of the "growth myth" that uncritical belief in faster as better; bigger and taller as superior. We do not gear our curriculum to the highest level among the Participants. We do not set our standard at the level of the "best" in the class. RATHER, we go slow but together, so that those members who may be slow in speech and action may also participate fully in the whole life process of the community. In this way we develop the attitude of sharing our life and work together with the poor and hungry, the weak and the voiceless in our rural communities.

2007 AFARI Annual Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:02:00 +0000

American Friends of ARI

Save the date
for our
Annual General Meeting!
*Friday, June 22, 10 a.m. Hartford, CT
Asylum Hill Congregational Church
814 Asylum Avenue
Hartford, CT 06105

From Interstate I-84 take Exit 48 (Asylum Street Exit)
Turn West onto Asylum Street - bearing right at Y onto Asylum Avenue - continue 4 blocks.
Asylum Hill Congregational Church is the large brownstone church on the right at 814 Asylum
Ave.

We have well lit, off-street parking in our
attended lot on the right side of the church.

AFARI members and friends meet for lunch
and presentation by ARI Director Isao Nozaki,
Fr. Laksiri Peiris, Steven Cutting, and AFARI Development Coordinator J.B. Hoover .

Small group meetings for brainstorming and planning in the afternoon, how to:
a) plan a visit or work camp to ARI,
b) share ARI’s work & mission locally,
c) do & encourage planned giving,
d) recruit volunteers for ARI,
e) help edit Harvest III (ARI grad updates)

Speaking Tour: Father Kalsiri Peiris and Steven Cutting

noreply@blogger.com (Craig D. Rice) — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 19:39:00 +0000

In 2006, Father Laksiri Peiris, a 1995 ARI participant, and Steven Cutting, Ecumenical Relations staffer from ARI, made two speaking tours in the U.S. -- one in New England with some side trips to Columbus, New York City, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the other (May) in Kansas, Minnesota and Nebraska. Flying “solo,” Steven visited Guelph, Ontario, where Canadian AFARI member Anne Dance arranged speaking engagements for him, and Laksiri did the Seattle-and-surroundings gigs (June) with J.B. Hoover after Steven returned to Japan. Kay Shanks, Manhattan KS, organized the Midwest tour in May and kept Steven, her nephew, and Laksiri really busy! During the tours, they presented the story and mission of ARI at churches, community service groups, seminaries, colleges…to groups of neighbors of Karen and Brian Festa at their B & B in E. Poultney, VT (www.birdhouseinnVT.com) and Pam Hasegawa in Morristown, NJ.

In the picture to the right, Fr. Laksiri and Steven visit with students at Union Seminary in New York City.

Laksiri, an Anglican Priest from the Diocese of Kurunegala in Sri Lanka, cared for eight rural parishes in that district. After his initial ARI training, he went back to his community and used what he had learned from staff and fellow participants about community organizing to uplift the people of the Church of St. Peter and Paul Hewadiwela and their neighbors. He calls ARI his “second seminary” because that is where he learned to put theology into action -- to live out God’s call to love our neighbors.

During the years since Laksiri’s return, the community developed and implemented several projects:

Formed small women's groups in order to set up a group savings and loan system
Within these groups, women were able to take on leadership roles in which they had not served before.
Established small income-generating enterprises, including home gardening; raising poultry, pigs and goats; making hand- loomed linens, and setting up small neighborhood shops
Set up savings plans for women and children to provide for their education
Set up a co-op shop in the church center selling school items for children
Planned and constructed a new two-story parish building for children's education

Ten years after being a participant, Fr. Laksiri was invited back to serve as a training assistant to share his experiences with the 2004 ARI community. In the fall of 2006 he was sent by his diocese to serve as a missionary in the diocese of Tokyo, Anglican Church of Japan, who placed him in the service of ARI.

In the picture to the left, Laksiri enjoyed some quiet time in the garden at the home of Nancy and Leverne Barrett, who hosted AFARI members Carla and Christopher Grundy (former ARI volunteer) and their children following the First-Plymouth Congregational Church event in Lincoln, NE, planned by Barbara Smisek, Associate Minister.