EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Dear Patrons
Thank you for your comments during the recently concluded HDBS survey. We are pleased to share these results with you. Links to the report are given below this executive summary.
The report has two parts. The first part is a summary of the responses – the categorical questions have been represented as bar charts while the qualitative ones have been summarized as top five themes. The second part is the appendix that has each individual response for the qualitative questions (Questions 3,4,7,8).
When we started we weren’t sure of the engagement level from the community. The 180 people who responded is by far the largest turnout in any HDBS information sharing/gathering event in the last ten years. This gives us hope that the community cares for Durgabari; this organization does indeed have meaning in our lives.
o Parking is by far the most important issue in the minds of the Durgabari community, even for people who found the Pujas extremely well organized. HDBS leadership agrees with you. Parking and drainage is a key issue on which the community will be engaged shortly.
o Volunteer engagement is the second most important topic occupying Durgabari’ s mind. Existing volunteers need to evolve and adapt. Newer members from all demographics need to feel welcomed, their ideas embraced and their participation & involvement facilitated. It appears a feeling exists in some parts of the community that to be part of Durgabari you must be part of a clique. We can assure you that nothing is further from truth than this perception and we promise that Durgabari leadership will work diligently to break this. Look out for the “I am Durgabari” campaign during Kali Puja.
o Finally, people want to see Durgabari start the process of building again – addressing the parking and drainage issues, building the Temple Steeple (“Chura”) and generally starting the growth phase along the lines of the approved masterplan. These are the members of the community who started and sustained the temple over the first ten years of its existence, but who saw their visions derailed during the intervening dark days. Durgabari’ s overall construction along with the parking issue are related and will be collectively brought up in the community engagement forums.
We see this diversity as a sign of a healthy democratic institution. We are often asked by community members Why Durgabari? What does it give us? Our answer is that it gives us a platform where all these diverse opinions can materialize, on our terms, in our home. As the saying goes – a community that works together, stays together. Let us work together to make Houston Durgabari better, to create a home where this rich diversity thrives side by side with respect, where we all get to live out our traditions every single day.
Sincerely
HDBS Executive Board
