Newsletter december 2022

Number 6

Last year was quite a year. We had to deal with a lot of things:
agressive behaviour, accelerated climate change, tense situation worldwide, hardening of our society, nitrogen problem, human rights violations, war in Ukraine, refugee flow. Generally negative reporting.
Is there nothing positive to report? Yes, certainly, but then I look closer to home:
* Envelopes with 50 euros are distributed to people in line at the food bank.
*In Hoorn, Jan vd Gracht is holding his fundraising campaign for the 15th time and fills Christmas packages for people who need it.
*In 2020, a group of young people (15 volunteers) from HeerHugowaard would go to Uganda to help with the BUVAD project. Due to cornona, the trip could not continue. In October this year they went to Burundi to help building school there.
*People who spontaneously sponsor a part of the 190 euro energy return.
They may not be great things at first sight, but they are stones that are placed or moved in people's rivers. Also Auxili-ja! may not be busy with great things, but I am convinced that we also move stones.

I'm going back in time a bit.
Thinking back to the moment when Sjaak de Boer asked me to join Auxili-ja! I'll end up somewhere in 1998-1999. I had stopped as principal of a primary school and according to Sjaak I now had time left to step into it. Until now I don't regret it. As long as my health permits, I would like to continue working as a secretary. The group now consists of 9 people, one of whom supervises from The Hague how everything goes. We have a new member: Marta Bakker-Sobolewska has been joining us for about a month now. Do you know what I find very special? Within our foundation there are 3 people on the "board" that I myself had in the classroom as a student at primary school. I leave it open whether they listen to me better or less well than during their primary school days.
"So far I don't regret it."
Sometimes I am asked whether 22 years of dedication to a foundation does not get boring. My answer is short but clear: “No”. We are still a group that is committed and passionate about doing what we have been doing for over 36 years. To quote Martijn once again: “What I secretly always thought was confirmed last night: we are a unique, close-knit and colorful collection of people with enthusiasm and commitment who find it important to mean something in some way to the people around us. to."

I wish you all a very nice Christmas and a smashing 2023.
And I would love to see you on Sunday March 26 in 't Fortuin at The World of Taste.