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| Nice Beach Resort Attracted Us To Africa, says the dutch family who gave scholarship to a Gambian girl |
6/4/2008 |
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TV:When was your first time in Africa?
Ed & Henny: Our first time was in 1997, 10 years ago when we went on a holiday to the Gambia.
TV: What was your first impression?
Ed & Henny: When we arrived at the airport we saw lots of real dark skinned people, everybody wanted to help and get money and there were cows walking around the airport on the streets and also sadly to say lots of poverty.
TV: Did your visit and interaction with Africans at closer range shape your view of people from the continent?
Ed & Henny: Yes, the people are very friendly and helpful.
TV: What was it that attracted you to Africa?
Ed & Henny: It looked like a nice beach holiday resort in Banjul and the price was nice, we thought we’d try a different country for a change.
TV: How did you come to know the little girl you and your wife choose to sponsor?
Ed & Henny: We first met her mother (Mariama) on the beach where she works as a fruitlady, we started to talk and she asked us for support. I (henny) told her we had to think about it first. I thought about it and i decided to give my birthday present (it was my birthday at that time there) to Mariama and her 4 kids (money). We later thought it would be a good idea to sponsor the oldest daughter’s education and all the malaria medicine and vaccinations for the family.
what were the challenges you faced in course of helping her? First of all the bad communication system in gambia, the post/ letters were being opened by the postoffice where they were looking for money. We decided to open a bankaccount in Banjul for Mariama and deposited a big ammount so she could pay for the school and other extra’s but unfortunately the bank director stole all the money from all the accounts there and fleed the country.
TV: Do you have any NGO you represent?
Ed & Henny: No.
TV: What much did this sponsorship cost you?
Ed & Henny:At least € 5000,- now.
TV: How did you manage the scholarship fund? you had a trustee in gambia or you did it from holland?
Ed & Henny: We mostly arranged payments in gambia ourselfs, deposited the college money directly in the college bankaccount and sometimes if we were not traveling to gambia that year we gave the amounts to our friends and they made sure school and everything else was paid for that year.
TV:Who are the parent/ custodian of this girl?
Ed & Henny: Haddy is living with her single mother, Mariama and her 3 siblings. Her father left the whole family when her youngest sister (the 4th child) was born. Never heard from him again.
TV: How did they see your kind gesture to their daughter?
Ed & Henny: Mariama is very grateful, she thanks God every day, it has made her very happy.
TV: Now that the girl is graduated, what next? and what did she study?
Ed & Henny: After high school she went to nursing school and now she’s working as a nurse in the hospital in banjul. She would like to take computer lessons now, which we’ll have to arrange for on our next visit.
TV: Tell our readers, who you are, and what both of you do for a living?
Ed & Henny: We are Ed and Henny, a now retired couple of 67 years young. We’ll celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary this year, we both still work parttime jobs and we enjoy our kids and grandkids. We’re just regular folks, haha!
TV: And what in your background nurtured your tenderheartedness and your cross-cultural generosity?
Ed & Henny: We feel that every person, especially children (they are our future!) should have the right and possibilty to have an education and enjoy a good life. We adore all children. Before all this we were a member of the Foster Parent Plan and this sponsorship just sort of happened, we didn’t really plan it or something. This situation presented itself and we decided to follow up on it. It makes us happy that we were able to change one persons life for the better and if more people could support just one person less fortunate this world would be a happier world we think.
TV: What advise do you have for people who want to do something similar or who are already involved in one?
Ed & Henny: Continue! Spread the word of Love and open your heart always to other people and cultures cause one can make a difference. You never know.......... you could be sponsoring a future president!
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