"Looking away is not an option"

'I recently celebrated my 40th anniversary at Terre des Hommes. I had not realized that time had passed so quickly. I once started working as a project assistant, when Terre des Hommes focused mainly on emergency aid. After a year or two, I visited a project for the first time, where I met the children we work with. That was when my work really took on meaning.

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I am now a director and I work a lot in the office again. I am involved in fundraising, lobbying and processes. Important, but I prefer to work with the children who are involved. Of course I sometimes get emotional. Especially when I visit one of the ten brothels in Bangladesh. Many young girls there have followed in their mother's footsteps. It touches me when I see how responsible they feel to help make money too.

For example, I once met a girl of about 8 years old, Rosy. Terre des Hommes has set up schools for these children, because society does not accept them in mainstream schools. After a while Rosy was allowed to go to a 'normal' school. I visited her and asked how she was doing. She said: “I was especially curious about the other girls, how they think and what they talk about. I was surprised to find that they are just like me: they just want to play and have fun. ”

The situation of children in the brothels is dire. I usually bottle up my emotions. But doing nothing is not an option. And if you have been educated yourself, you have a responsibility to help others who have not had that privilege. So I just try to do my job the best I can. It helps to see the great results. For example, I have seen the children in brothels grow into independent, proud women. Some were even able to free their mother from the brothel. Hence my mantra is: give all children a chance, regardless of origin, so that they can realize their potential.

I am very proud of Terre des Hommes. We do not use an 'imposed' approach, but we pass on our knowledge and skills to the children and their families. This way they can take over. Our employees are also very involved: we don't work for the money, but for the goal. For example, we have not even had air conditioning in the office for a long time, in order to save costs.

The last 40 years have flown by. But there is still so much to do, especially now. The pandemic has turned the world upside down. Less money is available, while the problems are increasing. So I don't plan to retire yet. Perhaps no longer 40 years, but certainly for a number of years. '

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