Veerle De Ketelaere, Dragonfly Woman of the Year 2010
Veerle runs a children's home in southern India with her husband Jan, also a pediatrician. Thirteen years ago, during their medical internship in Madras, they found two severely malnourished toddlers tied to a tree. They decided not to stand by and help them. After contact with the father, who cannot take care of them, they rent a house where an Indian colleague moves in with the children.
The beginning of an adventure that eventually leads to the establishment of a children's home that is already taking care of fifty children. In the meantime, Veerle also wants to start a waffle company . Like the whole project, this idea also grew a bit by accident . Veerle's homemade waffles proved to be very popular in India, and she had long been looking for a useful activity for a few less gifted children who will never learn a trade. After her call in Libelle, the first shipment of waffle irons, collected from Libelle readers, has already arrived in India.
Libelle now supports Veerle's project for a whole year. "I wanted to break this title into ten pieces and share it with all the other nominated women," Veerle said in a first reaction. After the ceremony, she couldn't wait to email the good news to her employees in India.
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