Social Projects
I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. – Matthew 25:40 NIV
Sharing my talents with charities and NGO’s is something that is super important to me. I believe that God gave me talents to use in His Kingdom. Whenever I travel, I keep my eyes open for opportunities. I’d love to give a voice to those who can’t be heard.
Poverty is a real problem in today’s world, and there are still too many families living with less than $2.15 a day as a family’s spending. With a group of 70 people from the Netherlands, we traveled to Tanzania to raise awareness and money for this cause. Besides that, it’s so important to show these children that they’re loved, that we pray for them and that we care about them. In total, we raised about $700,000 to make a difference in the lives of Tanzanian communities. This trip was in collaboration with Compassion, an organisation that releases children from poverty in Jesus’ Name.
Indonesia is one of my all time favourite countries in the world and a place I’ll always get back to. In March 2023 I decided to spend 2 months in Bali to catch up on work. I got in touch with someone who is touched by the situation of the deaf community in Indonesia. She tries to reach the United Nations and the Indonesian government to give hope and a future to deaf people in Indonesia, as they don’t have a prosperous future right now. Together we visited a school for deaf children to take photos, used to raise awareness for this campaign.
While traveling through Colombia, I ran into an organization called Casa Embera. Beth and Travis are American missionaries who moved to Colombia, where they take care of the Embera tribe in the city of Medellin. These people had to flee from the jungle due to internal conflicts. They offer a place for children to teach them more about hygiene, the Spanish language, and about God. From the moment I met these children, they had my heart. It’s not only about the children, as the organization also helps the parents to grow a business in jewelry. This is one of the incredible skills of the Embera people, so I highly recommend checking out the Embera Bead Project!
In October 2022, I travelled with a group of about 40 people through The Netherlands, to raise awareness for forced prostitution and human trafficking in The Netherlands. Prostitution might be legalised, but it doesn’t mean that criminality is gone. On this journey we met survivors, visited the red light district and heard about the work of Tot Heil Des Volks – Scharlaken Koord in Amsterdam and other parts of The Netherlands. Besides that, all participants raised at least €10.000 euros each for Scharlaken Koord. They will use the money for prevention and to reach out to women stuck in forced prostitution.
In September 2022, I traveled with a group of about 40 people to the Middle East. In collaboration with Open Doors, we visited the last remaining Christian city in the country. All the people I met, had to flee at least once in their life. Just because they were Christian. Converting to Christianity from islam is as a crime in Iraq. It gives family members the right to kill this converted person, something that still happens. All our athletes raised €10.000 euros to support the Christian community because they don’t get equal chances, and the government doesn’t really care about them. With this money, we generated micro credits to build back sustainable businesses that were lost during the IS occupation.
