Board
Our board members do this work unpaid and on a voluntary basis.
Kim van der Heijden – Chairman
In 2011, I volunteered at the Ubomi Obutsha Centre for a month and was incredibly impressed by the great work the center was doing. I was particularly drawn to the principle that the center works with the help of local volunteers to help each other step out of the cycle of poverty. During this period, the center heard that the organization I was traveling with would stop sending volunteers and thus supporting the Ubomi Obutsha Centre. Therefore, I decided, along with a few other volunteers, to explore how we could support the center from the Netherlands. That’s how SUON was born. In addition to my work for SUON, I work full-time as a lawyer for the Dutch government.
Rogier Faase – Treasurer
My name is Rogier Faase, and I have been the treasurer of the Ubomi Obutsha Foundation Netherlands (SUON) since January 2024. The enthusiastic and inspiring stories I have heard over the past years about the valuable work of the Ubomi Obutsha Centre in the Kwazakhele Township have made an impression on me.
The realization that the opportunities you get in life largely depend on the place where your cradle stood has prompted me to commit myself to the children and their families who are supported by the center. I am convinced that together with the donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders, we can achieve the goals of the foundation and the center.
Elin Hofman – Secretary
After my visit to the Ubomi Obutsha Centre in 2011, the beautiful mission of the center touched me. The holistic approach, which not only looks at the needs of the child but also at his/her family and the wider community, appeals to me greatly and I am happy to support it from SUON. As secretary, I take care of the communication around the foundation and the center. I also support fundraising. In my daily life, I work for Save the Children in a program in the Netherlands for, among others, refugee children.
Wouter Albersen – Board Member
For several years now, I have been committed to the Ubomi Obutsha Centre. The center has been doing incredibly good work for over 20 years with very few resources. My personal mission changed drastically in 2017; after a career in international business and then running my own business, I am now wholeheartedly committed to helping secure the long-term future and independence of the center.
We contribute substantively to the center and support the local management with advice and action in realizing the joint ambitions of the Ubomi Obutsha Centre and SUON.
On the other hand, we at SUON are committed to finding sponsors who want to contribute to long-term continuity, preferably.
Jarco van der Poel – Board Member
As a white man in a Western world, I automatically started from a privileged position. Despite my belief that I have worked hard to be where I am now (a good job in IT), I am aware that not everyone gets these opportunities. To get a better picture of how life can be different, I volunteered at the Ubomi Obutsha Centre. There, I was able to experience how, despite a different starting position, people do their best with joy and passion to help themselves and others. This touched me so much that after returning home, this should not be a one-time ‘trip’ for me. That’s why I founded this foundation with other former volunteers. In this way, I hope to make the world a little bit better.
Hans-Paul Visser – Board Member
I am Hans-Paul Visser, married and have three (now living out) daughters. After completing my studies in Dutch and tax law, I worked in the tax advisory practice for 30 years. To use my knowledge and experience more for socially involved organizations, I have now started for myself and I spend a large part of my time on organizations like SUON. From my privileged position, I feel very motivated to support disadvantaged people to make progress anyway.
The Ubomi Obutsha Centre does a lot of useful work in this area. This is the reason for me to commit myself to this via SUON. In particular, I want to pay attention to the structure fund with which SUON started in 2020 to give the Ubomi Obutsha Centre the opportunity to work towards a stable future.
Vanessa van der Poel – Board Member
As a child, I already loved children, for example, I regularly babysat the neighborhood children. After completing my studies in Social Pedagogical Assistance and internships in childcare and Customized Play for refugee children, I started working with young children with a language development disorder or an auditory impairment. I find it wonderful to see how I can contribute to small steps in their development.
My feeling of wanting to mean something to children and my interest in other cultures made me volunteer at the Ubomi Obutsha Centre in 2011. For me, this was an incredible experience. I was particularly touched by the enormous gratitude that the people and children of the center radiated. How wonderful to be able to conjure a smile on those sweet little children’s faces by simply giving attention. That attention makes life a little bit more beautiful. That’s why I decided to set up SUON back in the Netherlands with other former volunteers. So that we can continue to support and help develop the children of the center from the Netherlands to give them more chances of a better life.
After 12 years of enthusiastically fulfilling the treasurer’s position of SUON, it was time for me to take a step back and only connect as a board member in SUON.