SUNRISE DUTCH EDUCATION FUND

Desiree Lesscher, officially founded the SDEF foundation on June 29, 2007. But what's the story and how did SDEF come about? Desiree tells her story ...

 

About fourteen ten years ago, 1996, Nepal was my first faraway destination. From that very beginning, I have been fascinated by the country and its people. During subsequent visits I have volunteered in several children's homes. The abuses there gripped me and I noticed that in many orphanages there are children who are not orphans in the right sense of the word. These are children who often have one parent, but this one takes the child to an orphanage. In this way, the child can enjoy education which improves his/her chance on the labor market and a better future. As a result, relatively expensive places are occupied and there is no room for 'real' orphans.

During a visit to Nepal in December 2006, the idea arose to set up an education fund. This fund is intended for children who have another parent. The intention is that these children will continue to live at home, while the fund will pay for school fees, school clothes, books, stationery, lunches and shoes for ten years. Family relationships are thus better preserved while the development of the next generation continues as usual. In this way, places will be available in the orphanages for children who are really orphans. Once back in the Netherlands, I started with the legal interpretation of the foundation that manages the fund. The fund is called Sunrise Dutch Education Fund. Sunrise because that is the children's home that I initially wanted to focus on and support. Dutch, because Nepalese children get a chance with money from the Netherlands.