| Klaas Meints in Oekraïne |
|
A few years ago Klaas Meints of Smilde was asked to come and have a look in the Ukraine. In the meantime he has already visited the farming company ‘Adama' eight times. This project, set up in cooperation with the Foundation World Partners, which links business to charity, has never let him go. What attracts this 76 year old man to the Ukraine and who is he? Klaas tells: ‘I grew up in Smilde, where I have lived my whole life. At the age of 13 I went to the farming school. This was in the autumn of 1945. The farming school was only open in the winter months. The rest of the year I helped my father and during my spare time I helped family with their farming work. I had to help because one of my brothers was in India and my other brother was in the military. I have had an interest in foreign countries from a very young age. During my military service I wanted to go to Suriname, but my father refused this. After my military service I wanted to migrate to Canada, but my father refused this too. He already had a son in Dutch India and I was needed on the farm. I think that my interest in foreign countries started during my school years. As a child I went from home to home to collect donations for charity. I heard about it at school and in church. And I always read the missionary publications. In his professional life Klaas had a contracting firm and later a farming company. Later in his life he wanted to travel together with his wife and help people with farming issues. But his wife unfortunately passed away and the travelling together could therefore not happen. But Klaas did go to Belarus after a call in an agricultural magazine. He supervised several projects in Belarus. Eastern Europe is therefore not completely new to him.What are his impressions of the Ukraine? ‘The Ukraine offers many possibilities and a lot can be done here. The people of the Ukraine must be woken up. Most of them could not think independently during the Soviet era and the effects of this are clearly visible now. It is important that the people show this can change. It is therefore good that this project is managed by Dutch people who can transfer their expertise. But a lot of money is needed and this is not always easily found. The farming company ‘Adama' forms the basis of the project Volinsk, which also consists of a rehabilitation centre and an orphanage home. Klaas tells: ‘What I like about this project is that the farming company not only offers employment but also supports charity projects: the company provides the orphanage home with food and gives food and material to the rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. This project started in September 2008 which makes me very confident. But we need to pay extra attention to attracting funds. We do not need to have too much money because this could lead to overconfidence. But we need enough money to be able to invest and start up the company and keep it operational.' Is there anything Klaas would like to say to the people involved in this project? Klaas: ‘It is not about the honour for me, people do not have to say anything when I am dead. I would rather say it now: I want to ask people to give financial support to the Ukraine. This will make them help others and the society! I personally think that we need to help others during our lives. It will make our own lives better.‘ |
| < Prev |
|---|