Two persons have been struck by the situation of these children and want to change it. We will introduce
them to you:
Nathalie Rietman
(1973) is the neighbour! She took the initiative and started the foundation
La Vecina in April 2005. Due to her study environmental management, she resided in Colombia for a few years.
Surprisingly, it was not the nature that touched her heart, but the countless homeless children. Engraved in
her memory is the moment that the idea for La Vecina came up: a little boy asleep, under a statue in a central
square. The lights of the rushing cars put the little boy in continuous spotlights. Nobody stops, nobody notices.
In the meantime, the foundation La Vecina is a fact and has opened its children’s home. Nathalie: ‘The power
of this project is the immediacy, through which people feel involved.’
Gerard van der Haas
(1960). Gerard has had the dream to make himself useful for deprived
children all his live. He studied pedagogical aid and was employed by the state. He is now employed by the
Corps of National Police Services, through the Ministry of Law. He spent a lot of his own time in South America
and will now use those experiences in Colombia. In Cartagena, he started the Colombian Fundación La Vecina
with Nathalie Rietman. In the future, he will assist Nathalie Rietman with the shelter of the children.
