For now, we already have an important date for you: mark in your diary that you will participate in the festive (sponsor) dinner that we are organising on 23 March 2025 with the cooperation of Zwakenberg meeting centre. We would like to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Havonos Foundation with you then. You will find more information below. Furthermore, in this newsletter you will read about:
- The state of emergency in our project area caused by severe natural disasters, resulting in floods, mudslides and landslides
- More information about the visit of chairman Sieni Schouten and board member Alinda Schiller to Sri Lanka
- Different ways to donate
- 20th anniversary of Havonos foundation
- PhD for Father Ramesh; + Semester Report 2024
- More information on our new project: a small scholarship for great achievements
- The nearly completed Esther Rehabilitation Centre project in Batticaloa
- Beautiful donation and graduation ceremony ARI Work
Are you reading with us again?
State of emergency in Sri Lanka due to natural violence
For weeks now, Sri Lanka has been ravaged by extreme natural disasters. Heavy rains, storms, driving winds; all together they are causing floods, landslides, mudslides and all this is making people seriously ill. Father Ramesh and his team are busy providing help (almost) day and night. We at Havonos contribute by providing emergency relief through financial contributions. From the money, mainly dry food such as rice is bought and distributed. Words fail when seeing the violent images. You can see these images with your own eyes on our (Havonos) Facebook page. We wish the Fathers of OMI and all the people in our project area strength and better times ahead. See the photo’s below.
Visit of chairman Sieni Schouten and board member Alinda Schiller to Sri Lanka
In our previous news item, we wrote about the visit of chairman Sieni and board member Alinda to Sri Lanka and the Havonos projects there. For Alinda, it was her first visit to Sri Lanka and she returned home impressed by everything she saw and experienced. She then wrote a report on their trip. You can read that report here.(in Dutch)
Different ways to donate
Perhaps you have already noticed? If not, we explain it here. Donating to Havonos could be done through iDeal and other forms of payment made possible by Geef.nl. However, a substantial part of every donation went to that payment platform, an eyesore for us. After all, we are proud that €0.99 of every euro donated goes to the projects. We could no longer fulfil that promise. So, we looked at other possibilities and there are 3. If you go to the donate section of the website (Home/donate/become a donor), you will come across them. You can donate:
1. Via the QR code: here, the default amount you see is entered at €5. We cannot change that, but you can.
2. Via the authorisation form: you can fill in the authorisation form and mail it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can give a one-off authorisation and also a periodic authorisation (monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, annually).
3. Direct transfer to our account number NL89 RABO 0120 6189 23. When donating, you can choose via the donation button to:
- support the work of Havonos in general;
- become a friend of Anna's Home;
- participate in the ‘Small grant for great performance’ project.
Now, we can fulfil our promise again. Whichever option you choose; we are extremely grateful for your (financial) support!
20th Anniversary of the Havonos Foundation
We wrote it in the introduction of this newsletter: on 23 March 2025 we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Havonos Foundation. The tsunami of Christmas 2004 was the immediate reason to go to the notary office in February 2005, after which Havonos was a fact. A lot has happened in the last 20 years and we have achieved a lot together with you. Reason enough to reflect. We are doing this with a Donor Dinner, for which the meeting centre Zwakenberg in Raalte is providing a room completely free of charge. We are asking for a financial contribution to the dinner and there will also be a raffle. More information will follow as soon as possible. Keep an eye on the website and our (Havonos) Facebook page!
Doctorate (PhD) for Father Ramesh
We are very proud of 'our' Father Ramesh who, in addition to his extensive OMI work, managed to complete his PhD a few months ago. An amazing achievement. The subject of his research was the business model he has developed. This business model is all too familiar to us, as it is the one behind the FAITH (Food Always In The Home) project. We congratulate Father Ramesh PhD on his doctorate. Incidentally, we will only add the doctorate to his name once, as he is a modest man, averse to titles and awards.
Semester Report 2024 HERE
Read more about our new project: a small scholarship for big achievements
All the people in our project area are struggling. They are poor, they live in miserable conditions and their future is far from bright. As young people are expected to have a longer future than adults, they have an even harder time. The women involved in the FAITH project are almost all single mothers, often with several children. The FAITH project enables them to keep their heads above water, but they lack the money to send their children to school. They appealed to Father Ramesh and he approached us. The result was a project supported by Wilde Ganzen, which we called 'Small Grant for Big Achievement'. Through this project, 45 young people (18 boys and 27 girls) between the ages of 14 and 16 can attend secondary school. After completing their schooling, they can choose to continue their studies at a college or university (which is free in Sri Lanka), or seek employment in agriculture, construction or other fields. We are very excited about this project. Will you help us make it a reality?
Project Esther Rehabilitation Centre in Batticaloa, which is almost completed
We wrote above that the youth in Sri Lanka suffer greatly from the poverty and economic conditions in their country. The fact that many of them slip into addictions such as alcohol, and even attempt suicide, is therefore commonplace. Earlier, we wrote about the construction of a clinic for addicts in Batticaloa, now known as Esther Rehabilitation Centre. Here, young people in particular are taken care of and guided towards a better life. The construction of the clinic had been completed earlier, but costs had risen so much due to inflation, that there was not enough money to equip the clinic. Meanwhile, with the help of Wilde Ganzen, we managed to raise enough money to furnish the clinic. As a result, the clinic is now fully operational. The final touches include the installation of solar panels for the energy supply and the erection of a solid fence to keep out unwanted visitors (mostly animals such as elephants).
Wonderful donation and graduation ceremony Aari Work
What are the similarities between a donation and a graduation ceremony? There are several similarities, such as:
- Both involve creativity; creating something;
- Both involve young people who are proud of their work.
Still not convinced? Then an explanation is in order.
The generous donation of €200 came directly from Scouting Raalte and indirectly from Aspergebedrijf De Weerd in Raalte. The latter had provided a shed in which the members of the Raalte scouts could build the wagon for the Stöppelhaene harvest parade. In return for the use of the shed, Aspergebedrijf De Weerd asked Scouting Raalte to transfer a sum of money to Havonos. An amount that we gratefully accepted.
The Aari Work Diploma Ceremony celebrates the completion of ARI Work training (a special form of embroidery) by young women in our project area. They proudly displayed their work and received their diplomas. This was the first group to graduate and more are expected to follow. We wish them success and enjoyment in their training. Here are more photos.
So much for the last news item of 2024. We wish you all the very best, health, happiness and love for 2025, and we would love to 'see' you again in some way, starting with the Sponsors Dinner on 23 March 2025. Thank you very much for your interest, attention and support in 2024.
Yours sincerely,
The Board of Havonos