A report in the newspaper "Weekblad"
After the loss of her husband Cor, Sieni Schouten continues undaunted with their the work in the Havonos Foundation.
"In the hearts and minds of the Sri Lankans Cor goes on living!"
RAALTE - In April of this year, Cor Schouten died at the age of 69. Together with his wife Sieni he was the driving force behind the Foundation HAVONOS (Heart for North East Sri Lanka). The couple from Raalte earlier had organised a last trip to its projects in Sri Lanka. But for Cor suddenly it was not possible any more to travel. At the express request of Cor the journey is still made, but with their daughter Esther as traveling companion of Sieni .
It was the first trip to Sri Lanka without Cor. Part of his ashes were taken with them and scattered in the area for which he had worked so many years. An emotional experience for all concerned. During their stay in Sri Lanka Sieni and her daughter Esther were deeply impressed by all the sympathy they experienced. It was special to discover that the locations where Havonos realizes their projects, and where Cor and Sieni have been so many times, quite prominently had the picture of Cor exposed on their wall.
"Physically Cor may no longer be among us; in the minds and hearts of the people, however, he continues to live" Sieni says.
It was Cor’s wish at his memorial service in the Netherlands not to offer flowers, but rather a gift for Havonos. This request was massively supported and so Sieni took the sum of 1100,36 euros with her to Sri Lanka.
Incidentally Havonos had also recently received another wonderful amount of charity shop 'De Oude Kassa' in Veenendaal for which Sieni is very grateful. Meanwhile, the money is well spent. There are sports and game attributes purchased and donated to community centers and Pro Children. "The children were very happy with what they received!", Sieni said.
Havonos has launched numerous projects in the eastern northern Sri Lanka. It is an area where mostly live Tamils, a population of the island that, since the independence in 1948, has suffered systematic discrimination and neglect by the Sinhalese majority. In 2004 it was hit by the tsunami, and later, in 2009, carried out the final phase from a horrific civil war that cost the lives of tens of thousands of Tamils. Because of the nature of the violence, the conducting of years of war, and the continuing discrimination, there are many war widows, orphans and young people without a future. For these groups foundation Havonos was established. They are supported by many volunteers and Dutch organizations such as the Wild Geese , the Raalte Stöppelhaene, WOR, and Share4More (Rabo Bank). In Sri Lanka, they have found a reliable partner in the Catholic priests of the Oblate order (OMI).
Havonos is at the basis of various agricultural projects, the construction of community centers, and projects aimed at training young people. As always Sieni and Esther visited all the projects. When visiting the Widow Project in Mankulam, selected for the harvest gift of Stöppelhaene 2015, Sieni realized herself that by the death of Cor she also became a widow. Though it is of course very different to be a widow in the Netherlands than in a devastated war zone. But for Sieni, all the more, it is a reason not to stop the Havonos- projects! Two representatives of Wild Geese, also involved in this project, traveled with them and were very impressed with the results.
In Kokilai they visited one of the two Community Centers set up by Havonos. These centers, for the many educational activities that take place there, received a large donation of Share4More (Rabo Bank). Everything is booming and by the huge success, the building has become too small, which is why Havonos is working now on their expansion .
Youth at work
Under the motto "Youth at work" Havonos started, as a major new challenge, on the peninsula Ariyalai in Jaffna, the construction of a technical school, named Youth Education Center ( YEC ). Because many young people have stayed many years in refugee camps, they have not been able to get an education and are heavily traumatized. The result is a hopeless situation and a very low chance to get work. Havonos would like to change that . The aim is that young people in this school, besides their trauma, receive a full vocational training. In the first place a technical course, because there is great need for technical professionals. This new venture is backed by the Wild Geese . If you have an idea or suggestion to make more people enthusiastic for such kind of projects or how to generate money to realize projects, Havonos recommends itself warmly! HAVONOS is also looking for an enthusiastic and committed secretary / secretary . Suggestions please mail to : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For an overview of the projects see this page
Source Weekblad voor Salland 10 august 10th 2016