Liliane Foundation

«-- <Home

A short history

The Liliane Foundation was founded on March 14,1980 by Liliane Brekelmans-Gronert. The spontaneous help for one child in Indonesia grew to an organization that helps thousands of disabled children in developing countries yearly. In the following story, Liliane Brekelmans-Gronert explains how she started the Liliane Foundation.

The Liliane Foundation...

how it all started in 1976, afrer 38 years, I had the opportunity to visit the place where I was born, the Indonesian island of Sumatra. I went there with mt husband Ignaas. It was wonderful to be back ther. Although much had changed, a lot had also remained the same. The heat, the fragrance, the whole atmosphere, gave me the feeling of bing home at last. That feeling lingered on with me for three beautiful weeks. Thinkiing it over now, it seems only natural that right there, a whole new period in my life was about to begin.

The beginning

In Sumatra we visited a children's home, run by religious sisters, who welcomed usas their guests. There we met Agnes, or Gok Lian, as she was called by her Chinese name. She was 16 years old and had polio as a baby. Her parents did not know what to do with her. As so many parents with disabled children in developing countries, they had no money with which tosee a doctor. The child was a heavy burden for the family. She was left behind with the sisters, and this is where she grew up. The sisters gave her loving care but also had no means for her rehabilitation. Besides there were no facilities for rehabilitation in Sumatra at the time.

Agnes learned to sew and was very skillfull, in spite of her deformed hands. This is how we first met her: sewing, sitting down quietly among the younger children, on whom she kept an eye at the same time. We smiled at each other! Like her, I was walking with a stick, becarse I was alsoaffected by polio as baby. Although I was much older than her, she too had been born in a time and place where there were no preventive measures against polio. This meeting with Agnes kept playing around in my mind.What could we do to give Agnes a chance to build a more independent life; to develop herself to the best of her ability? Her hanicap was beyondrehabilitation and moreover she had learned to manage fairly well. We asked the sisters what they would think if we would provide a sewing machine for Agnes. This would enable her to sew moreprofessionally, and maybe in the future she would be able to earn a living with it. Both the sistersand Agnes were enthusiastic about the idea.

Saving

Back in the Netherlands we applied to a lot of organiztions for Agnes' sewingmachine.However, with no luck. Our application was too small-scaled and it did not fit their mandates. The last thing we wanted to do was disappoint Agnes. We thought it very important for her to know that we were still thinking of her and that we believed in her abilities. So we started savingmoney for the sewing machine ourselves. Both the money-box and the way we economized caught the attention of friends, relatives and acquaintances. And our enthusiasm caught thm as well. After acouple of months the money-box continue more than we needed for thesewingmachine. This was the small behinning of the Liliane Foundation.

Being seen

After Agnes' sewing machine had been paid for, a little money remained, but notenough to help another child. But if we continued to save money we might be able to help more. We were never at a loss to find a good destination for our savings. in those years lgnaas wastravelling a lot in the developing world and many times he would meet questions like: "Can you help me to find some money to help a child that has been crawling around all his life; or toprovide surgery for a child with a harelip that is becoming very lonely?" The amounts of money needed were always very small for our European standards. It was marvellous to be able to reply: " Of course we can help you. Just have a little paticence, We are saving money for it." We could see in the photos, and read in the letters, how the children were changing. Love, showing interest and belief in their inner strength and in their abilities did wonders, to the children and to us.

We became more and more conscious of the fact taht assistance for medical teatment and edcuation is very important,but that the greatest impulse for the children is the fact that they are being seen. Literally and figuratively! They are being seen as a valuable and equal human being. They develop themselves into esteemed respectable young people and adults, provingthemselves to be equal members of their community, within their villages and their families.

Heart

The Liliane Foundation offers small-scaled and person-centred assistance to disabled children. That is obvious and crystal clear. But the indispensable basis of it all is the respect andthe belief in the strength and the value of every human being, regardless of how vulnerable or insignificant he or she may seem to be.

Now that the Liliane Foundation has grown and receives much international recognition, people often ask me whether I am proud of the Liliane Foundation having become such a sound and well-known organization. Consciously the answer is that I am not. It is good to have interntional acknowledgement and fame, but that is not what is most important. Essential is the fact that the Liliane Foundation has a heart, a warm beating heart, making hundreds of helpful and love hands reach out to people big and small, close and far away:; hearts and hands making eanh other feel that we belong together, that we need each other and that together we are united. I am not proud, but l do feel grateful, immensely grateful, each time l sense how all the fellow-workers, both in the office andin the developing world, are giving this very essential aspect practical form. Thus part of that big universal family, of which we sometimes spoke when the Liliane Foundation had just started, has already grown/come true.

Lieke Brekelmans-Gronent