For many years Carel van Ingen was actively involved with the twinning of the Dutch town of Leiden and Juigalpa. Carel was responsible for this twinning in his position working for the Municipality of Leiden, but his involvement reached further.
In fact, he was the driving force that ensured that the twinning relationship had a meaningful impact. When in 2015 Astrid started preparing for her move from Leiden to Juigalpa, Carel was again one of the people who was keenly and warmly interested
Last year Carel was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had surgery, unsuccessfully. Carel died at the beginning of December. His wife Resel has, in line with the spirit of Carel’s involvement with the twinning and Astrid’s project, chosen to ask for a donation for the project “Instead of Flowers”. This request has evoked an incredible response, seen in the collection at his memorial service as well as in payments directly into the Vivir Juntos bank account. This response has not only given us financial gain, but has also strongly increased the recognition of the project.
Carel and Resel, many, many thanks!