Sharing a communal meal was also a ‘theme’ in an institute for forensic psychology in the village of Zeeland near Nijmegen. During the period of Lent one of the residents prepared a meal, once a week, for residents and staff to enjoy, in order to raise funds for our work in Juigalpa. 20 people joined for the first meal, whereas around 50 people showed up on the final fifth evening!
From several eyewitnesses I heard that residents, staff and guests all greatly enjoyed this successful event. ‘It was a beautiful evening. The food was tasty, the atmosphere fantastic’. Even I, Astrid, was present, albeit only via a skype connection. Although at first the sound cut out a lot, everyone was able to hear me clearly when the connection was OK. It was special to be able to participate from such a distance!
That evening we in Juigalpa tried to add to the celebrations in Zeeland by offering a symbolic present. In an accompanying letter our president Ana Alicia wrote: “To all of you who have helped us so generously we’d like to show our gratitude by presenting our special gift, especially to you, Henk. We are very grateful for everything you have done to support our work. By means of this symbolic gift we would also like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of your initiatives which help us to meet our targets. We would like to offer you this clay Ruach house which is of course symbolic for our community home, the centre of all our activities in Juigalpa. We hope you will be able to display this small house in a prominent place, maybe in the church, so that we will be even more in your hearts!”
Henk’s campaign, including the final evening, raised € 1,800! So once again it was clear that only together we can make a difference. Let these beautiful examples be an inspiration to us all!