Board members

I work at Florensis as Technical Crop Manager. Since 2009, my wife and I were involved in the project in Koka. Over the last years, we have seen the project evolving into a program with an engaged community, local team and income generating projects. When we were living in Koka, we supported the local team for many years, our support continues from the Netherlands since 2020.

Because of my current position at Florensis I still regularly travel to Ethiopia and of course I always combine that with a visit to the project and the team.

Within the board of the Desta Foundation, my position is chairman. I am responsible for the general affairs so that we can continue to organize the sponsoring in the best possible way from the Netherlands.

I work as Manager Cultivation Projects at Florensis in Ethiopia. I live in Koka, where the OVC center is also located. The support that the OVC center offers to the children in our village is desperately needed and I am glad that Desta Foundation is contributing to this. As secretary I am involved in the foundation, but I also like to contribute on site.

I lived in Koka, Ethiopia from 2015-2020. As an expat manager at Florensis Ethiopia PLC I became involved in the Koka OVC project. There I learned that with relatively few resources you can make a big difference for this group of children and their foster families. I think it is important to be able to invest in the future of these vulnerable children in addition to providing basic needs. With Desta Foundation we are very directly involved in the project and I hope that we can further expand our activities through this platform. I am sure we can really make a difference.

My position as Finance Manager at Florensis introduced me to my colleagues in Africa over the past few years. My local colleagues showed me that people living in the vicinity of our African farms could use extra support. I am proud that the shareholders of our company in Ethiopia have built the Herman Hamer Center. However, much more is needed than a building and I hope that with my commitment to Desta Foundation I can make the lives of our African neighbors a lot better. Education and support of children and the creation of sustainable employment are actions that I gladly commit myself to.