Imeldahof
The minister fired (?) the board at Imeldahof. Can he fire a foundation board? I guess he can ask them to leave, but owing to the fact that they are fully subsidized by his ministry, he is a decisive factor.
If he decided to send them all packing, he must have collected enough solid mismanagement evidence, because this is an extreme measure. I have never heard of a mass firing of a foundation board, of that magnitude.
I asked around.
My friends shook their heads as if they knew it was coming. They were not surprised.
They welcomed the change, and the opportunity the ministry now has to do things differently, and combat entrenched bad behavior.
My sources report:
Last week, an 18-year-old was put on the street, at 10:45, not a penny to her name, practically barefoot.
The women in charge showed her the gate, after she return to the home at 10:45pm. No minutes on her phone, no money, she walked to the neighboring Police station for a phone, and a school girlfriend took her in for the night.
Sure, its clean, and there is always cooked food, but other than that the kids are unprepared, if there are no families to go back to – a toxic environment they were removed from — they have nowhere to go when they turn 18.
Some spend many years at Imeldahof and when they leave, they still have no legal status, no residency, no passport, no AZV. The home doesn’t help regulate their status.
Donations: There are car loads of donations pouring into the place, school supplies, games, toiletries, from generous tourists and from the Pack for a Purpose program, by a local leading hotel. The kids should have a life-long supply of baseball and basketballs. Are these items reaching them?
Just asking.
Where are the donated items going?
The home is in general very curt, almost rude, about offers to help, maintain, refurbish or import. Requests from tourists asking for a letter for Customs, are not always answered, and all items must be delivered to the office, no thank-you notes.
The community has a lot of good-will towards the home, but the home considers it an imposition, a bother, too much work.
That’s all, from a narrow perspective of an outsider.
Also, where is the director? She’s been MIA for months.
As a rule: Imeldahof should not be an extended stay facility, the kids deserve better, the organization must invest time and effort in finding homes for the kids in the community, not just ‘store’ them away.
From their website:
The home
The Children Home first opened its doors on November 25, 1954 with the help of the Roman Catholic Sisters of Bethany and was managed by the Bethany Dutch Antilles Foundation. In 1976, the organization altered itself whereat Children Home Imeldahof Aruba (Stichting Kinderhuis Imeldahof Aruba) was founded as a private foundation, subsidized by the government. The subsidization concerns the salaries of the personnel and approximately Afl. 11,- per child on a daily bases to cover expenses. These expenses include provisions, attire, school material/fixed costs, activities, and all other expenses to manage the foundation. Furthermore, the organization is dependent on the community for financial and voluntary support in order to provide special activities or projects for the children.
Purpose of the organization
The objective of the children home is to offer a temporary home and guidance for children who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to remain in their own homes. In most cases this is until placement with their own family or relatives or a foster family can be found. A few of the reasons are mental-, psychical and sexual abuse, neglect, alcohol or drug abuse by parents.
