New restart of the Helias Foundation as of July 1, 2023

Dear friends, donors and interested parties,

As of July 1, 2023, we have taken office as a new board and would like to introduce ourselves to you: Marco Ephraïm, general practitioner in Zoetermeer, Jan Huisman, organizational consultant and transformation coach in The Hague, and Marjan Rust, Waldorf teacher, in The Hague.

The Helias Foundation was founded after the fall of the wall in 1989. Over the years, many personal contacts have helped develop initiatives, especially in the field of education and health care, in various, mainly Eastern European countries. These projects have increasingly become self-supporting and have found their own way to develop further. That is why most of Helias' country funds have been spun off or dissolved since 2021. You can still read messages about some of these former projects on the 'funds' page.

However, after the Corona crisis, the war in Ukraine since February 2022 and the recent war between Israel and Hamas, a completely new situation has arisen!
The need in Ukraine is high and since 2022, several new actions have been started through the Helias Foundation: including supporting a group of doctors in Kyiv (Kiev) and the surrounding area by sending them medicines. Two actions have been added in 2023: 1. Since June, supporting a starting, growing and successful rehabilitation center in Kyiv for people with physical and psychological war trauma. A drop in the ocean, but so important and necessary for the future! 2. A new health center in Gatnoy near Kyiv, where a general practitioner and a pediatrician work, who also organize summer and winter camps for children from war zones.

Would you like to help for these two medical initiatives in Ukraine? Every contribution, small or large, one-off or repeated, is welcome. See the link below to the Ukraine page.

We want to ensure a new restart of the Helias Foundation, in line with the new situation that has arisen in the world. New applications can also be processed. In addition to donors, we are looking for volunteers who want to help us, including with: financial administration, translating (English, Ukrainian), approaching reconstruction funds (including from our government), with PR, and organizing a new Helias meeting day in spring!
Please contact us via: info@stichtinghelias.nl or personally,

Jan Huisman, Marjan Rust and Marco Ephraïm