Suriname has awarded one among its highest civilian honors—the Knight within the Order of Honor of the Yellow Star—to Dutch educator and activist Cees Verschoor, in recognition of his decades-long dedication to bettering training and social growth for Surinamese youngsters each within the Netherlands and within the Dutch-speaking Caribbean.
President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi introduced the award, stating it “acknowledges Verschoor’s years of dedication to training and the social growth of Surinamese youngsters within the Netherlands and the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Group (CARICOM) Suriname.”
Verschoor, affectionately generally known as “Cees” in Rotterdam, started his mission in 1990 with the launch of the College Studying Support venture. The initiative paired civil servants and enterprise professionals with schoolchildren battling studying, shortly gaining momentum as a consequence of his grassroots method and skill to rally volunteers. “At a time when ‘social involvement’ usually will get caught in coverage paperwork and pilot tasks, Verschoor managed to recruit dozens of volunteers,” mentioned officers.
What started in a handful of Rotterdam major colleges expanded into a global effort. A 2005 go to to Suriname by Verschoor and 14 Dutch lecturers highlighted the stark lack of primary assets in Surinamese lecture rooms—“no books, no strategies, and hardly any notebooks and pens – not to mention first rate college furnishings.”
The expertise sparked the creation of the Schoolhulpproject Suriname (SHPS), a personal initiative that may go on to ship a unprecedented degree of help. Between 2006 and 2018, SHPS shipped 82 sea containers crammed with college provides to Suriname. Greater than 22,000 pupil units reached 261 colleges throughout the nation, with the trouble supported by over 100 volunteers and quite a few Dutch sponsors.
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Social historian Roy Sankatsin praised Verschoor’s management and enduring dedication. “Yr in, yr out, he impressed volunteers, lecturers, dad and mom, politicians – even mayors and aldermen – for the trigger. His work will not be with out obligation; he’s not a passer-by, not a short lived helper in transit.”
Sankatsin added, “Yearly till the pandemic, he traveled to Suriname for 4 weeks at his personal expense to be lively in colleges there. And after the two-year break, he picked up the thread once more. His final journey was in March of this yr.”
Whereas the award celebrates Verschoor’s immense contributions, Sankatsin mirrored on the broader implications: “The Honorary Order of the Yellow Star is awarded in Suriname to residents who’ve made an distinctive contribution to the nation. In that sense, Cees Verschoor’s award is becoming. Nevertheless it additionally poses an uncomfortable query: ought to residents grow to be heroes to fill the gaps that governments fail?”
“Cees Verschoor has proven what is feasible with idealism, perseverance, and networking expertise,” Sankatsin concluded. “The award is a recognition of his deserves. However additionally it is a mirror: for the Netherlands, which has issue creating structural coverage for equal instructional alternatives.”
