From left, Sjahairah Fleming and Statia Doet coordinators Maxine Spanner-Suarez and Nadine De Graf-Busby lighting the cake in launching the Statia Doet 2019 opening campaign drive.
EUSTATIUS–March 2019 will officially mark the fifth anniversary, but on Friday the official launch for the 2019 Statia Doet was launched with a little get-together.
Statia Doet started in 2015 and around that time St. Eustatius was one of the few islands in the Dutch Caribbean that was not doing this volunteer activity, which allows persons to give back to the community in various forms. The programme, which is a kingdom-wide initiative, is part of NL Doet. Saba will be joining for the first time in 2019.
Under the initiative, volunteers come together for two days in a year to give something back to the community. The activities include a wide spectrum of activities such as painting and cleaning for an organization or for a targeted group within the community such as the elderly, shut-ins, the ill, the handicapped, children and after-school programmes.
The Statia Doet 2018 campaign included breakfast for the elderly and less fortunate at Bethel Elma building, a spa day for seniors at Vitality beauty and spa and a barbecue.
Persons wishing to start a Statia Doet project can receive funding from the Orange Fund in the Netherlands. Persons have until January 8, to submit a project to qualify for Statia Doet 2019.
Nadine De Graf-Busby said that each year going through the process becomes more routine and less stressful as they are more organized and accustomed to how things are to be done.
Together with Maxine Spanner-Suarez, De Graf coordinates Statia Doet with the assistance of several volunteers. They are hopeful that more volunteers will come out.
Statia Doet started out with about 15 organizations and 30 projects in 2015 and for the 2018 campaign there were approximately 40 projects.
Each year, there was a good turnout and an increase in projects and volunteers. Statia even made it to the top percentage-wise in volunteers when compared with the other islands in the Caribbean Netherlands, Spanner said. “We are very proud of this achievement.”
This number does not even take into account the fact that some volunteers are not registered into Statia Doet’s computer system. “A day or two before campaign kicks off there is so much activity on the site and the system is so busy that it sometimes crashes or freezes up, hindering Statia Doet from registering more volunteers within the system, so there are a lot more volunteers taking part in the campaign than there are officially on record,” De Graf explained.
This also does not take into account the persons who pass by at an activity and decide to join in to lend a helping hand, she said.
“Right now, we do not have as many organizations taking part in Statia Doet 2019, but as we get closer to the date of March 8 and 9, 2019, when Statia Doet kicks off, we anticipate that the number of organizations involved will increase for sure,” said De Graf.
The two women, who work at the St. Eustatius Labour Office, highlighted their colleague Ignore Verweij, who is on the island for one year, supporting the Labour Office from Leiden, the Netherlands. Verweij is also volunteering and observing in the Statia Doet organisation.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/83687-statia-doet-celebrates-upcoming-anniversary
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