15.03.2011 Reflections whilst loading a container

Today, Thursday the 10th of March 2011 the day starts early for the volunteers who are about to load a sea container in Benschop. From far and away they travelled, not just by car but also by bus and as far away as Rotterdam!
It promises to be a beautiful day although the weatherman predicts a few spots of rain this afternoon.

We start the day with coffee and a ‘goodie’ called Grunneger kouke (cake from the city of Groningen).
Today we also welcome a few newcomers who are lending a hand.
What strikes me most in Benschop is that no one feels left out. Whoever turns up, everyone feels welcome and is immediately introduced into the jokes and pranks that are being played throughout the day. As if you are always there!

Everyone works very hard and the goal today is to empty one hall completely All sorts of things are being dragged from the barns to the container which is placed at the beginning of the road. Items like school furniture, bicycles, boxes filled with incontinence materials, diapers, medical supplies, toys, clothing, cupboards, chairs, ‘getting-up’ chairs, mattresses, lighting etc. Too much to tell really!

Our regular sponsor Vers-markt Jan Jongerius from Hilversum donated two boxes of fruit (pears, apples, tangerines, grapes and bananas) for the hungry stomachs.
Roma Flier-Djojosoedarmo from Zeist surprised us during lunch with a Surinam Javanese delicacy called sandwich telor curry. She made them early in the morning before she travelled to Benschop Let’s see…. making a sauce, boiling 70 eggs, marinate them in the sauce and baking them in a crispy fashion……such an energy!

I asked two newcomers to put pen to paper to share their thoughts on this day with us.

My impressions of Thursday the 10th of March at Stichting Corantijn
Getting up early as there is a day of hard work ahead of me. For me this is the second time that I’m present to help loading the sea-container. I remember from the last time that at the end of the day you can feel you have worked hard.

At 9 am we start walking and at the end of the afternoon a large section of the barn is cleared and the sea-container is full. The atmosphere is excellent and I feel very welcome.
At the end of the day I feel very satisfied and extremely tired. The next morning my legs are very bruised and my muscles are aching throughout my body.
I will definitely help again in the future and will start knitting shawls in my spare time. A percentage of the sales will go to Stichting Corantijn.

Kind regards, Joke Hoogebeen

Impressions of loading a sea container
I had promised Clara and Teus Anbeek before to help out loading the sea-container and today is the day. We were already nearby at our children and grand-children in Culemborg so things turned out well. Clara told us they would be there at 9 am, so at 8.30 am I started my journey to Benschop. A trip that would normally take about 20 minutes now lasted over an hour because of traffic jams. This however turned out to be – next to a blue nail – the only setback of the day. It turned into a happy gathering of unknown and known sisters, brothers and guests. They came from all over our country, from Hoogezand, Groningen and Heereveen to Terneuzen and from Andijk and Rotterdam to Apeldoorn and everything in between. I could even remember where De Kwakel is. All ages were present although the majority is 65 and up. There is however also someone missing. District-Apostle Pos always used to be here, and so we all send a postcard to his wife. The internal engine is well taken care of as well. One could decide to be present just for that. The atmosphere is excellent. All the goods are being dragged from all nooks and crannies (i.e. sty and stable) and pushed up towards the road where the sea container is positioned. Fortunately there is hardly any traffic on this side of the stream. For a moment it appeared to start raining as was predicted; this we could do without with all the goods out in the street. I believe the dear God spoke to the weather gods which resulted in a rainless afternoon. With four loading masters and many other loading specialists one would expect regular disruptions and arguments. But no, with the same goal and focus the sea container was filled to the rim. It is widely known in the Rep. of Surinam: A Stichting Corantijn container leaves no gaps. Remarkable what one can put into such a thing. I looked it up. A 40 ft container with a 12 meter length can hold up to 67,5 cubic meter of goods. Approximately 3.30 pm the job is done. With a nice cup of tea and coffee there was time to reflect and soon after people started their homeward bound journey.
Well, if you ever consider to help loading a sea container with Stichting Corantijn I would suggest you do so. It is a nice day out, costs no entrance fee besides maybe the mileage if you cannot get a lift and it brings you in a very good mood. And if not the others definitely will.

Kind regards, Dick Wielenga

Did we achieve our goal? YES.
At 3 pm when we closed the doors of the container the main hall was almost empty!! A great result!
And the spots of rain? We didn’t see any!
If you however look closely at the picture in which we stand in front of the container you can clearly see there is a lot of wind. And this is not the nice warm breeze we know from the Rep of Surinam. This is a fierce, freezing cold Dutch storm.

Terrific, the giants were at work again!!
A very fat brasa (Surinam hug) for all of you!
I am convinced that all your hard work brings great joy to all those people in the Rep. of Surinam who will receive this aid.

Marion van Berkum