Page 13 - ARUBA TODAY

A13
This page is sponsored by
You Can Help Keeping Aruba Happy:
‘It is Not about Being Bad, but
About Making Bad Choices
and Take that Second Chance’
ORANJESTAD - When entering the 15,000
square meter premises of Eliezer Foundation
you feel you are visiting a Garden of Eden. The
entrance is leading you to a farm with beauti-
ful nature around it. There are animals, crops,
green houses and a park. Four dedicated
people, a handful, are working daily to help 15
men that lost their way during the walk in life.
They are addicts to alcohol and/or drugs and
live here to get detoxed and rehabilitated. The
motivation behind this foundation is the stron-
gest there can be: owner Gino Frans used to
be an addict himself until God called him and
took him out of that life. “The Lord freed him but of detox will be 4 months now. The detox pe-
also gave him a call to help others. That is how
it all started”, says Monica Frans, Gino’s wife.
The clients start their day at 05.30 am with a
prayer. “We take a section from the Bible that
makes us begin the day committed and posi-
tive”, explains Robert Zara, secretary of the
If you would like to visit the foundation, please call +297 561 3792 and ask for Gino or Monica Frans. You can also call +297 592 9424 and ask for
Robert Zara or +297 748 9185 Vanessa Maduro. If you would like to donate, please do so at bank account Arubabank 20 66 34 01 90. For more
information visit the website: https://eliezer-fundacion.jimdo.com or Facebook: Eliezer Fundacion.
Thursday 28 December 2017
foundation and one of the four that work with leader now as he helps new clients and his
the clients. “Then we have breakfast and start persistence makes the others stronger. “I want
our job. All have a job description and respon- to help, God sent me here.”
sibility.” Vanessa Maduro, administrator and
social helper, continues: “At noon we eat to- Blissful Bonding
gether, they sleep and at 3.30 pm there is a Monica and Gino started with the Foundation
Bible study. This is the program from Mondays Eliezer in the Netherlands, but Gino felt the
to Fridays, Saturdays they will visit their family. It need here in Aruba and thus they started in
is obligatory that the family picks them up and the streets of the island. “We had nothing but
brings them back. If we are in doubt, we do God’s believe and we approached the ad-
tests when they come back to see if they are dicts, this was 2008/2009. Than we got to know
clean. If not, they start all over again, but with an alcohol addict that offered us a big house
double weight.” That means that the 2-months because he loved what we did. Step by step
the clients trusted us and more searched for
riod is without any contact with society, no us. One led to another and God always guid-
phone, no visits, nothing. “Before you start this ed us. This location was a blessing. The Dutch
program, we will give you a week to prepare owner Fred Wappenaar believes in us and of-
yourself. That determines if you are really dedi- fered us this terrain, we are unbelievably grate-
cated. You need to choose for this completely, ful. The connection with animals, a watermill,
otherwise it will not work”, Vanessa proceeds. to be self-supportive, to teach the clientsto
cultivate and grow and care… it is all part of
All Over Again our vision. We are her since 6 years now and
Client Anthony Arends has been 4 months next to Foundation Eliezer we founded the La
here now, he was addicted to drugs and al- Posada Care Farm.” The foundation does not
cohol. “I was fed up with my life, I needed a let go easily, after the average of 6 months
change and if you have the will you can do it. that clients stay they keep in touch and help
It was hard in the beginning, but you get bet-
ter along the way.” He feels home here, the
program brings him a new start and being use-
ful. “It is like a baby that learns crawling be-
fore walking, you have to do it all over again. I
love to take care of the horses and donkeys, a
horse of my own is my goal and maybe even
my own ranch. I see a future.” Anthony is a
them reintegrate into society. Monica: “But in the future we would like
to hire them ourselves as employees of our hydroponics business. It is not
easy to get hired by a company when you have a past like this, here at
least we do not see that as a disadvantage. We believe in change.”
The foundation cooperates with the Movimiento Misionero Mundial. The
ambition and drive of this foundation is heart-warming and one can only
wish that there were more people like them to help those who do not
see an outcome anymore. To fulfill their plans Monica and Gino wel-
come any help. Donations, construction materials, furniture, anything
that is needed. You are most welcome to visit the Care Farm, and get a
tour. Robert: “First we need to build a new house for the clients with each
their own room. They need that to learn being on their own and take
care of their stuff. When you visit us here, you will feel the need. Every
family has a member that is addicted.”q