Achmea
Achmea and the Achmea Foundation
Dennis de Haan
Manager Business & Financial Control BFT Income
‘For several years I have been assisting the Achmea Foundation as Business Controller with all kinds of financial matters, from advising it about financial challenges to preparing the financial statements.’
At the start of 2019 I was given the opportunity to carry out an assignment in India for the DHAN Foundation. The DHAN Foundation has already provided help to many families in southern India, by giving small groups of women lessons on money matters, helping them with businesses and sharing risks. DHAN targets women because it’s only natural for them to put their children’s future first.
But what happens if you become sick? The chance is great that you’ll have to spend all the resources you’ve accumulated to pay for your medicine. So how can the DHAN Foundation reach more women and families, and what are the associated risks? In India I spent two weeks helping to provide a financially stable basis for the business plan for the years ahead.
What I’ve taken away from India is a realisation of the power of connection. By working together to share risks on a small scale, you can make the world a little bit better. My experiences in India have boosted my personal development, particularly my listening skills.’
Nancy Bosch
Communication manager at health insurer De Friesland
‘Health and vitality together, that’s our motto and our goal at De Friesland. What we in Friesland call mienskip, or community, is very important in this respect. Vitality can be interpreted in lots of different ways. Not just in the sense of health, but also from the perspective of prevention, resilience and happiness. During the assignment I undertook for OIKOS East Africa in Tanzania, I saw many strong examples of resilience and community spirit. The population is poor and some tribes live very primitively: in mud huts, without water or electricity. Often the children don’t go to school, and the women play a subordinate role and have to work very hard. It’s a tough life. But these people have such pride and are mostly happy. I was deeply touched by the way that they live in the moment, take a positive attitude to life, and provide care and attention to each other. We can learn a whole lot from them.
I hope that the organisation OIKOS EA also learned something from me. For example, how to prepare a stakeholder map and a communication plan, or how to improve its internal communication processes. This will help it to make a more effective contribution to a better environment in which humans and animals can cohabit peacefully, which is the organisation’s mission.’
Maaike Blansjaar
HR Strategy & Portfolio programme manager
‘In March 2019 I spent a week giving leadership training to field officers in Tanzania. The task of these officers is to help farmers make their land more productive. The training included leadership styles, exerting influence, communication, learning styles and “undercurrents and surface currents”.
It’s amazing to travel to places that you’d never visit as a tourist and to drive along roads which sometimes make you wonder whether they’re really roads at all. And most of all, to meet farmers who just radiate pride.
It was a very intense week but also highly educational. Not just for the participants, who were very keen to learn, but for me in particular. We faced culture differences and had to work out how to communicate with one another and get used to one another. It was an unforgettable experience.’
Edward Broekhaar
Health procurement analyst, Zilveren Kruis
‘In September I spent two weeks in Rwanda, where I provided financial and organisational advice to a private clinic. My assistance to the clinic included drawing up a plan (including a financial plan), digitalising its finances and advising on the implementation of a system for new patients and the consequences of giving a discount to new patients/customers.
I registered for the assignment programme because I wanted to leave my comfort zone and use my experience and knowledge to help people from other cultures. This contributed to my personal development by giving me a broader view of healthcare and how it is arranged in other countries.
Looking back, it was a wonderful, special and extraordinary experience. I was able to offer the clinic useful assistance. Finally, I’m grateful to the Achmea Foundation for this opportunity.’