Dushi house
Wednesday 15 February the first group went to work at the Dushi house in Ellecom. As there was no traffic at all, I was already onsite at 8.30. Ellecom is much closer to the Randstad than you might think. Together with Sonja I had a nice cup of coffee in this warm and friendly house. It would be the start of a great experience. At 9 o'clock we all (Annie, Ben, Otto and Tamara from LPNL, Sonja from LPBank, Bart and Wim from LPCorp) were around a large dinner table including Alex (the owner and founder of the Dushi house & concept) and Helen (the professional personal coach for the team).
After a short introduction we were requested to follow Corry (one of their neighbours) for a "grounding exercise" as we first needed to get in touch with the nature around us. Guided with interesting stories from Corry regarding the way this peaceful landscape has been shaped we walked for about 1,5 hours through a beautiful forest close to the house. The group mingled easily and we all were impressed with the silence and beauty of the surroundings.
Back "home" Alex showed us a heart-breaking movie about the Dushi house and we were asked to answer two questions: "What do you like about this concept?" and "Do you feel any connection?". This started a very open conversation with great insights about the need to change the existing bureaucratic and over-organised child-care system in the Netherlands. The Dushi house is an absolutely different and unique concept. They showed us their values:
Always put the child first
Everybody is equal
If you want to be part of Dushi, you have to contribute
Openness, honesty and respect for each other
A safe place to live
Only natural and organic food is allowed
The house is full of paintings, pictures, books, and beautiful statements on the walls. In addition, the smell of frankincense (wierook) gives you an instant feeling of happiness and warmth. One immediately understands the need for this, due to the extreme and hostile environment these kids are coming from. Several of these kids have moved over 25 times and have lost trust in all human beings (including themselves) due to some incredibly negative experiences. Alex is currently able to give a few of them a safe harbour. He has a very strong network, up to the Dutch parliament in the Hague. This network helps him to realise his vision to build more of these safe harbours in several other cities in the Netherlands. Alex talks about "putting the kids first" and "the importance of being connected".
We had lunch with five kids (they just came back from school) around the large table and had lots of laughs including some frank remarks about the fact that these kids are here and not with their parents at home, if there even is such a home.
The afternoon consisted of a deepening session about "creation" and how to push this positive change. Guided by Helen we had another open discussion with examples of how we all are able to contribute to a better world. Creation without the "cannot do" or "blocking mind" and without any judgement gave us plenty of food for thought. Of course I am able to write down many pages more about what we all have experienced. Unfortunately this will be way too long for this medium. Our reactions during the dinner with the group and in exchanging e-mails the day after proved that we all experienced an incredible "mindfulness" day. We all agreed to tell this story to as many colleagues and friends as possible to really start making this change right now. Also I would like to suggest that you sign up to the Dushi house ASAP as you really do not want to miss this experience!
After this great and overwhelming day, and after all the time they ínvested in us, we asked Alex how we can contribute to the Dushi House in 2012. He advised that there is a need for a bus to transport the kids (currently they use multiple cars driven by volunteers if they want to go somewhere). As a group we decided to make this our special project, and to see whether we can make this bus available to them later in the year. So you may still hear from us if we come and ask for your contribution to this initiative.
We absolutely would like to thank our managing board to make this LeasePlan Inside Out initiative happen! This gave us, hopefully more kids, our own network and LeasePlan the right energy to make a positive change.
Pay it forward!
Wim de Gier
Kind regards,
Wim de Gier
