The founding of NONA Foundation
NONA Foundation was officially established on the 2nd of March 2005 by the Chairman, Nimal Samantha van Oort. Nimal and his twin brother were adopted by their Dutch parents in 1983. Since their childhood they had the urge to know why they were rejected by their biological mother in Sri Lanka. And how it would be with her in Sri Lanka. They had so many questions and were seeking for answers since then. After their first visit to Sri Lanka in 2001, they decided to search for their mother. After years of searching they finally got a message. It seemed that years ago the mother of Nimal and Djoeri became ill and passed away.
The dream to meet their mother some day vanished. The hope they had to make their dream come true was no more.
They were heartbroken after receiving this message. But luckily there was some good news to. Djoeri and Nimal had a sister who was still living in Sri Lanka. She was raised by their grandmother. So in the summer of 2004 they traveled to Sri Lanka to meet their sister for the very first time. After meeting their sister they came to know that their mother had suffered a lot before she passed away. She had been repeatedly subjected to rape and eventually had been abandoned by her own people for being a shame for their family. Because of pore medical care, protection and no support of the family, she deceased at the age of 21 years. And nowadays, many girls in Sri Lanka still have to go through all this pain and sorrow. To stand against this and in memory of their mother, Nimal and Djoeri set up the NONA Foundation. They will make sure that girls in Sri Lanka who are victims of sexual violence and human trafficking will lead a meaningful life, a life with freedom, justice and human dignity.
What started as a dream, is now a life mission. It’s the mission of NONA Foundation.
The dream to meet their mother some day vanished. The hope they had to make their dream come true was no more.
They were heartbroken after receiving this message. But luckily there was some good news to. Djoeri and Nimal had a sister who was still living in Sri Lanka. She was raised by their grandmother. So in the summer of 2004 they traveled to Sri Lanka to meet their sister for the very first time. After meeting their sister they came to know that their mother had suffered a lot before she passed away. She had been repeatedly subjected to rape and eventually had been abandoned by her own people for being a shame for their family. Because of pore medical care, protection and no support of the family, she deceased at the age of 21 years. And nowadays, many girls in Sri Lanka still have to go through all this pain and sorrow. To stand against this and in memory of their mother, Nimal and Djoeri set up the NONA Foundation. They will make sure that girls in Sri Lanka who are victims of sexual violence and human trafficking will lead a meaningful life, a life with freedom, justice and human dignity.
What started as a dream, is now a life mission. It’s the mission of NONA Foundation.