An emotional farewell to the Nadine Foundation. Sixteen years of fighting violence, supporting charities and giving lectures. But for the family of the murdered Nadine Beemsterboer also their way of dealing with the enormous grief.
“In the first instance, it was the reason to get out of bed,” said mother Wanda Beemsterboer. Just a few weeks after their daughter Nadine was murdered by her ex-boyfriend at the age of 20, the family started the foundation.
Despite the bad cause, parents Wanda and Jacques and their other daughter Jacqueline look back with pride on what has been achieved in the past 16 years. “I was able to talk extensively about my child with groups of detainees in lectures for two hours. I think that is a real privilege. And the fact that it sometimes has an effect on their thinking and feeling is their bonus,” explains Jacques.
‘It’s time to look to the future’
But as beautiful as it is, the family has finally decided to put an end to the foundation. No matter how double that feels. “It feels like saying goodbye again,” Wanda said about it earlier.
Her daughter Jacqueline adds: “We have meant a lot with the Foundation. I am very grateful for that. But I also feel, after almost 16 years, that it keeps us in the past. And that it might be a good thing that the past is a little more distant. and more towards the future.”
The farewell will be held in Dazzling Dance Studios in Zwaag. The place where Nadine, a fanatic dancer, could often be found. Her old dance group gives a performance. And the family presents their final book. Full of stories with those involved, but also an impression of what she has experienced with the foundation.
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Honorary citizen of Doesburg
At the end there is a surprise for Wanda and Jacques. The mayor of Doesburg (Gelderland) walks in, the city where they moved to live in 2018. “The council of the municipality has decided to award you the city’s medal of honor”, says mayor Loes van der Meijs.
“It’s a wonderful moment. In the end, it’s not what it’s about for us, but it’s a nice recognition for our work,” Jacques responds. And with that, the emotional goodbye ends. And they don’t stop completely. Wanda wants to write another book and Jacques continues to give lectures in prisons.
Also view the longer report that we made with Jacques and Wanda Beemsterboer about their grief, the foundation and also Jacques’s wish to have another conversation with Nadine’s murderer.