He does voluntary work for the Present Foundation and the Salvation Army. A few years ago, Jacob Jan Teertstra met a young man here whom he could not forget. His house was a mess and cleaning up was not allowed, but Teertstra kept coming back and has been helping to clean up ever since. Volunteer work comes naturally to Teertstra: “I realize how good I actually have it.”
As a volunteer at the Present Foundation, Jacob Jan Teertstra from Den Helder cleaned up in the house of a man who didn’t throw anything away. “When you see it for the first time you think it’s a rubbish dump,” says Teertstra. With a group of eight they would thin out the enormous collection of stuff. “That didn’t go well,” he says. “That boy went off the rails when we touched his stuff. When he couldn’t find something, he emptied all the garbage bags again. Most of the volunteers then left.”
“Later I visited again with a coordinator from Present. That was allowed. Then we cleaned the bathroom and toilet. But it was too big a mess to clean up in one go.”
Teertstra worked in the navy for forty years and then took early retirement. He never regretted that for a moment. He spends a lot of time with his six grandchildren and also does volunteer work for the Salvation Army and the Present Foundation a few days a week.
“The kitchen was black with flies”
A few weeks passed, but Teertstra kept thinking about the boy. “I couldn’t let go of it, so I went to his house. No one answered the door, I think I waited half an hour in front of the door. Just when I was about to leave, he came running, so I shouted ‘hey!’ recognized me, we had a good conversation and I offered help.”
That conversation was three or four years ago now. Since then, Teertstra has been helping the boy at home. “I’ve cleaned up the house dozens of times. Every time I come back, it’s an unwise mess again. I’ve also been in the kitchen that was black with flies.”
With all his other volunteer work, he has quite a full agenda during the week. “I’ve been trying to paint a door at home for a while, that’s not really getting along,” he jokes.
But despite that, the help he offers is self-evident for Teertstra. “I see it as being placed in my way, I can’t run away from that. If we all do that, this city will be a lot nicer. Then you better set a good example.”
The ignition goes off and on. Sometimes Teertstra hears nothing for a few weeks. Then he sends another message.
“I always find it very special. Special that he trusts me, because I don’t think he has many people in his environment that he trusts. I was not allowed to enter the bedroom for the first three years, but that was not possible because the door was blocked by the junk. Everything has value, nothing can go.”
Satisfying
“It gives me energy,” he continues. “Last week, for example, we had a job at a garden, terrible wilderness. After that I had muscle pain for three days, but also satisfaction. You don’t have to expect anything in return from those people, that’s not possible either. It’s not you doing something for me, I what for you.”
“Sometimes it’s sad to see how many people are having a hard time. It makes me grateful for what I have. You realize how good you have it.”
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