Ineke Deschryvere

Who am I ?

Hi! My name is Ineke and I am a member of the “intercambio npo” board.

Social engagement runs through my veins. My parents engaged themselves in foster care and took care of more than 40 kids during their run as a foster parent. This triggered me to start my own NPO when I was 18. With some friends we ran an NPO dedicated to help people in underprivileged situations and we were helped by a very alternative, well-traveled priest from the Netherlands while doing so. His stories inspired me to go out into the world and travel.

While visiting a good friend in Honduras at the age of 23, I got involved in a project helping displaced farmers to innovate and survive on the poor land they were given. On my next big adventure, I went to India and ended up living there for nearly 2 years. In 2003, I started backpacking with my son Elias through central America. We traveled good parts with a portable kayak and stayed in small local towns most of the time. Last year my daughter Aenea went to Costa Rica to live in a host family and attend the local high school.

The experiences I’ve lived have taught me that cultural exchange should and will be a two-way street, whether it is in a different country or within a multicultural society. Volunteering strengthens the power of empathy, the feeling of solidarity and will contribute to making you a global citizen. Three key qualities the world needs to keep on moving forward.

What’s my role within Intercambio?

Within Intercambio I am responsible for the financial aspects of the foundation, and for monitoring and improving the teaching competences of the volunteers (via workshops, online training, ...). From my experience as a teacher, this is obvious. As far as the financial aspect is concerned I'm also experienced, I was responsible for the accounting of Serviceflats and the small non-profit organization Quickborn.