Welcome to the website of The Linda Fund.

The Linda Fund is a fundraising organization for orphans, neglected children and elderly people in Ukraine.
The care of these children and the elderly is done by our Ukrainian partner Otchiy Dim (= Father's House International Charity Foundation).

We consider our work as a mission from God to do justice to widows and orphans. This is also expressed in James 1:27.
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." (NKJV)

Who are we?

The Linda Fund board consists of ten volunteers who are spread out over The Netherlands.
Our organization is a non-profit fund and all donations are tax exempt.
Look at our personal photo page.

Establishing The Fund Linda

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many contacts between Dutch and Eastern European churches were made. Churches in Nieuw Vennep (village south of Amsterdam) had contacts in the region of North Moravia in the Czech Republic. In 1993, Gerard Boogerd and Wilma van Roekel established a humanitarian aid organization with several other volunteers. This group provided some Czech projects with transports of humanitarian relief, along with financial support for various projects.
From 1994 to 1997 many young people from the Netherlands used their summer holidays to volunteer with a project for the elderly in Sobotín Sumperk, Czech Republic. These trips were led by several board members and their families.

Linda

Linda, the youngest daughter of the Van Roekel family, suffered from the disease Ataxia Teleangiextasia (link to). Despite her disability she also joined in the journeys to the Czech Republic. She thoroughly enjoyed the attention she got from the team! Unfortunately her health deteriorated over the years as her disease progressed, and in 2000 she died at age of ten.
In memory of Linda the organization chose to name itself after her in March 2001. Linda in Portuguese means 'beautiful' or 'sweet'. The Linda Fund desires to do something 'beautiful' for children and other vulnerable persons in difficult situations.

Ukraine

In 2004 the Czech Republic joined the European Union.
The Linda Fund switched its focus to Ukraine, because the conditions for disadvantaged people there are even more acute than in the Czech Republic.

Linda loved to sing "Sometimes I would like to fly like a butterfly, so happy, so free,” a song of Elly and Rikkert Zuiderveld. The butterfly in the logo of the Fund Linda is flying up from the dark to a lighter future. We pray that this may become a reality for Ukrainian children. We realize that our work can only happen through the help and blessing of the Lord.
 

Tasks

The Linda Fund is a nationwide, volunteer organization with two main tasks:

1. Activities in the Netherlands:
• Speaking engagements for schools, churches and associations about the precarious situation of disadvantaged people in Ukraine
• Newsletters and Web site to keep people informed
• Various fundraising activities such as charity events, benefit concerts, door-to-door collection, cookie selling
• Sponsorship of a child
• Organize mission trips to Ukraine

2. Ukrainian Project Management and Supervision:
• Write a description for each new project, including an estimated budget and timeline
• Work alongside Otchiy Dim to raise funds and increase quality of social care by partnering with experts in the Netherlands working in these same fields.
• Visit projects to monitor the progress
• Prepare a final report upon project completion which is then reviewed by an auditor.

Establishing of Otchiy Dim

Our partner in Ukraine is Father's House. This organization’s aim is to rescue a generation of neglected children, orphans and elderly people. Otchiy Dim wants to provide not only shelter and support for young people, but also equip them to become independent, contributing members of society.

In 1996 Roman Korniyko, a doctor and pastor, established Father's House. He did this out of gratitude to God who had called and rescued him. (See his personal testimony on video)
God inspired him with the Biblical words from James 1:27 - "True religion is to do justice to widows and orphans and save yourself blameless before God." Korniyko discovered the horrible conditions of children living on the streets in Ukraine while on his way to work. After sharing sandwiches and talking with them he felt called to take a few kids to his home, where his wife cared for them. The Korniyko’s house soon became too small, but thanks to God's faithful care there was always the right help at the right time. Otchiy Dim has grown into a professional organization with fifty staff members thanks to the support of many donations and foreign workers.
Otchiy Dim has already saved hundreds of children from the street. Not only do they have a new future, but they have also heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We visited Otchiy Dim for the first time on November 22, 2005. We were touched by the Bible reading one morning when our hostess read James 1:27. Later that day we understood that this text was the inspiration to get the work of Otchiy Dim started. The Lord used this experience to spiritually connect The Linda Fund to Otchiy Dim.

 Mission statement of Otchiy Dim

• To rescue orphans and neglected children
• To prepare them to serve God and other people
• To proclaim the Gospel in word and deed

Goals of Otchiy Dim

• Prevent homelessness
• Supervise children (and parents) from disadvantaged families
• Prevent neglect of children
• Crisis care and assistance to homeless children at risk of crime and/or prostitution
• Help parents overcome problems like drug or alcohol addiction so their children can return to their own families (under supervision)
• Promote adoption in Ukraine and place children in new families
• Support adoptive and foster homes and family setting
• Teach independent living skills to people over age 18 that have been raised in state shelters and are now forced to leave
• Train and share experiences with other organizations and government agencies working in this area of concern in Ukraine

Click here for examples of the work of Otchiy Dim.