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Photo: Raju. V.

Passion to serve Jacobjin is doing what she always wanted to

“Here in India, it is an additional challenge to address the woes of certain races and sects which have been demonised for decades. It is sad that factors like caste, gender discrimination and racial and ethnic differences are allowed to guide the masses,” she says explaining about her whirlwind visit to 11 non-governmental organisations in four countries.

Even as you try to gauge her age, she almost astounds you with her telepathic remark: “I know I don’t look my age. I am 35 and well equipped with the knowledge to address global issues that encompass my project.”

Representing the Department of International Development Studies, with a specialisation in child rights, in University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, Jacobijn is hired as a consultant by Cordaid (Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid), a Dutch NGO. The organisation serves all aspects of development such as emergency aid, structural poverty alleviation and health care, in collaboration with local organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe.

Equipped with a Masters in Development Studies and a post-graduation in anthropology, the Dutch consultant embarked on a global expedition to study the impact of the Cordaid-funded projects in India, Philippines, Peru and Bolivia.

She was in city to evaluate a programme for rehabilitation of street children, implemented by a local NGO and could not stop raving about the rich experiences she gained here. “Every organisation is unique in its approach but all of them are working for the same cause. I try to understand a problem in the given local context. It makes things easy.”

India, for the Dutch national, is a vibrating place where “things seem to be going on. People here are not passive. They’re innovative but the vast population makes things difficult.”

Speaking about her intensive research in Peru where she spent over a year in close association with a group of adolescent girls in the slum habitations of Lima, she says the youth, girls in particular, are torn between their tradition-bound parents and the challenges posed by the modern society. Meeting people across the globe has provided her a rare insight into the diverse patterns of lifestyles. “Each person has a story to tell.”

Even as a child, she wanted to be a development worker. “It’s a multi-tasking job where I need to be intermittently in the shoes of a teacher, a researcher and a consultant. All the roles complement each other,” she lets out an ear-to-ear grin.

Obsessed with a passion to blur the rift between the poor and the rich, she sees a bright ray of hope in every child rescued by these NGOs. “I have only small answers to big issues that have been plaguing development process. But I firmly believe that we’ll see a better future,” she signs off on a positive note.

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