Even as a little girl, Arian Buurman said she wanted to work at a charity. And since 2019 this dream has become a reality. Family is important to her. She sees children as the future. And they need love from a family to develop as effectively as possible.

Arian, 30 years of Action!
‘Yes, from the bottom of my heart – and I am sure I speak for all my colleagues and all the children Action has helped – I would like to congratulate everyone at Action on this wonderful anniversary. Thirty years is very impressive.’

And so is our collaboration, isn’t it?
‘Definitely. Every day I see how important it is to be able to work with a partner like Action. Action’s growth is directly linked to how many children in poverty are being helped, as each Action store and distribution centre supports a child or village. Action also supports local projects in the countries in which it operates. This makes the collaboration extra special.

Action has already helped over 10,000 children worldwide in this way. You help people to break the cycle of poverty, which is often passed on from generation to generation – and that’s great to see. Our partnership is also full of energy. This enables our partnership to have a genuine impact on the lives of a lot of children.’

Is there a great success story you’d like to mention?
‘A group of Action employees went on an inspirational trip to Indonesia in 2022. It was an unforgettable experience. We visited several SOS Children’s Villages projects there. Some of them looked after vulnerable children in a SOS families. We also spoke to young people from the Youthcan! programme for youth employment and training courses. Action gives these young people the chance to fully develop their talents. It’s quite a special thing to work together to see what you can achieve by joining forces. Trauma processing is a very important focus area for SOS Children’s Villages. Action supports us in trauma processing projects that stop unpleasant events from hindering the ongoing development of children.’

What’s on the agenda in 2023?
‘What is very important for this year – apart from helping children, of course – is to involve the Action employees even more in the great work we do together. It’s so incredibly inspiring to see what we can achieve together – how we assist children in poverty from the cradle all the way to securing a good job. We would love it if all Action employees got involved in this.’