King makes digital work visit Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba

King Willem-Alexander has today paid a digital work visit to three social initiatives at Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The initiatives in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom are supported by the Orange Fund. The talks with Foresee Foundation, A + Academic & Professional Training Centre and Child Focus Foundation were all about the influence of the corona pandemic on local activities. King William-Alexander and queen M áxima are protective pair of the Orange Fund.

The Collaborative Fund Caribbean partnership, with which the Orange Fund is also connected, provides financial support for local initiatives for social projects in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. During the corona pandemic, extra attention will be paid to these projects to provide more help in the islands, increase social engagement and connect people.

The project NPOwer of the Foresee Foundation supports social initiatives at Sint Maarten and strengthens the cooperation between the various organizations. The A + Academic & Professional Training Centre has started projects for after-school care at Sint Eustatius, where children between 12 and 18 years old learn practical skills, receive homeroom and are coached. The Child Focus Foundation on Saba is an after-school organization that organizes creative and educational activities for school children and provides support for their parents in education.

Representatives of these three initiatives and the director of the Orange Fund informed the king during the digital work visit about the situation of local organizations in the three Upper Winds Islands during the pandemic. The support of the Cooperation Fund was also discussed. In addition, King Willem-Alexander spoke with the three initiatives about the influence that corona has on their projects, volunteers, target groups and plans for the future.

Through telephone conversations and work visits as possible, King Willem-Alexander and Queen M áxima inform themselves about the consequences of the corona outbreak and express their support and appreciation for the efforts of so many in the fight against the pandemic. Measures are being taken in coordination with the organisations concerned to ensure that the work visits take place.