Foundation needs SRD 50,000

The chairman of Stichting Wan Okasi Aniel Koendjbiharie told Times of Suriname that fellow citizens are showing very little to no interest at all in helping people who are living with a visual impairment. No donations have been made to the bank account of Stichting Wan Okasi. “The donations for the fund are not pouring in yet,” said the chairman who added that “a campaign must be launched to make the fund public on national and international level.” The foundation reportedly needs to implement a good marketing strategy. “Given the situation that we are currently living in, it is to be expected that people will not donate much money.” It is suspected that donations will start pouring in at the beginning of 2018. The foundation reportedly needs at least SRD 50,000 in order to help its members. The foundation faces several problems. It does not have its own office and personnel which is why the work is divided. The people who run the foundation are deployed as workers. 99% of the people who run the foundation are volunteers who also have their regular jobs to do. The foundation can’t rent its own building or hire workers because it does not have the money to finance everything.

Stichting Wan Okasi has never asked the government for subsidy but plans on doing so soon. The chairman explained that the foundation does not need a financial subsidy per se but that the government could also provide workers or a building. “The first thing that people who are living with an impairment have to do in this country is beg,” said Koendjbiharie who added that the government must have a fund for people living with an impairment.