In Memoriam - Ellen Verweij
In November 2006, the Clinton Foundation mourned the loss of an incredibly giving, dedicated, and passionate volunteer killed while serving people living with HIV/AIDS in Lesotho. Ellen Verweij was only 35 years old when a gunman opened fire on a car in which Verweij was riding with fellow CHAI volunteers, on their way back from a final dinner celebrating their service. Although her traveling companions did everything they could to save her, Ellen passed away in a private room with her fiancé Weirt Jan de Raaf at her side.
Described by peers as a curious and happy woman, Ellen came to the Clinton Foundation to volunteer while she and Weirt took time off from their jobs to travel the African continent. Previously, Ellen was a hospital nurse in an infectious disease clinic in her native Holland. Ellen had been recruited to volunteer in a clinic in Lesotho after a stint volunteering in Calcutta.
To honor Ellen's memory, Wiert along with Ellen's siblings, launched the Ellen's Children's Fund, to support projects in Lesotho. To date, the Fund has supported construction of a home for orphans and vulnerable children, donated a septic tank to the Manstai's Children's Home ,and supplied Mohale clinic, with shoes, coats, and popcorn. For more information, visit www.ellenschildrenfund.org.
Although she will be missed, her giving spirit and dedication to helping those in need lives on through the continued work of those who loved her most.
