Ineke van der Laan has been in action since 1975, when she started volunteering with the Red Cross in the Netherlands. In 1986, she started working as a professional in England, where she was living at the time. There, she worked mainly as a fundraiser and communications adviser and soon excelled as someone who knows how to get things done. 

Ineke: "There was a special project in England where gardens were made publicly accessible and run by local Red Cross branches. That benefitted the income, of course. In a few years, we then managed to triple the proceeds together." 

After an earthquake in 1991, many victims needed blankets and tents.  

"I threw myself into that then with all my heart; I wanted to help those people as soon as possible. In no time, so many things came in that we no longer had anywhere to store them. So that was a successful relief effort," she says proudly. 

After returning to the Netherlands, she became active as a volunteer again in 2003, in the Drenthe district. For Ineke, being in action meant many encounters with others. She often visited the homes of people who needed help. Ineke also had many encounters before her administrative activities at local and national level. Most recently as a member of the Council of Members.  

Personal connection 

The Red Cross came her way at an early age. "Two years after I was born, my father was rounded up during the war and deported to Camp Amersfoort. He was released after two years, thanks to the intervention of the Red Cross. He desperately wanted to go home, as my mother had meanwhile had a second daughter. I heard the story about his release when I was six years old. Needless to say, I immediately took the Red Cross to my heart."  

Although she was still young, Ineke started working for the Red Cross after the war by collecting door-to-door. "In those days, that was still done with a list, on which you could see what the people you had been to before had donated. I did this cleverly by visiting the best or richest acquaintances first. This made the people who followed more likely to give a bit more for charity. So, basically I was already a fundraiser as a child and I never stopped doing that." 

Good chat  

"A colleague once told me that I am very suitable as a fundraiser because I like to have a good chat. Once I start, I can't stop talking," she says with a laugh. "I think I get on well with people, which is very important for many tasks in the Red Cross. I also speak and write four languages, which comes in handy when you work across borders a lot.  

For me, the neutrality of the Red Cross has always been one of the most important things. In my experience, anyone could always come to the organisation. Nobody asked you about your religion or looked at your skin colour. Everyone who needs help gets it. I have always fully supported that."