Ann Wilson - Co Founder
Namaste, I'm Ann Wilson, the founder of the social development organization Friends of Volunteers Initiative Nepal, located in Amsterdam. You might wonder if I'm from Nepal, but I will have to disappoint you; I was born in South Korea and adopted by Danish parents…But, when I visited Nepal for the first time in 1995 I simply felt I had arrived home.
Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world. Experiencing this close up has made me humble and grateful for what I have on one side, and on the other it has made me feel angry, frustrated and bitter that there is such inequality and unfairness in the world.
Will you help me change this?
Chair and Treasurer of the Board
Caroline Franco
Being convinced that promoting empowerment of developing nations is one of the keys to a fairer and better world, I am proud to be a board member of Friends of VIN.
I grew up in France and I always felt privileged so for a few years I helped associations giving minorities means to integrate.
Living currently as an expat in Amsterdam, I decided to take on the next challenge and volunteer with an organization that truly helps Nepal to develop on its own.
Secretary of the board
Juna Shrestha
I joined Fovin in 2011 that aims to empower marginalized communities in my home country of Nepal. I am proud of the impact we have been able to make to the communities since its establishment.
I was born and raised in Kathmandu, but have been living as an expat in Amsterdam since 2009 after completing my University studies in the USA. I feel quite fortunate to have educated parents who sent me to good schools.
Many parents in Nepal do not send their children to school either because they cannot afford their children's education or they do not know the importance of education. Besides this, villages in the country face a lot of other challenges such as poverty, underdevelopment, poor hygiene and nutrition etc. Being a part of FoVIN enables me to contribute towards mitigating these challenges and drive the communities towards development one at a time.
Member of the board
Remuneration
The members of the board do not receive any financial compensation for their contributions; they work solely on a volunteer basis.