As a man of faith, I asked God what I could do to fight against the slavery of young girls in Asia. As a photographer, I received in prayer the mandate to contact NGOs in Indonesia to propose to do a photo report. During the summer of 2017, accompanied by my wife Mona, I was received for a week on the island of Java to document the sex trafficking of young girls.

Talitha Koumi, whose name means young girl, I tell you, get up, was born from this report. For almost 7 years now, we have been leading the fight against this horrible form of slavery with our Indonesian, American and Canadian partners.

We will never give up.

I am the co-founder and hold the position of treasurer. The scourge of sex trafficking is an abomination that must be fought.

I have a degree in administration, I have worked in business and banking establishments. I have been a trained nurse for 18 years. The search for ways to develop Talitha Koumi drives me in order to have a positive impact on the lives of as many people as possible.

I am a retired teacher. Throughout my career, I was committed to helping and protecting children who needed it. When I heard about what Talitha Koumi would be, I did not hesitate and offered my services. You have to work as a team and collaborate well to change things, this is a strength that we have at Talitha Koumi.

God guided me to be a speaker who would make a difference in education and he still does so through my involvement in different areas. Some causes deserve that we dedicate time to them with heart, this is definitely the case for the Indonesian teenage girls that we help.

By allowing them to study, we were giving them the chance to have a better life. So I decided to get involved by joining the board of directors.

I worked in education for about thirty years, as a teacher and in management. A child should be able to enjoy life as a child in a healthy environment. Young girls should have the same rights no matter what country they are in. That is why we sponsor young girls and help them. Help us make a difference for these young girls!

J’ai eu la grâce de connaître les co-fondateurs depuis 2023, d’où j’ai eu l’occasion de voir l’évolution de l’organisme au cours des dernières années. J’ai été impressionné par le dévouement de Daniel et Mona auprès des jeunes.

J’ai aussi pu participer aux activités de levé de fond (course Courir pour affranchir). Ceci m’a grandement sensibilisée au sort des jeunes filles indonésiennes grandissant dans des milieux défavorisés. 

Dans le passé, j’ai souvent eu l’impression que le monde dans lequel nous nous trouvons est sans espoir. Cette impression de fatalité nous habite sans en avoir conscience. Ma rencontre des deux co-fondateurs, leur histoire et leur cheminement m’ont convaincue que nous pouvons tous faire une réelle différence dans la vie de ces jeunes filles en pourvoyant une éducation et l’espoir d’une vie meilleure. Les résultats sont réels et tangibles pour chacune des parrainées, leur famille et leur communauté.

Mon désir, en rejoignant le conseil d’administration, est de pouvoir soutenir l’organisme et œuvrer activement dans une cause qui me tient particulièrement à cœur.

J’ignorais l’existence d’une  telle situation dans ce coin du monde. Dieu m’a immédiatement  touché par ce que vivent ces jeunes filles. Je ne pouvais faire autrement que de m’impliquer, financièrement au début à tout le moins.

Les années ont passé et je suis convaincu que cette oeuvre est dirigée par la bonté et la providence divine de Dieu.

Aujourd’hui ,par la volonté de Dieu ,je siège au CA et j’attend quelle direction Dieu va me donner afin d’aider  Talitha Koumi à aller encore  plus loin .