Elly Hendriks (78) is the chairman of The WHISE Foundation. She keeps an eye on the big picture and tries to instruct and inspire. “I believe in making people enthusiastic and connecting. When many people enthusiastically contribute small amounts, we eventually achieve a nice big goal together”.

Set a clear goal

What helps Elly with the huge and complex renovation project is a piece of advice Rinpochee once gave: first you have to set a clear goal, then convince yourself that the goal is achievable and then you go step by step on your way to reach it.

Matter of trust

Learning to trust began for Elly some time ago, namely in 1989. Then she met Rev. Dagpo Rinpochee for the first time at the Maitreya Institute, a Tibetan Buddhist organization in the Netherlands. His warm smile brought about something special: it touched her deeply and gave her a clear confidence that she wanted to follow the Buddhist path under his guidance.

The monastery as a special place of hope

Since then, Elly has had the pleasure of meeting Rev. Dagpo Rinpochee many times. She feels very involved in his wish to preserve the monastery for generations to come: “It is such a special and warm place of hope. The monks there study the teachings of the Buddha and try to live very purely according to that teaching, with the main aim of serving the well-being of all beings. It's really worth all the effort to keep that and not let it go to waste. Not only for the Tibetans, but for all the people of the earth, it has universal inestimable value.”

Elly is happy to commit herself to that preservation. With the confidence that it is a worthwhile achievable goal. “We will achieve it by working enthusiastically and patiently with many people. It is a lot of work, but achievable, step by step.”