We had the honour to welcome His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, Her Majesty Queen Maxima and Her Royal Highness Princess Amalia in VNG International's office on St Maarten. They came to visit the Resources for Community Resilience (R4CR) programme, implemented by VNG International, in collaboration with the Dutch Cooperating Funds (Samenwerkende Fondsen Cariben) and NPOwer SXM/4C Foundation. R4CR was set up to provide relief to the island after Hurricane Irma in 2017. The programme aims to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations on St Maarten by funding reconstruction and rehabilitation projects. Additionally, the programme offers a platform for exchange and cooperation amongst these organizations and provides for training and capacity building activities.

The royal delegation spoke with representatives of civil society about their projects on St Maarten and was introduced to the other projects implemented by VNG International on the island: Fostering Resilient Crisis Management and Solid Waste Management Support to the government of St Maarten. After discussing the funding mechanism and capacity strengthening that R4CR offers for non-profit organizations, a group of young St Maarteners shared their thoughts on civil society on island and their own activities for the benefit of the local community. A great conversation, concluded with St. Maarten Soca artist King Vers performing the original NGO song.

To learn more about the program, please visit the R4CR website.