18123_NSFM-mei-2021_Guts_Totaal_UK_1_Spreads_LR

Together
we grow.
Aartsen continues to grow. The four branches are busier than ever, with renovations, expansions and
moves taking place regularly. In the previous edition, we let you know that we have no fewer than
four new colleagues reinforcing our team in Hong Kong. We can now tell you that the total number of
employees currently exceeds 225. This is a tremendous growth for Aartsen, all intended to ensure that
we can continue to provide the best service to all our partners. This is not the end of the road, however:
Aartsen continues to seek ambitious individuals with passion, ones who want to achieve something
and have the drive to do so. We are constantly looking to expand our commercial and logistics
department.
Guest column
What does
‘having guts’
mean?
Ellen Gerritsen is a mother of three,
PR manager at Handmade Product
Invention Lab in Amsterdam and
director of No Guts No Glory,
a foundation that organises special
events and makes wishes come
true for people with cancer and
their informal caregivers.
No Guts No Glory is so called, because my
brother really enjoyed the song of that name by
the band Bolt Thrower and he believed in the
message that it conveys. After all, you will
achieve nothing if you don’t have guts. But what
does that mean, ‘having guts’? To some people,
it might mean getting a completely different
haircut, while to others it could involve such wild
adventures as bungee jumping or jacking it all in
to start a new life on the other side of the world.
Psssstt ...
We have news for you. Behind the scenes, we are busy innovating,
improving and refreshing. This is why we are also developing an
Aartsen App to optimise and digitise various internal processes.
To be continued ...
But what does ‘having guts’ mean to me?
During my time as an aid worker in conflict zones,
I was once stopped by soldiers at a border
crossing. Did it take guts to take out my public
transport chip card and start waving it around,
shouting that it was a press card? Or was I being
stupid and lucky that they waved me through?
Did it take guts to enter a toy shop with my
excitable toddler twins, even though I had told
them not to touch anything? (Spoiler alert: yes).
After 10 years of working for No Guts No Glory,
the expression has taken on a different meaning
– as it was always likely do when you spend a lot
of time talking to people, mostly young people,
who are very ill and know that they’re dying.
It turned out that ‘having guts’ could mean so
much more, like having the courage to stop
treatment, because your body can no longer
cope. That’s an incredibly though decision,
but it has nothing to do with ‘giving up the fight’.
On the contrary, it allows you to stay in control.
It also takes guts to want to put everything right
and seek closure before you go, to indicate that
you need help and – above all – to accept help.
250
years
When I held my brother in my arms in the hospice,
listening to music with my family and knowing that
it was over, I somehow found it within myself to
say: ‘I’m holding you, but also letting go. You can
go now, darling.’ And that’s when he died. In that
moment, I knew what ‘having guts’ meant to me:
the courage to let go, out of love.
Anniversaries.
Grow your career together with Aartsen.
On 30 September 2021, we will reach a
juncture where we have no fewer than ten
employees who, within the space of a year,
will all have been working here for 25 years.
Together, they will represent 250 years of
Aartsen, which is quite special. So we would
like to commemorate this in a special way
too, and not let this go unmarked.
To be continued...
Angelo Toma
30 years - 25 March 2021
Noël Geutjes
25 years - 3 June 2021
Ever since, I have felt that the key to having guts
is the ability let go. If you are able to let go of the
opinion of others, you will be able to make your
own choice. If you are able to let go of your
doubts and fears, you will be able to chase your
dreams. If you are able to let go of the
expectations of your parents, your partner or
whoever else, you will be able to do the things
you really want to do and be who you want to be.
That’s how having guts can lead
to a great life full of glory!
nonstop
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