My name is Jelmer Hendrikus Zijlstra, probably one of the most Frisian names you’ll ever hear. 23 years ago I came into this beautiful world, Leeuwarden to be exact. I’ve been here and there to see something of the world, but somehow this place always seems to pull me back. Like a magnet, if you will.
Any Liwwadder will know that there is no magnet with a stronger pull than the Oldehove, this poorly constructed, ‘Supposed to be’ Church, is one of Liwwadden’s most iconic landmarks. By turning a drastic engineering-failure of this scale into something so admirable and iconic for this city takes a special kind of resourcefulness and resilience.
The same kind of resilience and resourcefulness can be found in the people here. If there is anything we have proven in the past it is that we can do anything. From raising millions for Serious Request, to organizing a year-long event promoting the importance of culture. We are resilient, and we are resourceful, and I am proud to be a part of that.
Every time I look at that crooked landmark, towering over almost everything else in the city, it reminds me, it reminds me that this is my heritage, and I couldn’t be more proud.