On Sunday February 15, 2015 the Dutch Secretary of State of the Safety and Justice Department from
the Netherlands Fred Teeven paid a visit to the Miss Lalie Center (MLC), the new closed youth facility of
Sint Maarten. Teeven was making a short stop on his way from the Netherlands to Sint Eustatius. The
MLC team offered a guided tour to Teeven. The tour was led by Natasha Carty and Inge ter Huurne and the Projectteam consisting of Richelda Emmanuel, Cynthia van Samson and youth prosecutor Karola van
Nie. Among others also the Secretary of State Udo Aron, chief prosecutor Ton Maan and the Dutch
Representative Gert Versluis were present.
Teeven was very impressed with the modern facilities and the treatment setting for the criminal and
civil placed boys in the age of 12 to 18 years. Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson signed an
(cooperation) agreement a few months ago with Stichting Horizon in the Netherlands, a Foundation
with a lot of experience in closed youth facilities in the Netherlands, to work together with the Miss Lalie
Center. Teeven stated that he supports this way of cooperation, for which local employees are being
twinned with Dutch professionals. “Why invent the wheel if a foundation like Horizon is willing to share
so much of its knowledge and experience and is open for cooperation. It is clear that with mutual
respect beautiful things can be achieved” according to Teeven.
- Wednesday, April 17, 2024
