Ode to Lena Lopes Dias | Our admiration for Lena's attitude to life and her ambitions is as great as ever

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Lena Lopes Dias,

She was born in 1913, daughter of a Jewish father, a shoemaker on Vrolijkstraat in Amsterdam. Her father, David Lopes Dias, developed into an executive and alderman in Hilversum. His motto was: every person should be able to exist on their own and be independent. He worked for women's suffrage, women's emancipation and everything related. David perished in Mauthausen. Lena continued on his chosen path.

She took a social work education in Amsterdam and continued to live and work there. In 1962 she became a city council member for the PvdA. In 1966 she made a proposal for the establishment of an organization to approach the elderly living independently in a neighborhood-oriented way and to make a connection between all the (small) assistance projects of volunteers and professionals, so that together they could see what solutions were possible close to home.

Her proposal:

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

1. The Municipal Commission on Elderly Issues establishes neighborhood working groups.
2. Enough people with knowledge, resourcefulness and tact are brought in.
3. In particular, more women need to be engaged

The Foundation for Neighborhood Services for the Elderly started on January 28, 1970 with Lena Lopes Dias as director. By 1974, there were 20 neighborhood posts, 20 neighborhood post leaders and 30 service workers.

I was part of the first group of four neighborhood post leaders who spread their wings in different neighborhoods. We held consultation hours, coordination meetings, and set up projects. It was great for me that after ten years of being housebound, I was given the confidence to pioneer part-time, to approach everything and everyone on my own initiative, and to create a network in which the elderly became visible and the right facilities could be established. Lena gave fantastic leadership to this organization.

After her retirement, a number of former employees formed a reunion group, which met annually. After a break due to her death in 1996, we picked up where we left off and still meet regularly. Unfortunately, the group has shrunk to four people, but our admiration for Lena's attitude to life and ambitions is undiminished. She has meant a lot for Amsterdam, policies related to the elderly and for our own attitude to life.

Lena Lopes Dias deserves a place of honor in the history of Amsterdam.

Dini Eekhuis,

Amsterdam