Boardmember Therese

Therese grew up in Våler (in the Solør district), a small village close to the boarder between Norway and Sweden. During her studies and early career she lived in Oslo, Fredrikstad and Myre (in Vesterålen) . She now lives in Våler again, with her boyfriend (Stein Roger) and their two daughters. She is a physical therapist as well as a trained acupuncturist and runs her own clinic. Before they had children, she and her boyfriend worked as a fosterhome for teenagers with drugs and behavior problems, and took part in their treatment/rehabilitation.

Therese's big passion is horses. As a mum to two small girls she rarely finds the time to go horseriding on her own, but she takes her children to the stable as often as she can.Therese has traveled quite a bit, but has not been to India (yet!). Together with her sister (Cathrine) and her parents, she helped Aryan's family in 2005 and 2011 and is therefore an important part of Ganpati Norway's background story.

What is the best part of Ganpati Norway and the work you do?

The work Ganpati Norway does in Tikri is something I know my sister has been dreaming of doing for a very long time, and I know how important this is to her. I have heard stories of Aryan* and his family since 2003 so they have been a part of my reality for many years. This is one of the reasons why I chose to get involved. 

But - I also think the work Ganpati Norway does is both good and important. And we decide and control everything! We decide what we want to do, after advise from our partner Friends in Khajuraho Association, and we know exactly how our money is spend down there. We are also able to see the direct link between the money we spend and the impact is has, and this is the best part of the organisation in my mind. We are small, and so are our projects. We can follow the kids in our project up close. We know their names, how old they are, and their background and their living conditions. We also know a bit about their dreams and hopes for the future. And then we try to help them with what they need to get there in the long run. I really like that part too.