My Core
I love travelling. This is an understatement. Travelling, discovering, experiencing and interacting with the world around me makes me feel free and alive.
In 2017, I decided that travelling should become a much larger aspect of my life. Since then, I work for about 8 months a year and travel for about 4 months a year. It's a lifestyle and a source of inspiration. My travels allows me to experience the world on a deeper level, to learn form others and to develop myself.
My life (so far)
I was born in Ewijk, a small village close to Nijmegen, my parents called me Lieke. (Sidestep: my Ugandese friends told me that my name is asssociated with qualities like brightness, warmth and kindness). In my younger years I dedicated myself fully on gymnastics, my teens on highschool and university.
My professional career started with working as a consultant for a big american HR office. We soon found out that this was no match.... The years after I continued my HR work, which I love, in and for companies of different sizes and different sectors, but always with a focus on social impact and societal change.
I've always had a passion for different cultures. From 2011 till 2016 I had my own Fashionlabel 'A Code of Origin', focussing on authentic fabrics from Laos & Thailand and showing my passion for authenticity and local craftmanship.
In 2017 I decided to continue my professional work as a self employed and incorporated travelling as a necesity in my life. I bought a magnificant brutal Toyota Classic Landcruiser, type HJ60 and left for Iran. I travelled through Eastern Europe, visited Ukraine, took a boat trip of 3 days from Odessa to Georgia, and meandered to Azerbeidjan and Armenia to cross the border to Iran. I experienced the extreme heat, cities like Teheran and Qom and the immense immense hospitality of the iranes people. Traveling back Istanbul invited me to the extreme floodings on july 27. The hazardous conditions cost a lot of damage to numerous of cars, my cruiser had just some broken windshields. I continued a beautiful trip through Europe to be on time for the wedding of one of my best friends in The Netherlands.
This travel experience impacted me so deeply that I continued travelling for several months every year. I have been in lots of different places. From Myanmar to Kyrgystan and from El Salvador to Moldova. Latin America has a special place in my heart. I love the lifestyle, the language, the nature, the different cultures, the immense friendliness, the big cities, small villages and most of all, its overwhelming nature. It will be my destination for my next trip around october 2024.
My truth
My experiences of independence, emancipation, and feminism have deeply influenced my life and shaped my identity.
Raised by my mother alongside my sister and brother in a small village, I often felt different and like an outcast. My father passed away (or on) when I was nine months old, and the stigma of growing up in a fatherless family weighed heavily on me.
I always felt a deep need to prove that there was nothing wrong with me and that I could achieve anything I set my mind to. I found success in gymnastics, at university, and in my career. It’s only recently that I’ve come to realize how much the loss of my father in early childhood has impacted me. I've learned that I need to give space to this part of my past.
Through my travels & connecting with others, I find peace.