Award for Ina (77) from Paterswolde, for her unique listening ear. ‘You are committed to helping people who need a helping hand’

She didn’t notice anything until the last moment. With an excuse, Ina Hiemstra-Bolt (77) from Paterswolde was lured to the Sprookjeshof in Zuidlaren on Friday morning. Her son, an artist, was supposedly unveiling a work of art of his. “The question was whether I wanted to come too. Well. We were home anyway,” she says.

Disbelief, but above all proud

Only upon entering a room where Mayor Marcel Thijsen of Tynaarlo received her did a bell start to ring. “I thought it was so strange that the windows here were taped up,” she says. And then the penny dropped. “Disbelief and amazement. First I had to wonder ‘what am I doing here?’” she describes her first reaction. “But above all, I am very happy and proud.”

In front of a packed room with family, she was appointed Member of the Order of Orange-Nassau on Friday morning. Mayor Thijsen praised Hiemstra-Bolt for her empathetic ability and unique listening ear. “You have played an incredibly important role in many people’s lives. You always dedicate yourself to people who are not having an easy time and need a little push to be able to function.”

For decades she has been a volunteer at the Listening Line, where people can call for a listening ear. She is also active as a contact person at the village church in Eelde. In this role she maintains contact with church members and delivers church mail.

Residents of Zuidlaren can also know her as a teacher. Before her retirement, Hiemstra-Bolt was a teacher at Het Stroomdal primary school for 40 years.

An eye for vulnerable fellow human beings

“You are known at both the church and the Listening Line as someone with an eye for vulnerable fellow human beings,” the mayor outlines. “You are not immediately ready with an opinion or advice. You listen to the story. People feel they can share the pain with you.”