The Johanniter Orde in Nederland is a Chivalric Order with a Protestant Christian foundation. The Order has a rich history and was founded in 1909 by H.R.H. Prince Hendrik, consort of H.M. Queen Wilhelmina. Membership of the Dutch Order is reserved for those who belong to the nobility and who meet the conditions set by the Order for membership.
The Johanniter Nederland was founded in 1974 by the Order and both organizations are still closely linked. Johanniter Nederland is financially supported by the Order and many members of the Order are active as volunteers.
What are we doing ?
- Stichting Commanderijen van
Commanderijen van Sint Jan, established in 1981 as a result of this collaboration. This partnership consists of five local Commanderijen. The Commanderijen organize local activities for members of both Orders and for people who need extra attention.
- Sint Jan
In The Netherlands, the Order works closely with the Order of Malta in the Stichting Commanderijen van Sint Jan, established in 1981 as a result of this collaboration. This partnership consists of five local Commanderijen. The Commanderijen organize local activities for members of both Orders and for people who need extra attention.
- Jan’s Dag
Further collaboration between the Order and the Order of Malta has led to the initiative of the Jan’s Dag. Every year several Jan’s Dagen are organized by young members of both Orders for young people who need care and attention.
- Organizing holidays
A holiday is not always easy for everyone to realize. That is why Johanniter Nederland has been organizing affordable holidays for the elderly with care needs, already for 65 years ! Since 2019, we have also been offering holidays for people who do not need care, but who do need help, guidance or financial support to be able to go on holiday. For example, children from underprivileged families or lonely elderly people.
A Johanniter holiday is a fully catered group holiday in the Netherlands. Skilled and enthusiastic volunteers provide guidance.
- Provide wheelchair buses
In addition to regular care and daytime activities, residents in health care institutions need sometimes an occasional trip. It is a welcome break from the daily routine. However, it is difficult for care institutions to organize activities outside their home for people who are wheelchair-bound.
The Johanniter Orde makes a wheelchair bus available to a number of healthcare institutions in The Netherlands free of charge. The healthcare institutions only take care of the fuel costs. A condition is that a minimum number of trips per week is made, that the bus is not used commercially and that the bus is only used form activities that would otherwise not be possible. In this way, health care-residents who are wheelchair bound can also make trips, which in turn contributes to their quality of life.
- Volunteer Groups
Spread across The Netherlands, around thirty local Johanniter volunteer groups are active in home care, residential and care institutions, hospitals, walk-in centers and hospices. The Johanniter volunteers are an important addition to the paid employees. Thanks to volunteers, nice extras can be organized. Even something seemingly simple like a listening ear or an encouraging word can mean a lot
- Training courses for volunteers
About 3.500 volunteers are affiliated with Johanniter Nederland. Some of them go on a Johanniter holiday once a year for a week, others are active day in day out in a care institution somewhere in the country. Coordinating, guiding, motivating and rewarding this wide range of volunteers is a comprehensive task. This is all volunteer support.
Volunteer support is of great importance for the many volunteers, but also for the institutions where these volunteers are active. We facilitate training courses, provide volunteer insurance, are a discussion partner for the volunteer coordinators, publish information material and organize contact days. This way the healthcare institutions are supported at the same time.