Hi there!

I am collecting money to make it possible for the little sisters of my best friend, Femke (who suddenly passed away last May) to finish her travels and spread her ashes. 
Fem was kind, inspiring, adventurous and full of dreams. She wanted to travel the world and her sisters want to spread her ashes at the beautiful places that she unfortunately can’t visit herself anymore.

Goal: €1000,-

For the full story please read below  

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Whether you know me or ended up on this page indirectly. Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

The story

I am Charlotte, currently traveling and working remotely in Asia. At this moment I'm in Bali. That sounds like the dream, but the reason I'm here is a little more nuanced.

In May 2022, my best friend, Femke, was working remote here in Bali too. After years of working very hard while studying and then going to work for a pharmaceutical company, she found out that her heart lay elsewhere entirely. Fem quit her job, found a remote job, started her own jewelry line on the side and started doing what made her most happy; traveling. "Desire for something beyond the daily life" she often said/wrote. I am incredibly proud of her.

And that was going great, until Fem ended up in a medical mill here in Bali due to a minor injury. The kind of injury that would require a few physical therapy sessions in the Netherlands, and that's it. Long story short, Fem had a lot of bad luck and the healthcare here in Bali is not what we are used to in Europe.

On May 20, 2022 Fem passed away here in Bali.

I can imagine that is a heavy thing to read ... and yes it is of course. But this is not a crowdfunding to dwell on grief or how hard it is to go on without the most important person in my life. Since Fem passing we (me, her family, her friends and so on) have come to realize that you have to get everything out of this life. Just like Fem did.

In my mind, I made Fem a promise; to live life to the fullest and be there for her family. I will never be able to replace their big sister, but I love her sisters as if they were my own. The same goes for her parents.

That is why I have been walking around for months with a deep desire to do something for them. Just as Fem was, her Family is an inspiration. Each and every one of them are strong, loving and warm people. And the sisters deserve to make their dreams come true. They want to complete Fem’s journey by going to the places she wanted to visit and spread her ashes there. 
But all of that takes a lot of money.

I want to help them make that possible.

Added to that, I know they are modest and would never take this crowdfunding initiative themselves. That is why I am doing it for them.

The proceeds of this crowdfunding will go entirely to Fem's sisters. For them to use it to fund their travels or even to help them to re-start Fem’s jewelry business.

The idea

Being here in Bali is hard sometimes, but it also makes me feel more connected to Fem. Living the remote work lifestyle, knowing she probably visited the same places, had the same view from her car window..

And I get it now. Of course I knew her very well and I had an idea of why this made her so happy. But now I'm experiencing it myself.

I've thought about crowdfunding before, but somehow it didn't feel right to ask for money without doing anything in return. However, about two weeks ago an idea popped into my head.

In Bali, I was given a Tridatu bracelet at a warung. Tridatu embodies the Balinese-Hindu's three manifestations of God, otherwise known as the Trimurti. Trimurti permeates through the core aspects of the Balinese-Hindu's circle of life (birth, life, and death).

So a bracelet of three colors, red, white, and black, which stand for the circle of life... And so I found the thing I could give people in exchange for their support of this cause.

Here in Bali I'm stocking up on a whole bunch of these bracelets and I will send everyone who donates more than €7,50 a bracelet when I'm back in Holland. I hope it can be a reminder to everyone that you should not be afraid to pursue your dreams and to make something out of your life. Just like my memories of Fem inspire me every day.