Henry Jarju (32) had moved to the Netherlands from Gambia and needed a bank account. At the counter at SNS I met Monique Mentjox (52), who was working at the time. Mentjox: “Very often in life you look at someone and immediately feel a click. I had that with him.”
That day, Mentjox opens a bank account for Jarju and has a nice conversation with him. “I always think it is important that you are also interested in who you have in front of you.” He feels trust and shares his life story with her. For example, Jarju says that he currently lives in a tent in a parking garage and cycles from Amsterdam Bijlmer to Hoofddorp every day for work.
A few weeks after their meeting she sees him again. “He came by a bit distraught and told me he had been robbed. My colleagues and I spread bread for him and applied for everything again.” In addition to her normal work, Mentjox has also done volunteer work through SNS for many years, for example in the form of a free clothing and toy store for people living in poverty. “We still had a winter coat left in the store and we also gave that to Henry.”
Missionary
From that moment on, the two keep in touch. Jarju will do volunteer work at the De Nieuwe Stad church center in Amsterdam and will also follow a Bible study because he wants to become a missionary. During his Bible study he meets Ymke. The two get into a relationship. When Mentjox sees him again after this period, he has changed enormously. “I almost didn’t recognize him,” she says. “In the meantime, Henry lived in a room, had a better job and did a lot of volunteer work.”
Mentjox thinks it is important that people know that he is the hero in his own story. “I think it’s very impressive that you arrive 10-0 behind in a foreign country and ultimately achieve all this. I take my hat off to that.”
Jarju also comes to eat at Mentjox with his girlfriend. “I no longer did his banking affairs, because then you would have a conflict of interest. I chose friendship and a colleague took over the banking affairs.” During the dinner, Jarju also tells her that he is leaving the Netherlands and going to Italy to work as a missionary.
Wedding suit
At his farewell, Mentjox tells with emotion how proud she is of him. Jarju then reveals that he has asked his girlfriend Ymke to marry him and that she is coming with him to Italy. “I told him that I am his Dutch mother and you get your suit from your mother. I am proud of him as if he were my own child.”
When she posts a photo of the two of them in a LinkedIn message, including a short story about their friendship, she is showered with likes and comments. Mentjox hopes to create more awareness with the message. “People judge too quickly and too often. Just look at Henry, someone else will have to do that. Listen to someone and have no judgment.”
Working in Sicily
Jarju hopes that his message reaches many people. “Monique helped me before she really knew me. Everyone deserves a chance and we need each other.” He currently works as a missionary in Sicily, where he visits refugee camps, among other places. “I know what it means to be a migrant. I have been in their shoes.” He believes God brought him to this point in his life. “I help others and they help me.”
He is not active on social media himself, but is happy that the message has put a smile on the faces of so many people. “I hope it will make people see the world in a more positive light,” he says.
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2023-09-17 18:15:51
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