About Pa van der Steur

Johannes van der Steur

Johannes van der Steur arrived in Indonesia without any possessions. All he had was his faith in God and his strong desire to help his needy fellow human beings. Due to this desire, he immediately accepted the challenge of caring for four neglected children. That he would be able eventually to set up a large family consisting of various ethnic groups and nationalities numbering thousands of children in a decent place, certainly did not occur to him when he started his work and his service. With his extraordinary will power and dedication, he kept working constantly until the end of his life which came at the age of 80.

After Johannes van der Steur's death, his work was continued by his pupils, as it still is and as the institution has advanced even further, it has come to manage not only an Orphanage but also Kindergartens, Elementary Schools, and Junior High Schools.

The Establishment of Pa van der Steur Foundation

Pa van der Steur's work in Indonesia developed rapidly until 1936. Then he started thinking about the continuation of his work. Accordingly, by Testament No. 8, of July 21, 1936, he designed as his only heir De Vereniging tot Bevordering van Christelijk Leven en Onderling Hulpbetoon (the Association for the advancement of Christian Life and Mutual Help). Pa van der Steur was the director of this organization. In this position, he also represented it when it established a foundation under the name of Stichting Oranje Nassau (Oranje Nassau Foundation of Pa van der Steur), domiciled at Magelang by Notarial Deed No. 3, of November 6, 1936, made out before Notary Gilbert Arnout Soesman at Magelang.

All the property of this Association, as well as its immovables, were entered as the initial capital of the Oranje Nassau Foundation of Pa van der Steur.

On February 17, 1949, this Foundation was moved from Magelang to Jakarta. Since the Oranje Nassau Foundation was for the greater part based in Jakarta, in order to adapt it to the situations and conditions of that time, it was felt necessary to bring about changes in its statute, namely by article 3, of November 6, 1936. This alteration was effected by Notarial Deed of March 30, 1953 No. 133, made out before Notary Tan Eng Kiam in Bandung.

Article 1 of this Deed reads as follows : The name of the foundation is Yayasan Pa van der Steur (the Pa van der Steur Foundation) domiciled in Jakarta and founded for an indefinite period. This aim of the Pa van der Steur Foundation is : To heed the interests and to take care temporarily or continually of orphans, children uncared for, and neglected children of all nationalities.