Nelson Carrilho

When Ellen told her story about her involvement with the vulnerable but ever enthusiastic children of South Africa I saw in her a Mother Rock and also a Helping Hand from a distance.
So then I said to her - very spontaneously – that I would like to design a figurine for her. It had to be about, Ubuntu "I am because we are". The deeply rooted human awareness that we all are interconnected and therefore should care for one another.”

Nelson Carrilho

After a coincidental meeting with Ellen Fober in August 2013 Nelson Carrilho decided he wanted to design a figurine for her. At that moment he was busy finalising the awards for the yearly Kevin Duinmeijer commemoration on the 20th of August. Nelson Carrilho is known for designing statues such as 'Mama Baranka' (the anti-racism monument to commemorate Kevin Duinmeijer) which is placed in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam and the 'Dragers van Verre' in the Westerparc, symbolising Amsterdam as a multi-cultural city.
The figurine is called 'Ubuntu' and was unveiled on the 11th of January 2015 during our fundraising concert in the Thalia Theater in IJmuiden. From that day on the figurine has become the new logo for our foundation. It is a beautiful bronze figurine which can also be ordered (by companies, foundations and individuals) and Nelson Carrilho has decided to donate all the returns to our foundation!

www.nelsoncarrilho.com