Sinead Hewson, Severina Scarnecchia, and Charlene Lambert recently had the pleasure of meeting with WBII member Nira Satguru on the premises of her business in Voorschoten. Nira has plans to further develop the attractive 100-year old house into a multifunctional property for educational and hospitality purposes. The house has recently been completely renovated, and features a large living, dining and kitchen area on the main floor, including a deep, private garden, and 4 bedrooms and bathroom facilities upstairs. Nira is now in the second phase of developing and implementing her ambitious strategy to realize the Future of Learning.
The various rooms on the property can be used for different purposes. For example, the downstairs will be used for teaching English, Mathematics and facilitating homework sessions in English, mainly for British School Netherlands, pupils due to its proximity to the British School in Voorschoten. For international/ diplomatic parents who have to leave the Netherlands suddenly, Nira has been a legal guardian. She also offers the possibility to provide a full boarding place using the upstairs bedrooms for selected students “In loco parentis”. Her website is being further expanded to support the educational side of her business.
The property is also being used for private meetings, dinners, networking events and speakers. Approximately 10 – 30 people can be accommodated on the main floor for a buffet-style dinner and 14 at a sit-down meal. Coffee and tea are complementary, and Wifi is included. Nira has already planned 2 events in November, which include:
- Wednesday, November 12, 2014: Sri Lankan two course dinner prepared by the chef from the Hilton Hotel — € 30 inclusive of two drinks.Speaker: Ms. Caitriona Rush, a Cross Cultural Consultant with @homeabroad (www.Athomeabroad.nl )Topic : Culture in the international business environment.
- Thursday, November 13, 2014: Sri Lankan dinner prepared by the chef from the Hilton Hotel — € 30, inclusive of two drinks.Speaker: Mr. Harith Wickrema, Adjunct Professor from Temple University, USA, a successful entrepreneur specializing in the organization of large-scale events, and winner of many international awards (www.harithproductions.com)Topic: How to achieve entrepreneurial success & mindset
The first floor apartment and facilities has three/ four bedrooms and sleeps six. It is exclusively for guests to rent on a short-term basis starting from four nights, with a nightly rate is € 95 per night for four guests. The downstairs kitchen, dinning and living areas are shared use with the Future of Learning Centre. The calendar is open until December 31 for WBII members. From January 5, 2015 – July 31st the space is fully booked.
Nira has many more ideas and plans, and there is no doubt that with her enthusiasm and drive, she will be successful. She is an inspiration to us all, and we wish her all the best with her new business! For more information, Nira can be reached at: nirauk@gmail.com.
By Charlene Lambert