Sander de Kramer has spent much of his life asking a simple question: what can I do when I see someone facing injustice? For the Dutch journalist, television presenter and humanitarian, the answer has rarely been to stand at a distance. He has gone to the streets of Rotterdam, diamond mines in Sierra Leone and bomb-damaged homes in Ukraine. He has slept among homeless people, helped children leave dangerous mines, built schools in communities with very little and delivered heaters to families facing freezing temperatures during war. His work through the Sunday Foundation has touched hundreds of thousands of lives, but his approach has remained remarkably personal. For Sander, leadership is not about sitting behind a desk and telling other people what to do. It is about showing up, taking responsibility and being willing to stand beside the people you want to help.
A Lesson From His Mother That Never Left Him
The idea behind Sander de Kramer’s leadership began when he was only eight years old. His mother, Magdalena, took him to a demonstration supporting Native Americans who were being forced from their land after companies discovered valuable minerals beneath it. For a young Sander, it was a powerful introduction to injustice. His mother gave him advice that would become the foundation of his life: if you see something wrong in the world, do not simply look away. Stand up and do something about it. Sander took those words seriously. On that same day, he sold his toys and donated the money to charity. Decades later, that same instinct continues to guide him. Whether he is helping a homeless person find a way forward or travelling into a war zone, his response to suffering is rarely passive. He wants to understand what is happening and then find a practical way to help.
What Homelessness Taught Him About People
Growing up in Rotterdam, Sander often saw people living on the streets. As a journalist in his twenties, he became increasingly curious about the stories behind the people others often ignored. Instead of simply reporting on homelessness, he decided to experience it himself. He left his home and spent more than a month living on the streets, sleeping rough, visiting shelters and relying on the same limited resources available to homeless people. The experience changed his understanding of homelessness. He discovered that many people had not arrived on the streets because they were unwilling to work or take responsibility for their lives. Sometimes, life had simply dealt them a terrible hand. One man he met, Ton, had been a successful therapist with a family, home and thriving practice. After his young daughter died from illness, grief changed everything. His marriage broke down, his work became an escape and eventually he found himself living in a tent in the woods. For Sander, Ton’s story showed how quickly circumstances can change. It also showed him how easily society judges people without knowing what happened before they became homeless.
Turning a Street Newspaper Into a Second Chance
Sander transformed that experience into action. His book From Millionaire to Newspaper Boy became a bestseller in the Netherlands and carried a message that homelessness can happen to anyone. He then became Chief Editor and Director of the street newspaper in Rotterdam, as well as the national street newspaper in The Netherlands, a role he held for fifteen years. His goal was never simply to give people something to read or sell. He wanted to give homeless people a genuine opportunity to earn money, regain confidence and rebuild their lives. He used his network as a journalist to bring well-known artists, actors and sports personalities into the magazine, helping turn the street newspaper into something people actually wanted to buy. Vendors gained an honest income and, just as importantly, a reason to get up and work each day. Sander remembers beginning mornings by greeting vendors warmly, giving them encouragement and reminding them that they were doing something valuable. Over those fifteen years, thousands of people were helped towards finding homes and building more stable futures. Some went on to regular careers, including one former vendor who later became a doctor at a hospital in Rotterdam.
Leadership Means Being Willing to Get Your Hands Dirty
The experience also shaped Sander de Kramer’s view of leadership. He does not believe a leader can understand an organisation by staying in an office and giving instructions from a distance. In his view, respect comes from being prepared to do the same work, face the same difficulties and share the same experience as the people around you. He sold the street newspaper himself. He lived on the streets. He stayed in homeless shelters. Later, he would live in a mud hut in Africa rather than choosing an expensive hotel. His leadership philosophy is straightforward: a leader should lead from the front. That does not mean trying to be the hero. It means accepting responsibility and showing people that their leader is willing to stand with them when circumstances become difficult. He also understands that leadership is built through small acts. During his time with the street newspaper, he created a weekly Homeless Café where vendors could meet, drink coffee and talk. Their experiences and poems were published as “Stories from the Street,” giving people a chance to be heard rather than simply seen.
The Day Sierra Leone Changed Everything
In 2007, Sander read about Sierra Leone and decided to travel there as a journalist. The country had suffered through years of civil war, leaving communities deeply damaged. He saw people who had survived horrific violence, but what affected him most was what he found in the diamond mines. Hundreds of children were working there, some as young as four. Many were orphans of the war and had been recruited by illegal diamond traders. They were spending their childhoods doing exhausting work in dangerous conditions. Sander knew he could not simply return home after seeing what was happening. He decided he would try to get the children out and help create a school for them. The situation was dangerous. He was arrested by corrupt police officers connected to the illegal diamond trade and feared he could disappear in prison. A local person eventually advised him to speak with Paramount Chief Demby, the traditional and political leader of the area. Sander approached the Chief, carrying a Dutch national football shirt as a gift. Their unexpected conversation helped build trust. When Sander explained what he wanted to do for the children, the Chief agreed to help. The following day, they went into the diamond mines and brought the children out. When Sander asked who wanted to go to school, every child raised a hand.
Building Communities Instead of Creating Dependence
That moment became the beginning of almost two decades of work in Africa. Through the Sunday Foundation, Sander has supported more than 60 schools, vocational education projects, medical initiatives and programmes for people with disabilities and street children. Agricultural and sports projects have also become part of the foundation’s work, with an estimated 450,000 people involved in communities supported by these initiatives. What makes Sander’s approach different is his belief that lasting change cannot come from outsiders doing everything for a community. When he first arrived in Sierra Leone, he chose to live simply and work alongside local people. He ate local food, bathed in the river and stayed in a mud hut. He wanted people to know that he had not arrived to lecture them or live separately from them. He also insisted that help should reach entire communities rather than only a small group of children. His approach is based on trust, local involvement and practical solutions. A simple example is a fishing community where people had plenty of fish but could not afford nets. The foundation provided fishing nets to men and small amounts of start-up money to women who could preserve and sell surplus fish. A modest investment helped the community create its own source of income.
From Africa to the Front Lines of Ukraine
Sander’s humanitarian work has taken him to some of the world’s most difficult places. He has travelled to Africa more than 160 times and worked in or visited conflict zones including Afghanistan, eastern Congo, South Sudan and Ukraine. When war erupted in Ukraine, he saw images of people living in homes damaged by shelling, without heating during a brutal winter. Temperatures were expected to fall as low as -30°C. Once again, he felt that watching from a distance was not enough. He launched the Heaters for Ukraine campaign and began organising practical help. He connected with a pastor who had a network of churches across Ukraine and persuaded a heater manufacturer to provide equipment at cost price. He then travelled to Ukraine himself and began distributing heaters and emergency supplies in areas badly affected by the war.
When a Heater Becomes a Symbol of Hope
One of the moments Sander remembers most clearly involved a young mother, Joelia and her nine-year-old daughter, Masha. Their home had been destroyed by bombing. Windows were gone, walls were damaged and the family was facing bitter cold. Sander arrived carrying a heater and a food package. Joelia’s husband had been killed in the attack. To Sander, the items he carried may have seemed simple, but to the family they represented warmth, safety and the knowledge that someone had not forgotten them. The campaign grew rapidly after he returned to the Netherlands and spoke about the situation on television, radio and in newspapers. Dutch people responded by donating money for heaters. Eventually, 35 truckloads of heaters and Arctic sleeping bags were transported to Ukraine. More than 16,000 heaters and emergency food packages were distributed to vulnerable people. Some deliveries took place close to the front line, where volunteers had to take cover from incoming missiles. For Sander, being physically present mattered. He believes people give more when their leader is prepared to take the same risks they are taking.
The Human Side of Leadership
Yet Sander de Kramer’s understanding of leadership is not limited to major humanitarian missions. He believes good leaders must pay attention to the people around them every day. If an employee seems unhappy or different from usual, he believes a leader should notice. Sometimes, his solution is as simple as buying a cake and asking someone how they are doing. He has also introduced what he calls the “tap on the shoulder moment,” where teams take time to recognise something a colleague has done well. It is a small practice, but it reflects his wider belief that people need to feel valued. Many managers speak to employees mainly when something has gone wrong. Sander believes leaders should also recognise effort, progress and kindness. For him, a healthy team is built through trust and encouragement, not fear.
A Leadership Philosophy That Starts With People
The story of Sander de Kramer is ultimately not about awards, television appearances or titles. It is about a belief that has stayed with him since childhood. If you see injustice, do not look away. His career has taken that principle into places where many people would hesitate to go. He has slept on the streets to understand homelessness, worked with communities in Sierra Leone, helped children escape diamond mines and travelled into Ukraine to bring warmth to people living through war. His work demonstrates a very direct form of leadership: listen first, stand beside people and then act. The Sunday Foundation’s motto, “Togetherness,” reflects that belief. Sander does not see himself as someone arriving to save communities. He sees himself as someone joining people and helping them build solutions together. In 2026, he was knighted, adding another honour to a career already marked by the President Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award and other recognitions. But perhaps the clearest description of Sander de Kramer remains the one he gives himself: a leader who leads from the front. For him, leadership is not about standing above people. It is about standing with them when it matters most.
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