Jerino Lekatompessy

“My strength is turning experiences into something positive. Both positive and negative experiences. If you keep hearing that you're not doing things right, you'll start to believe it. I want to help people realize that they always have talent in something. By exploring together what is going well, new insights and opportunities arise. This way, you can bring out the best in someone.

I have a mother from Venlo and a Moluccan father. My father wasn't a talker, like many Moluccans whose parents came to Venlo as KNIL soldiers in the 1950s. When I was 8 years old, my parents separated, and I only saw my father irregularly. I already had trouble listening and sitting still, but after the divorce, I became extremely restless and rebellious. I saw how my friends did have a close bond with their fathers, and that made me angry and sad. In high school, I entered professional counseling, and that's how I learned to talk about my emotions. It was truly liberating!

At school, I constantly heard what I was doing wrong, but in conversations with professionals, I learned that I could do many things right too. Sports, for example. Football has always been an outlet for me, and I feel completely at home on the field. I went to CIOS and became a football coach at VVV-Venlo. I helped there with social projects, which brought me into contact with young people with mental and social problems. I felt a strong connection with this target group and wanted to guide them even better. That's why I pursued training as a job coach and eventually became a reintegration coach: work that suits me perfectly.

About 6 years ago, I experienced a significant burnout and depression. I no longer felt comfortable at my workplace, and my father passed away. During that period, I decided to only do things that I enjoy, both professionally and personally. Together with a partner, I started Talent of Tomorrow: a reintegration agency where we guide people towards work that suits them. Accessible and with full attention to the person behind the client. This approach is paying off because we have now grown into a successful, specialized team of 7 employees. We have offices in Venlo and Heerlen, and we are now also exploring possibilities in North Brabant.

In addition to Talent of Tomorrow, I am a youth coach at FC Eindhoven. I think it's fantastic, but when I come home from Eindhoven, I think every time: ah, nice to be home again. I have noticed that if you do and organize things from your heart in Venlo, the rest follows naturally. You become part of the community, and all kinds of beautiful connections and collaborations arise. For example, every year I go to Nigeria with a former player from AFC Ajax and Arsenal FC, where we organize a training camp for children from slums. Something completely different but just as cool is being on stage with Fake Tits. As the MC of this duo, I whip up the crowd and can really let loose. We play all over the country and also do a winter tour of popular ski resorts in Austria and Italy. It's a party to do!