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Dear family members and friends,
We are gathered today with heavy hearts to remember and honor the life and legacy our dear friend and brother Baldwin Sjollema, a man of profound faith and unyielding commitment to justice.
Baldwin was a leader. But, more than that—he was a visionary whose work with the World Council of Churches (WCC) left an indelible mark on the fight for human dignity and the global struggle against apartheid. Baldwin was known for having become, in 1970, the first director of the newly created WCC Programme to Combat Racism, which made grants to southern African liberation movements, including the African National Congress. It also advocated the withdrawal of investments from South Africa and the closure of bank accounts with those banks which supported the apartheid regime.
But Baldwin had joined the WCC much earlier. During 1957-58 he was in charge of the WCC Refugee Office in Vienna assisting refugees from the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. From 1958-1969 he worked as executive secretary of the WCC Migration Secretariat. Even after having left the WCC in 1982 to take responsibility of the ILO Anti-Apartheid Programme, he preserved his unconditional faith in the ecumenical movement. For, the fundamental ecumencial issue raised by the Programme to Combat Racism was in his words: “How do we, how can we live together as people of different cultures, races, and religions? To be ecumenical means to see oneself as a part, a member of the « oikos », the household of God.”
In 2004, Baldwin, received the Oliver Tambo Order from South African president Thabo Mbeki. He was decorated for his commitment to the South African liberation movement and to the struggle against apartheid in particular. At that time, Baldwin himself acknowledged that millions of people were engaged in the struggle against apartheid all over the world. “Together, we made a small contribution to the overall struggle which was fought first and foremost by the people of South Africa themselves,” he said.
Baldwin’s deep convictions were rooted in his Christian faith and his resolve to respond to the core message of Christ. He was aware that we can never achieve peace and justice ourselves. We can only receive them as a gift from God. But it was equally clear for him that God's gift is humanity's task, that true Christian faith must be expressed through tangible action. He believed with all his heart that Christians were called to live out their confessions of faith through active resistance to evil, and that apartheid was one of the most egregious evils of his time. He knew the price that could come with challenging the powerful forces that upheld injustice. Yet, his life was a testimony to the power of faith-driven action. He knew that the struggle for justice was not simply a political fight, but a spiritual and moral battle for the soul of humanity.
As we remember Baldwin today, we give thanks to God for his life and the witness he has shared with us. We honor his tireless dedication and his resolute faith. May his memory continue to inspire us to act boldly in the pursuit of a world where all people are free, and where justice flows like a mighty river.