Healing Our Roots

Healing Our Roots — Addressing Intergenerational Slavery Trauma

INTRO:
BBI Foundation — in official partnership with
the gemeente — is developing programs to heal
intergenerational trauma rooted in the history
of slavery in the Dutch Caribbean community.

This is not just history. This is present.

Research confirms that trauma from slavery is carried through generations —
in our epigenetics, in our behavior patterns, in how we see ourselves
and relate to authority. Without healing, this trauma repeats.

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WHAT WE KNOW:
The trauma from the transatlantic slave trade did not end when
slavery was abolished. Its effects live in:

• How Caribbean children are taught to see themselves in school
• The relationship between Dutch Caribbean communities and Dutch institutions
• Patterns of poverty, self-doubt, and disconnected identity
• The distance between African-descended people and their own history

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WHAT WE ARE DOING:
With government support, BBI Foundation is developing:

1. Community Healing Workshops
   Structured group sessions that create space to name, share,
   and begin to release inherited trauma.

2. Ancestry & Identity Research
   Supporting individuals in tracing their roots —
   African history, DNA testing, family trees, and cultural recovery.

3. Youth Identity Programs (Buska Bo Identidat)
   Teaching children and teens about their history, their culture, 

and their worth — from their own perspective, not a colonial one.

4. Educational Resources
   Guides, readings, and workshop materials grounded in
   African and Caribbean history and healing science.

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CURRENT STATUS:
This program is in active development.
We received initial government funding and are preparing
the next application for continued support.

If you are a professional, researcher, community organization,
or individual who wants to collaborate — we want to hear from you.

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Break Barriers Intentionally,
The BBI Core Team
bbicore.org | info@bbicore.org