Blad 94 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel II (1930-1949) Possibly 1937 - 1939

This page, most likely created sometime between 1930 and 1949, is from a register of students at the Colonial School for Girls and Women in The Hague. The register is filled with names and locations, written in a beautiful cursive hand, which is offset with pasted-in portrait photographs of the students. I can imagine the archivist carefully inscribing each entry, documenting the details of each student’s background. Or perhaps, the students themselves, who are being trained for colonial life, are given the task of carefully recording information as an exercise in precision and attention to detail. You can sense both the weight of history and the individuality of each student. What was it like for these women to leave their homes and journey to the colonies? What kind of dreams and anxieties did they carry with them? I always wonder about the stories behind the faces. This feels like a very personal project, inviting us to contemplate our connections to the past.