Blad 124 uit Stamboek van de leerlingen der Koloniale School voor Meisjes en Vrouwen te 's-Gravenhage deel II (1930-1949) Possibly 1939

This spread comes from a register book made in the Colonial School for Girls and Women in The Hague sometime between 1930-1949. The pages are neatly organized into columns, recording names, birthplaces, and places of employment, interspersed with little photographs and signatures. Looking at these crisp details, I imagine the hands that carefully inscribed each entry. It's like a dance between precision and personalization; the rigid structure trying to hold these really complex stories. I feel for those women listed here, leaving home to work in faraway places like Batavia and Singapore. There is a sense of opportunity mixed with the challenges of colonial life and a quiet sense of adventure. These personal records are not just documents; they are a collective memory. They remind me that even within systems of power and bureaucracy, individual stories are happening. They're a reminder of the women who navigated those worlds, leaving their marks – literal signatures and traces of their lives – across these pages.