Our corps of Ambassadors

BRYAN RICE

Bryan Rice (Brian Risberg Enggaard Clausen) is a Danish pop singer and songwriter with a hearth of gold.

Through the years Bryan has engaged himself in charity in several ways and on several levels, and that was also how Gadens Børn met him. As the best friend of another one of our wonderful ambassadors, namely Ole Henriksen, the host of Gadens Børn’s Charity Galla 2021, Bryan accepted to sing and participate as a guest, when Ole asked him.
It was love at first sight, and shortly after we asked Bryan, he became an ambassador for us.

You can read more about Bryans motivation to accept here.

MICHELLE DE JONGHE

My name is Michelle, and there is nothing I enjoy more than helping other people realizing their full potential in their business, in their relationships, towards others, and for themselves in with their economy. For me, it all comes together. There must be a balance between you as a person and what you do. That is, the balance between the true person you are, your creativity, and money.

I graduated from Copenhagen Business School. I started my career at Deloitte, and for the last 25 years, I have worked with finance, helping people, especially in the music industry, with their finances, taxes, and accounts. I am a certified meditation teacher, Yin Yoga teacher, and I have been on a journey, both physically around the world on retreats, and (still am) inward into myself.

I have a sincere desire to help my clients see their full potential, get assistance in dealing with the fear that holds them back, and find peace in their finances so that they are not hindered in their creativity.

And now, with pride, I can add ambassador for Gadens Børn to the list. I am incredibly excited to be part of the further journey. You can read about Michelle's motivation for being an ambassador here.

PATRICK SIMIGLAI

Patrick Simiglai is an independent speaker, mental coach, and ultra-athlete. He gives lectures for companies and schools, drawing on his experiences from a challenging life on the edge and sharing his mental tools for building strong self-esteem, self-discipline, self-respect, and unlocking one's full potential.

In recent years, he has been deeply involved in charity work for vulnerable children and youth, organizing various events that involve sports challenges such as running 6 marathons in 45 hours, Denmark's longest rope climb, celebrity boxing, and more.

His motivation is not to become a world champion or Olympic participant but to inspire young and vulnerable individuals to believe that they can achieve whatever they set their minds to.

You can read about Patrick's motivation for being an ambassador here.

KAREN SIMONSEN

Karen Simonsen is the creative director of the Danish fashion brand Karen By Simonsen, which she founded in 2009. Additionally, she serves as the head of design for the Eyewear collection Karen Simonsen x Prego and is the founder of Now Living Indretning.

With 25 years of experience in the fashion industry, Karen has worked as a designer and businesswoman. She has been involved in numerous boards, including serving as vice-chairman of Copenhagen Fashion Week and on BU’s board under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Currently, she sits on the board of New World CPH and Ladies Affair and serves as a mentor for startups.

Karen is deeply committed to helping where she can and has dedicated significant efforts over the years to make a difference for vulnerable target groups.

You can read about Karen's motivation for being an ambassador here.

MANU SAREEN

Manu Sareen is a writer and lecturer, as well as a former State Secretary for Children, Equal Opportunities, Integration & Social Conditions. He was born in Punjab, India, but with considerably different life circumstances and opportunities than our street children. These circumstances led him and his family to Denmark, when he was only three and a half years old.

In Denmark Manu has created a fantastic career and he wishes to use his platform to spread the message, how even a small donation can make a difference for a child in India. Listen to him elaborate here.

IDA CORR

The Danish/Gambian singer/songwriter Ida Carr has been ambassador for Gadens Børn since 2015. She performed at our first Charity Dinner at Bistro Boheme, and since then, she has been performing for a more worthy and fair life for the street children of Kolkata on a number of our events for children.

Ida wishes to use her platform to create attention on children in need, and you can listen to her explain why she has chosen to do so, specifically for Gadens Boern here.

JULIE PALLESEN

Julie Pallesen is the owner of the blog “This Way”, from where she shares the message about Gadens Børn, but also sells T-shirts and bracelets for the benefit of our street children.

The bracelets are manufactured by the children at our Sealdah School & After-School Care (with only a bit of help from the adults) and can be bought here. When purchasing a bracelet you help an Indian street child with schooling, food and clean water for a whole month.

You can read more about why Julie supports Gadens Børn here.

KAMILLA BYRIEL

Kamilla Byriel is a renowned Danish designer with more than 20 years of experience in the Danish fashion industry. In 2007 she launched the clothing company, Lollys Laundry, with which she has supported Gadens Børn since 2015. This has involved sale of t-shirts of her own design as well as pearl jewelry, especially chosen by our street children at the market in Kolkata.

Kamilla supports Gadens Børn because she believes in building up children to get a future, and you can hear more about her motivation to be an ambassador here.

CAMILLA DELBING PITZNER

Camilla Delbing Pitzner is the founder and owner of Danish Fashion Agency, and she is, what we could call, a hands-on ambassador for Gadens Boern.

Camilla wants to see and feel the life, the children live in the street and she wants to make a difference where it all happens. Therefore, she and her DFA team consisting of five cool girls went to Kolkata in the end of 2019, and helped on the projects of Gadens Børn.

You can see pictures of Camilla in Kolkata here.

HELENE HØRLYCK

Helene Hørlyck is an international singer and song coach for some of the biggest stars of today, among these, the boyband One Direction.

Helene was born in a small village in Southern India, and it is her affiliation with the country that has led her to Gadens Børn. As an ambassador, she can unite two issues that means a lot to her - India and children’s conditions - with what she does best, namely singing.

Read more about Helene’s motivation to make a difference for Gadens Boern here.

JOHN “FAXE” JENSEN

John “Faxe” Jensen is a former professional football player and coach. He was “Footballer of the Year” in Denmark in 1987 and 1992, and in 1992 he laid the foundation for Denmark's victory in the European Championships, when he scored the first goal in the final. Today John works as a Chief Scout for the Premier League club Arsenal, where he also used to play.

Football led John to India, when he was on a training camp, where he with his own eyes saw the appalling living conditions the children are living under, without opportunities to have an education or a better future. To see and feel this on his own body, made John join the corps of ambassadors for Gadens Børn in 2015, and he helps us spread the message about our work and the life the children live in the streets.

DALIA RANTZAU MATHIASEN

Dalia Rantzau Mathiasen has been part of the corps of ambassadors since 2018. Like many of our children in India, Dalia did not have an easy start in life. She is adopted from Bangladesh after being found hovering between life and death by a Danish nurse. She had been run over by a bicycle taxi and left alone and afraid. Thus, she understands more than anyone the significance our work has for the street children.

In addition, being a self-employed entrepreneur Dalia is also the co-founder of the award show “Optimist of the Year”, which hails people who are determined to defy adversity and create unique results to inspire others. In 2016 our founder, Pia Lindell Qwist won the category “Inspiration”, which you can see here.

PIA DØRGE

Pia Dørge has, together with her husband, Bent Stiansen, been part of Gadens Børn family from the beginning. Bent owns the Norwegian Michelin restaurant, Statholdergaarden, that in 2017 provided the framework for our first Charity Dinner in Norway.

2017 was also the year Pia became ambassador for Gadens Børn, and in order to get the work under their skin, she and Bent went to Kolkata to visit our projects. Among other things, Pia will help us explore the opportunities to extend Gadens Børn family to Norway, as an ambassador. This way we can reach further in our battle for a worthy life with a future full of opportunities, for the street children of Kolkata.

You can read why Pia supports Gadens Børn and what it means to her, here.

AURELIJUS SKARBALIUS

Aurelijus Skarbalius is a former professional football player for, among others, club Brøndby IF, where he later became Head Coach. Today Auri works as Head Coach in the club HB Køge, and has been an ambassador for Gadens Børn since 2015.

Along with John “Faxe” Jensen, Auri hosted the Gadens Boern Charity Dinner at Bistro Boheme in 2015, and the pair have again joined forces in favor of our street children. This time they are planning a Charity Event with focus on their main competence - namely football.