Gerda Havertong

Havertong was born in 1946 in Paramaribo, Surinam when it was still a Dutch colony. In 1966 Havertong moved to The Hague, the Netherlands. She studied to become a schoolteacher at the University of Amsterdam and graduated 1974.^[2] After her studies she worked as a preschool teacher in Amsterdam. During her time in Amsterdam she played in amateur theatre groups.

In 1975 Havertong returned to Surinam with her husband. In 1977 she sang a song in the Sranan Tongo language in the television series Kon hesi baka - Kom gauw terug.^[3] She also joined the Doe-theater troupe in Paramaribo.^[4]

In 1979 Havertong returned to the Netherlands and started her professional career as an actress. In 1984 she appeared for the first time in the 2.500th episode of Sesamstraat.^[1] In 1988 and 1989 she acted in the Dutch educational show Het Klokhuis, where she also sang the theme tune.^[5]

In 1987 Havertong spoke out against the character of Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) in an episode of Sesamstraat, more than thirty years before this became a large public debate in the Netherlands.^[6]

In 1999 Havertong founded Stichting Wiesje (Wiesje Foundation), a foundation that helps people in Surinam who suffer from dementia, as a remembrance for her mother who suffered from the disease. In 2020 the foundation opened a centre for dementia patients in Paramaribo.^[7]