The Art Bible Child Foundation (ABC) was founded in 1986 by Mrs Cath. de Stigter-Janse (1930-2017). Her goal was to pass on the Gospel by means of Biblical art (visual language) especially among children raised in difficult circumstances. These might be orphans and homeless children in developing countries, but also children in western countries from deprived urban areas and from broken families.
Booklets from the series ´What the Bible tells us´ were translated and made available on a non-profit basis to organizations and individuals who concerned themselves with the teaching and care for children. The ABC Foundation especially aimed at children who would probably never be able to own a full children’s Bible. The series ´What the Bible tells us´, developed by the Netherlands Bible Society in cooperation with the artist Kees de Kort, is very suitable for this target group. In this series Bible stories are presented in clear visual language, and published in a practical and inexpensive format.
Founder Mrs Cath. de Stigter-Janse took the initiative to produce booklets from this series in languages not yet, or no more, available. For more than 20 years she worked with heart and soul to realize publication of the booklets in more than 25 languages.
The story texts going with the illustrations were translated by native speakers, in consultation with ABC. The translations are as close as possible to the original Bible texts in modern language. In collaboration with the Netherlands Bible Society, which has the author’s rights for the original texts of the series, the booklets were printed and distributed. Mrs Cath. de Stigter-Janse was the moving force behind the work of ABC until the year 2011. Her husband, children and a number of volunteers helped her both financially and practically. The Netherlands Reformed Church in Wageningen gave financial support. When she was no longer able to continue the work due to health reasons, family members took over. In December 2017 she passed away. Payments from delivered materials and donations – largely from previous years – made the work financially possible.
In 2014 governance of ABC was taken over by a new board. The original aim of the foundation is given a revised form, with help of a large network of relations.