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„We have dreams” – Impressions from our stay in the
Netherlands
In the period of 12th – 17th of
April 2010, 11 members of the “Ożarowska” Association
had had unquestionable pleasure of visiting the
Netherlands. The enterprise was organized by the
Wandafonds Foundation based in the Netherlands. We came
to Holland for two reasons:
- To broaden
the cooperation between the Wandafonds Foundation and the “Ożarowska”
Association by bringing together young people from both countries.
-
To
familiarize ourselves with forms of support that the disabled people living in
the Netherlands get from the state, including organization of supported housing.
We would like to use some of the solutions in Poland.
Merian
van Buren, the treasurer of the Wandafonds Foundation took on the demanding task
of both being our guide and dealing with organizational matters. Each day we
would leave the hotel in the morning and go to the train station by means of
vans adopted for the transport of wheelchairs. At the train station, while
waiting for the train to come, we would look in amazement at the solutions
implemented to facilitate travel for people with disabilities (like for example
movable, reclining ramps for wheelchairs) and on the train specially adopted
toilets as well as other improvements in public transport which made travelling
easier. During our stay we visited Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam. On the
first day we were joined by Eric, representative of our Dutch peers, who went
with us to the headquarters of BOSK – Association for People with Impaired Motor
Skills and their Parents. The Association has been active for 40 years and it
still plays an important part as a pressure group fighting for the creation and
implementation of system solutions for the support of people with disabilities
and their families. We learned about BOSK from its press spokesman, Bianca Lamme.
Next we had a very educational meeting with the representative of Makkers
Unlimited an organization fighting with discrimination of disabled people in a
very unconventional way with the help of local authorities and media. The
meeting was held in an adorable, little restaurant, so while sipping coke (and
other beverages) we could learn how to fight for the rights of disabled people
in a fun way. We also discussed whether it would be possible to organize such
happenings in Poland? Who knows, maybe we will use some of our guest’s
suggestions.The next morning we set out for Amsterdam and spent the entire day
sightseeing. The main attraction was the cruise around the canals of the Amstel
river on a boat equipped with a special elevator for wheelchairs. It was a sunny
day and we could admire the city’s beautiful architecture, water dwellings and
the richness of the local flora and fauna. We ate lunch on the patio of a
restaurant situated by the river. Imagine our surprise when we found out that
the waiter serving our courses was Polish! After we had filled our stomachs with
all the goodies we went for a stroll around town full of bikers and charming
alleys. We also managed to buy some souvenirs. We started off another day of our
stay with visit to Hoogstraat – Rehabilitation, Sport and Fitness Centre in
Utrecht. Everyone could try out many different devices, some of them truly
ingenious, like for example ‘rowboat”, track for training wheelchair skills and
others that were interesting alternative for the “traditional” form of
rehabilitation with which at times we are fed up. Later on in the day we were
invited to take part in workshops entitled “I have a dream”. They were conducted
in a very friendly and emotional way by Heleen van Tilburg – interpersonal
communications specialist and Frank de Ridder – psychologist. Through our
dreams they managed to expose positive sides of our character and made us see
what are the possibilities of realizing our dreams. The workshops were to
motivate us to fight for the realization of our dreams. Next we were in for a
treat as we were invited to take part in the training of Feeyenord Rotterdam
football team, meeting with the players and their coach Leo Beenhakker, who is
also honorable ambassador of the Wandafonds Foundation. After a photo shoot and
shaking hands with the players and the coach we went to see the club’s museum
with rich collection of team’s memorabilia.
-
At the end of the day the organizers had one more surprise in store for us. We
went to see the Supported House in Pappendrecht, where seven young people with
impaired motor skills live independently with the help of personal assistants.
We met with founders of this home – mothers of two disabled boys who 10 years
ago started a battle for decent living conditions for this group of physically
disabled people who with the right support are able to function reasonably well
on their own and fulfill their dreams outside their family home(s). We were
given many valuable suggestions which we will try to use as an argument in our
fight for organization of such homes and flats in Poland.
It
was an eventful and emotional visit. We have seen and learned a lot. We have
experienced great hospitality and openness of our Dutch friends responsible for
organization of our visit. The entire team (12 people!) did an amazing job! We
would especially like to thank Eva Kooyman for such an amazing idea, invitation
and making this visit possible, Merian van Buren who was with us every step of
the way making sure everything was as it should be. We would also like to thank
all representatives of the Wandafonds Foundation who volunteered to make our
stay in Holland an unforgettable experience, this of course includes our friend
Eric whom we would love to see in Poland.
Kasia, Małgosia, Tomek, Karol and Mateusz with parents
[photos]
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