“People feel so good that sometimes they don’t even need a medicine in the evening.” Stichting VaarKracht organizes boat trips for people with cancer and their relatives. According to people with the disease, an afternoon on the water is very good for them.
VaarKracht is a foundation that started organizing boat trips for people with cancer in Huizen. On a local scale, people could already go sailing with initiators Robert Rust and Lieke Idsinga eleven years ago.
When you’re on the water, you forget for a moment that you’re sick
Now that the sailing season has started again, the same Robert and Lieke are still on their boats to give people with cancer a beautiful day on the water, but they also have places throughout the country where volunteers can use the boat together with patients. enter. “Who would have thought that such a local initiative would get such a reach?”, says the couple.
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Opening sailing season with the VaarKracht foundation – NH News
Lieke Idsinga herself has had to deal with breast cancer. “We have always been into water sports. This gives so much satisfaction, peace and space. When you are on the water, you forget for a moment that you are ill.”
Tension and stress slipping away from you
Lieke and her partner wish others that feeling too. “With such weather it is really a gift,” says Lieke. “When they get off the boat, all tensions often disappear. Some feel so good that they don’t even need their medication in the evening after an afternoon on the boat,” says Robert. “A few hours on the water is very healing and liberating.”
They can every year with their foundation serving about 1600 people (patients and their relatives and friends). A team of more than a hundred permanent skippers is ready to make their boat available and take to the water with the guests. In addition, several hundred volunteers nationwide support the foundation.