It was a big disappointment for Vanessa Nijman and especially her daughter Loïs from Eindhoven. After 45 successful years, the children’s holiday week in the Achtse Barrier district is cancelled. And all because of a lack of volunteers.
“We read it on Facebook last week,” says Vanessa. “My God, I thought. What a pity that is.” And not so much for her own daughter Loïs, who has enjoyed participating in the week full of activities for about five years now. “She is in group 7, so maybe she would participate for another year.”
What Vanessa is more concerned about is the future of the neighborhood. “That we can no longer get this off the ground in a neighborhood with so many children, that’s bad, isn’t it? And the other parents in the neighborhood also agreed on that.”
So she approached the Open Children’s Activities Achtse Barrier (OKA), which has been organizing the children’s holiday week for decades. “I offered to arrange volunteers myself. But unfortunately, it was too short a day.”
“No volunteers, no activities.”
OKA chairman Henk de Kleijn has an explanation for this. “Even if it were still possible to get a group of people together, it would never be possible to put together an entire program in time. The summer holidays are almost starting, and then a large part of our board will first start with their own children on vacation.”
That doesn’t mean the president isn’t sad about it. On the contrary: “Of course it’s a shame. I’ve been involved in it for 21 years myself.” But there was no other option than to cancel. “Safety is our top priority. I need 25 supervisors per day. The counter in terms of registrations was now 1 for half a day. And yes, no volunteers, no activities.”
So the conclusion seems clear: no children’s holiday week this year. However? Well, if it’s up to Vanessa, there’s another alternative coming. “I asked OKA what they think about it if we try to set up something ourselves. The last thing I want is to be in their waters. But that was no problem.”
“This way we can still offer the children a nice last week of the holiday.”
The first contacts have already been made. “Tomorrow we will have a first consultation with Dynamo Jeugdwerk, a youth organization that can help find guidance and organize activities. “It will be a little less extensive than usual, but this way we can still give the children in our neighborhood a nice last week of the holiday.”
And as for OKA’s role? “It is clear for this year: we are really not participating,” says Henk. “But we hope that it can continue again next year.”