A fundraising campaign has been launched for those most affected by the fire in the apartment complex on Joan Muyskenweg in Amsterdam. Residents and employees of the adjacent hotel have set up the initiative and ten days after the fire destroyed several homes, quite a lot has already arrived.
The top floor of the building, which has 95 apartments, was particularly hard hit. Lars Lischke and his family escaped the flames just in time. “We actually lost everything,” he says. “We had just put the kids to bed and then the neighbors knocked on the door. There was already smoke in our apartment and when we picked up the sleeping kids the smoke detector went off because there was already so much smoke in the room. Then we ran outwards.”
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He has since recovered from the greatest shock, but the family did lose all their belongings. Others on the top floor also saw nothing of their belongings, so fellow residents and an employee of the adjacent hotel started a fundraising campaign. One of the initiators is Emma Ramos Vargas. She is happy to be able to do something for all those affected. “It’s all very overwhelming, especially from a positive point of view,” she says in the storage room. “Everything we can do for each other personally does me a lot of good. I think we really do this together, as neighbors and as a kind of support group.”
“It is now nice to see that we have really become a community and are there for each other”
The connection with each other was not there before. People said hello to each other, but there was generally no close contact between the residents. “On the one hand, it is a pity that we have only been so connected after the fire and that we never had it before,” said Ramos Vargas. “It is now nice to see that that has happened and that we have really become a community and are there for each other.”
Lars was on the verge of moving. “In our burned down apartment everything was in boxes,” he says. “Everything was prepared for the move and we will receive the key for our new home this week.” But he didn’t have any clothes right after the fire, but that problem has been solved for now through a fundraising campaign. “Look at me, this is all from here. My kids and wife also have clothes from here. And that’s all we have at the moment.”
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From the moment the fire broke out, the adjacent hotel has also been of great value to the residents. “I’m glad we can still do something,” said director Francis Windt. “We now have 37 people sleeping with us. We talk about how things are going now. One of our employees is collecting clothes together with a resident. We want to help with all initiatives that we can help with. “
The help for those affected is currently still close at hand. Co-residents and their loved ones have contributed to the campaign, but initiator Emma expects that the ball has only just started rolling. The storage space is now mainly filled with clothing, but more is needed. “Think furniture, children’s rooms, cribs, you name it,” she indicates. “So we are also looking for real furniture for these people. Also everyday items, because people have also lost TVs, laptops.”
In addition to items, the initiators are looking for a volunteer who has experience with fundraising campaigns such as this one. The coordination is now done by residents who, just like the worst affected, also have to look for new accommodation and arrange numerous things.
An email address has been created for anyone who wants to lend a helping hand: [email protected]
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