Koen van Praag, director of the Hilversum primary school De Wilgetoren, decided on Tuesday to pick up refugees by coach. Children from the school and their parents then did everything they could to collect items as quickly as possible that could be taken with them for the people in Ukraine.
Jan Bodaar was one of the volunteers who went along. “I came across this initiative through a cycling group,” he says. “Koen van Praag had a rough plan on Tuesday and on Wednesday night we left for Ukraine to pick up 30 refugees. We went that way with nine men, a coach and a material truck.” Bodaar thought that farewell was very special. “Parents of the Wilgetoren were waving goodbye to us in the middle of the night. What are you doing with that?”
The arrival at the Polish border with Ukraine made a big impression on Bodaar. “It’s the border to a country at war, that’s always bad. You’ve prepared yourself, but it’s just different of course.” They ended up in a large hall where people lay on camp beds. “You see what happens to people when they are really displaced.”
full bus
Contact was also made with people in Ukraine who would bring together a group of 30 people who could come to the Netherlands. Once there, the plan had to be adjusted, because only sixteen people of that group could come along. In the end they were able to fill the bus with people who could come to the Netherlands, because they wanted to use the space. “We walked through that hall with cardboard with Hollandia Amsterdam underneath.” And they got the bus full.
Initially, the volunteers did not dive on top of their passengers and let themselves go on the bus. Bodaar noticed that after a few hours people started to talk a little more and there was more relaxation. He says that funny situations also arose, for example when hamburgers and fries were bought for the entire bus. “The people behind the counter were shocked.”
He also had a special moment with a girl who fled without her parents. “She had a cat with her and I showed a picture of my cat at home on my phone. Then you see again that the girl is a girl, instead of in the war.”
Late last night they returned to Hilversum and the refugees were received in a hotel after a 20-hour bus trip. Bodaar is happy that the people there get a little rest. He is impressed by the effort that everyone shows. “Parents of the school really put their shoulders to the wheel.”