Wil Poot is crying on the street. “My car that I am so proud of…” she sobs. The words find their way through the tears. Her 45-kilometer car is now on the tow truck. Her car disappears – and with it a large part of her freedom.
They had been out together, friends Wil Poot and Anneke Brink. Once home with Anneke in Vries, Wil parked her 45-kilometer car. They drank a cup of coffee together and Wil, who has difficulty walking, then wanted to drive back to her own house. Then it turns out that her car has been destroyed.
“She came to me crying. ‘My car,’ she said,” Anneke remembers. The rear window of the car was shattered and the frame was damaged. In retrospect, Anneke had heard glass shattering. You can also hear some things via the doorbell camera, but you can hardly see anything.
To gain more clarity, her friend places an appeal on Facebook on Wil’s behalf. Many reactions follow.
“I thought: this is not possible, rowdiness at its finest,” says Lien Witholt in response to her fellow villager’s call. “Then a woman like that, who is striking too, is the victim of this. She is someone who, I heard from her, has already been through a lot. We have to do something about that.”
It soon turns out that the insurance does not cover the damage and Wil cannot pay the repair costs himself. That’s why Lien started a campaign to raise money. In two days, about thirty people donated a total of almost 600 euros. Thanks to a significant discount on the repair, it seems that the car can become the old one again, provided there are no setbacks.
This morning the car was picked up to be taken to a damage repair company in Eelde. Wil is emotional, but very happy that her car is being repaired and grateful for the people who helped her. The tears come and go when she sees her car being towed away.
Lien understands Wil’s emotions all too well: “For someone who walks so poorly, it is extremely difficult that your means of transport is so badly abused. Especially if you cannot pay for the damage yourself.”