Gluten-free cookies, sugar-free candies and fresh cakes. Christmas is still a long way off, but 38-year-old Wilma van Eijk from Waspik has been collecting donations for her Christmas gifts for people with food intolerances and allergies since January of this year. And she does so with enthusiasm despite her illness.
She started it nine years ago and now she takes care of almost 80 Christmas hampers for children, adults and families with food intolerances and allergies. And don’t forget about people who are having a hard time financially. “They fall between two stools otherwise.”
“My husband and child help with the packing.”
First, the contents of the packages came from her own wallet. But because she can no longer work because of her illness, she is dependent on donations. Wilma has rheumatism and ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis), a disease that causes the left and right sides of her body to fall out, often exhaustion, and memory loss.
But this doesn’t stop her from helping those around her. “I can’t lift anything myself,” she says. “But I read out everything that goes in the boxes, and my husband and children help with the packing.”
This is very accurate, she adds. She knows exactly what goes where. “I also read out all allergies, then I check for the first time, and then again, to make sure we pack everything properly.”
Wilma does her best to get specific foods. About fifty of the packages are for people with food intolerances. It ranges from gluten, wheat and lactose intolerance to peanut, milk and sugar allergies.
Collecting donations and finding companies to help her are difficult, she adds. While donations flowed in smoothly in previous years, now 80 percent of the companies that donated have dropped out. “I understand, everything is getting more expensive. But I also don’t know what to take into account,” she says.
“A pack of gluten- and wheat-free cookies can cost as little as 5 euros,” says Wilma. “Sometimes you have companies that have some lactose-free chocolate letters left after Sinterklaas because they don’t sell very well. Of course I hope for those companies that they sell the chocolate letters for their own turnover, but secretly I hope that there is still some left for my packages. ”
“I would love to surprise the children with something new.”
Besides food, Wilma likes to put toys and clothes in the packages. “The items are often second-hand, and the children really like that, but I would also love to surprise them with something new,” she says.
The number of people who come to pick up a package from the 38-year-old is increasing every year. Sometimes they are new faces, but also many acquaintances from previous years. “The need is increasing all the time,” she says. “You hope that the people who are having a hard time financially get out, especially because everything has become more expensive lately.”
Wilma has been doing something for people who need it for a long time, and has no intention of stopping. “I think about the children, that’s what I do it for,” she says. “If I don’t do it, who will?”