If your life is almost daily dominated by being sick. Then it is of course very nice to be able to forget all your worries every now and then. Today 8-year-old Zoë Baas from Hoogeveen stepped into a dream world and was a princess for a day.
“I can dance, sing, and in a carriage. And also eat chips”, the 8-year-old girl in her blue princess dress radiates.
princess day
The special day for Zoë is organized by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The intention is to make the wishes of sick children come true, to make them forget that they are sick. “Yes, this is of course the most beautiful job in the Netherlands, to be a wish-grant”, laughs Charlotte Kappelle of Make-A-Wish.
Of course, it’s mainly about the special day itself. But according to Kappelle, the experience already starts in the preparation for the day. “We call that a wish journey. It starts when the child is registered and our wish collector comes by to discuss the wish. That process can take three to four months. And then the child already has something to look forward to,” said Kappelle.
Shine
Zoë was immediately clear with her wish. She wanted to live like a princess for a day. “We first went to the hairdresser this morning,” Celina Baas tells about her daughter’s full program. “Of course her hair was done there, but also the make-up. Then we were sent home with cake to chill for a while. Then the limousine came and we drove to this estate with a police escort.”
Just before the pink limousine with Zoë’s name pulled up at the Het Laer estate in Ommen, the staff is wiping the last leaves of the blue carpet. A few minutes later, the little princess shines on the carpet. What does she love about being a princess? “That I can dance and sit in a carriage,” says Zoë.