Rippie’s words about handing over the check to KiKa

Tuesday September 5, 2023. Together with Toya and Wendy and my wife to the Princes Maxima Center (PCM) to present a check with the amount of the last edition 2022 The PCM is a research and treatment center for children with various types of childhood cancer. What a day. What impressions. What an experience. When we enter, a teenager walks towards us with crutches, he is missing his lower leg. A super friendly volunteer from KiKa welcomes us with coffee and tea. In the room overlooking the internal playground. We get a lot of information about what KiKa does and how they are interwoven into the PCM, but still independent. But I’m distracted by a little guy riding around in that playground on a go-kart. It seems he is having the time of his life with his bald head. Play without worries. He saves that for tomorrow.

After coffee we go for a walk through the center. Of course we can’t see everything. But then you see a baby in a baby bed disappear from view through a door. Pfft, I really had to swallow. The child even smaller than the height of my keyboard, shivers went down my spine. I had heard about it and read it, even seen it on TV, but this is so real and so close. Cancer of cancer really knows no age. Very impressed by this unexpected encounter, we enter the exercise garden. No time to get stuck in the emotion any further because there’s a little guy running and flying. Goes down the slide and is not afraid to approach strangers. I asked him if he’s okay and he nods his head vigorously, he says yes, sure, and I give him a thumbs up and he agrees. Further on is a play fountain where a mom and a dad are with their child. Dad tries to avoid the water and he seems to be doing well. You know where you are but there doesn’t seem to be any worries. The hostess also said that they regularly have a water fight with syringes from the balconies. That is also possible because it is all built in a square, so you can always see other people or children from the balconies and anyone walking there during such a fight must count on water balloons. The restaurant is undergoing renovations that need to become larger because the PCM continues to grow.
There we hear that the children can order whatever food they want without being told whether it is healthy or not. It is important that they can eat what they want. They order ala carte and nothing is too crazy. Due to the chemotherapy they receive, a child may only like fries or pancakes. Not eating is not an option, so they get what they like. Taking the elevator to the first floor, a little guy walks into the elevator with an IV pole. 5 different filled syringes full of, I don’t know what but I can imagine what’s in them. I don’t really know where to look and I even feel a bit awkward because I think I’m staring. The IV pole that I had in the hospital a number of times is nothing at all when you compare it to this one. Unfortunately we were unable to enter the music room on the first floor, it has been cleaned for the kids and they can fully enjoy themselves there. And down the hall there were recordings of something or other, so unfortunately we couldn’t look there either. At the top, mom and dad come out of the elevator with their child from the exercise garden. All three of them avoided the water because no one got wet We also visited the famous landing to the Wilhelmina children’s hospital, I call it the rainbow landing One girl mainly used it to speed through on her scooter. and yes, as a visitor there are really only 2 real rules. Children are the boss and children always have priority, so we make room for that girl so she can continue scootering at full speed.

The visit to the PCM. I was very touched by it, I am very happy that we were able to do this. I now know even better why I and why we are committed so hard to our campaign CharitySL.nl in action for KiKa. I have now been able to see with my own eyes how much every euro is needed and how well every euro is spent. And despite the fact that the children often become or are extremely ill from the treatments. They are a bunch of great kids with a resilience like I have you there. My focus for the success of our action week now goes from 125% to 200%.
And I hope that we can donate a mega amount to KiKa again after our event from November 22, 2023 to November 27, 2023.

I say in advance:
Thank you for your support, your participation and your donation.

Regards,
~ Rippie Clip, Ceo CharitySL.nl ~