Blaring sirens and flashing lights. Anyone who saw the procession of fire engines and police cars pass by this weekend might have thought that a disaster had happened in Eindhoven. Fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Children with backpacks were driven along the GLOW route like VIPs by the emergency services, because they cannot attend the event in a normal way. ‘I got to go along in handcuffs!’
Dream4kids
Giving children the day of their lives. That is the aim of Dream4Kids and the organisation behind GLOW. After all, they haven’t always had it easy. ‘When children have experienced something intense in their lives and need help, they come to Youth Protection or a therapist to help them cope with the trauma. As part of the treatment plan, they are signed up with us for a dream day,’ explains Linda Peters of Dream4Kids.
They have already completed the dream day, but as icing on the cake, they got to take a unique look at GLOW. Some 19 old and new vehicles from the emergency services were summoned for the purpose. ‘It was a bit exciting,’ admits one girl.
‘I rode along in a police car. And had my picture taken with the president of Eindhoven,’ another participant enthusiastically lists. ‘The thing I liked most was being handcuffed,’ says another boy. ‘Those kids can normally never go to anything, but now they have a sense of belonging and that’s important,’ GLOW director Ronald Ramakers explains his motive.
Aspiring artist
After seeing the works of light art, do the children have a taste for it? ‘If I have to choose between being a professional hockey player and an artist, I would still go for hockey,’ says one girl.
GLOW can be visited until Saturday.
Source: Studio040.nl
Translated by: Anitha Sevugan
