Curaçao Red Cross help young people enjoy “week of your life" trip

7 July 20006

“The week of your life” was the slogan used on the Netherlands Red Cross (NLRC) website to attract young people, especially those with disabilities, to participate in an online game. The prize: a holiday on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao.

The “The week of your life” campaign was launched in May 2006 after the NLRC discovered in a recent study that more than half of the chronically ill and young persons with special needs between the ages 16 to 30 feel lonely.

They also found that 20 % of those questioned, said they don’t like their current life. It was found that going on a holiday can make a great difference in the lives of young people with special needs, as they do not have the opportunity to vacation often.

Five young people – three living with some form of disability - won the internet game and had an exciting week of their life from June 14 – 21.

An interesting and quite extensive programme was organized for them by the NLRC in cooperation with the Hidden Treasure Foundation, a Curaçao-based organisation that facilitates trips for people with special needs.

Curaçao is quite easy to visit for tourists with special needs as many places are accessible to the disabled, including several beaches.

Diving sessions and swimming with the dolphins seemed the most exciting activities, but the winners also had time to relax on the beach and sample the various drink cocktails.

Curaçao Red Cross youth participated with the group and spoke about their life on the island.

During their time together the five winners, three Red Cross volunteers who assisted them and a journalist from the Telegraaf, the most read morning paper in the Netherlands, who accompanied the young people, became good friends.

The journalist was present to help show persons without any physical or mental disability that young people with special needs have the same feelings, interests and rights.

This was captured one evening at a bar when a Dutch young man, showing great pity on his face, said to one of the young people without special needs that he thinks that it is very brave of her to go on holiday with a person with a disability. She, of course, didn’t give him any of the attention he was looking for.

At the end of the week, the winners all agreed that they really had the week of their life and will never forget the Red Cross and Curaçao. New friendships were made and a lot was learned.

This was the first and hopefully not the last time Curaçao was chosen to host this event.