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A group of Ukrainian youngsters recently experienced an unforgettable week at Damen companies in Vlissingen and Gorinchem. Stichting Damen Helpt [the ‘Damen Helps Foundation’] had invited 15 children of colleagues and their supervisors to come to the Netherlands for a week for an interesting, cultural and, above all, fun and relaxing visit. Their stay and activities were sponsored by Damen Yachting and Damen Naval, as well as local businesses, such as Hotel de Timmerfabriek, Museumschip Mercuur, muZEEum, SEC Catering, Pier 7, Reintjes Benelux and the Municipality of Vlissingen.
Joyce and Roland Briene.
“On Sunday 25 June, two groups with children between 12 and 17 years old with two mothers landed at Brussels airport,” Joyce Briene, wife of Damen Naval Managing Director Roland Briene, told us. “They had not been to the Netherlands before, let alone spoke the language. Some of them spoke very good English, some not at all and my Ukrainian is not the best; but what fun we all had together!” The group left where they checked in at Hotel de Timmerfabriek by taxi van and were welcomed by a team of Damen volunteers. In the evening, they ate fish & chips at Fredsons Vlissingen.
Their busy programme began the following day: they were given an extensive tour of the shipyard at Damen Yachting and came to Damen Naval for lunch. “Together with Kristine Kools, who had arranged the lunch, I welcomed the group and got to know them better. There was a short ‘meet & greet’ with Roland and a photo by the stairs was of course part of this. The lunch was delicious, although the croquettes were not so much to their liking,” Joyce laughs.
She got involved with the visit after talking to Annelies Damen and was so excited that she checked her diary and took time off work. After lunch, she spent three days with the visitors. “In the beginning, the children were still a bit timid but, in the afternoon, they loosened up quite a bit. We took the group to the Mercuur museum ship where we received a very warm welcome and the children all found it extremely interesting. They asked lots of questions, wanted to look everywhere and even asked for an autograph from the ‘captain’. It was great fun!”
The youngsters enjoyed their visit to Museum Ship Mercuur.
And the day was not over yet. After a short refreshment break, the party headed to Pier 7 where a long table was set for dinner on the beach. “We had a delicious buffet and then worked it off by looking for shells, some football and beach volleyball. Meanwhile, we were joined by a couple of colleagues from Young Damen who joined in with the ball games. It was great fun and, as far as I am concerned, the highlight of my three days with this group!”
On Tuesday, the group visited the Iguana reptile zoo, took a ride on the solar-powered train and visited muZEEum. In the evening, the group returned to Damen Yachting for a special evening with an Indonesian buffet. Joyce: “During the whole visit, photographer Ruud Rodermond, a delightful man, was there the whole time to take pictures. As a farewell, he had made a slideshow of the photos with Ukrainian rock music underneath. All the sponsors were invited too. It was a great evening and a nice way to end the visit to Vlissingen.”
"What special, intriguing, sweet, fun, enthusiastic, strong, and smart people. I will keep them in my heart forever." Joyce Briene
The next day, the children left for Gorinchem where a special programme had been arranged: from building birdhouses to a visit to a ship simulator and from a tour of the city of Gorinchem to an afternoon of traditional Dutch games and a visit to Slot Loevestein. “It was so much fun for everyone to walk on stilts, hula-hoop, and run a sack race. Only ‘spijkerpoepen’ [nail-pooping; ask your Dutch colleagues about what this is] went too far for the children,” Joyce jokes. “In the evening, we had dinner at De Beren and then it was time for me to say goodbye to the group. With tears in our eyes.”
Joyce looks back on an unforgettable experience. “What a wonderful initiative this was from the Stichting Damen Helpt. I got to know lots of lovely, lovely people. From Damen Yachting, Naval, Gorinchem but also outside Damen. And not forgetting the children and the mothers. What special, intriguing, sweet, fun, enthusiastic, strong, and smart people. I will keep them in my heart forever. I still have app contact with some of them and I know they had a fantastic time. They really like the Netherlands and are very grateful to Damen for the experience.”
