Claudia Janssen, on vacation in Aruba for a project she calls “Offroad Wheelchair Aruba,” will be here until July 9th, so catch her is you can, she is a superhero.
Claudia was badly injured in a car accident 14 years ago, when her legs were crushed. She did not accept the verdict that she will never walk again, and following a long and worthwhile struggle is today providing support to other wheelchair bound individuals.
She came to Aruba on vacation last year and heard from a physiotherapist friend that Aruba’s wheelchair bound residents never get to go to the beach. She set out to fix that by importing an appropriate chair that could facilitate beach experiences for the physically impaired, and by organizing outings with volunteers via a foundation she started, Offroad Wheelchair Aruba.
Claudia is a super energetic and driven individual, she arrived here, asked for what she needed and the universe provided, in the form of KLM and Top Car for transportation of the wheelchair from the Netherlands and on the island. Other organizations she approached such as Kiwanis Palm Beach, Kiwanis Aruba, Circle K, EPI, CEDE Aruba, Aruba Tourism Authority, Care 4 Care, Funari, Aruba Wine & Dine, Mickey’s Foundation, National Park Arikok, AHATA, ATHA, Rotary, Lions and many others, joined immediately.
In the spirit of asking for what she needs she told me I needed to write about her project and to include
an article in Island Temptations Magazine. She loves Aruba, she said, and she swims every day which gives her the energy to work on behalf of others. You could find her at 080 café, she calls it her office, where she is organizing a fund raising party next Saturday.
The accident which left her broken, was followed by very difficult four years in which she couldn’t care for her son. Her marriage fell apart. Yet from the ruins another person emerged, with the help of numerous surgeries, a strong, committed and unstoppable, Claudia.
For more Information about her:
facebook – Offroad Wheelchair Aruba
facebook – Claudia Janssen
www.natuurlijktoegankelijk.org
integral – Humansofonehappyisland
www.femininedomburg.nl – Claudia’s fashion store in the Netherlands
