The Corona outbreak has influenced healthcare in many ways, only part of which is visible to the general public. There is also a huge impact that most people are unaware of, for example on children who have a parent with cancer receiving treatments in hospital. These children are unable to be near their parent during the treatments, as the risk of infection is too high due to the parent’s compromised immune system. A Dutch initiative called ‘Veel liefs’ (Lots of love) teamed up with the Buddyhuis (Buddy house) foundation in the St. Antonius hospital to put together a project involving bringing affected children closer to their parents through BuddyBears.
The idea behind the BuddyBears is that the bear can take the child’s place and accompany the parent to the hospital. Children find this a comforting idea, as they know their parent won’t be alone during their treatments. The BuddyBears also offer the chance to show children what happens at the hospital, as the parents can take pictures with the BuddyBear, to show the children at home. This gives the children a chance to talk about what is happening, better understand and work through their emotions.
The first 150 BuddyBears were delivered to the hospital by Veel Liefs on 4 September 2020, where they were welcomed by foundation volunteers and passed on to parents that are sick. The BuddyBears have been ready to help ever since.
