“I still get tears in my eyes if I talk about it but a few weeks ago I met a woman, here in this street and she looked very worried. I asked her what was wrong and she explained that she just got out of an abusive relationship. I invited her to my church. The next day she came to a church meeting and she told me that she barely has enough money to provide for her children. I am not a rich man but my faith has taught me to help those in need. I went to the supermarket and got her a bag full of groceries. I know that is not a solution to her problems but when I gave her the bag, I could see a bit of relief in her eyes.”

‘‘It sounds a bit strange but when I was diagnosed with a hypermobility syndrome I actually felt relieved. For a big part of my life I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I would always feel so exhausted and my body would hurt. When the doctor diagnosed me I finally knew I wasn’t exaggerating. Because my condition isn’t something you can see from the outside it is really hard for other people to understand my limitations. Because of my limitations its really hard to find a job. Even if I were employed I probably would be physically disapproved. However, I don’t want to have to depend on welfare and I belief I can contribute to society with my art. I never gave up my passion for painting and illustrating so I decided to work as a freelancer. There is a lot of competition in my field and still I am struggling to get enough work but I really love my job. I am also really blessed with the people around me. My boyfriend for example, he doesn’t make a big deal out of my condition and he gives me the feeling that I am much more than my disease. Also my friends are incredible. 9 out of 10 times I am fatigue and I have to cancel going to their events such as birthday parties and weddings because I am experiencing a lot of physical pain. Still they keep inviting me even though I can never really commit. That just means the world to me.‘‘

“Every morning I wake up at 4:45AM just to get to work here in Amsterdam. I’m from the North of the country and I’m actually a carpenter not a construction worker but since to financial crisis it’s hard to get a contract so I take any job I can get. I make long heavy days, I spend a lot of time in traffic but honestly I’m just glad that I have a job.”

“Not too many people know that I am a graduated doctor. Even though I loved studying medicine, the hospital wasn’t the right environment for me to work in. When I graduated, a friend of mine who had just finished his studies in business asked me to become his business partner. He had this idea to open a Tea Bar here in Amsterdam which is quite revolutionary since here in The Netherlands there is mainly a coffee culture. It was quite a switch from studying Medicine to becoming an entrepreneur but I was really excited to start this adventure. We worked incredibly hard to visualize what we had in mind. The beautiful thing about tea is that so many countries have their own tea and tea-traditions.
I myself have Moroccan roots and my business partner is Pakistani so we both try to bring a bit of our own culture through tea. At the same time we are constantly exploring the world through tea-traditions. It is really a beautiful way to get to know the world.”

“Sometimes I see pictures on Facebook where people are on a beach and jump in the air. Because of my physical condition I am not able to jump, so when I see those photo’s I am reminded of the fact I don’t have all the physical freedom I would like to have. However, despite of my condition I still feel free. I was born with this condition but it is up to me to decide how I live my life. I play music in a latin band, I volunteer and I am part of the national 4 and 5 May youth committee, a committee who draws attention to the Dutch Memorial and Liberation day. Together with a multi-cultural group of young people we organise a yearly memorial service in Amsterdam at the Van Woustraat. Where there used to be a ice-cream shop named Koco. The owners, Alfred Kohn and Ernst Cahn were both Jewish. In Februari 1941 Alfred Kohn was deported to a concentration camp and one month later Ernst Cahn was executed by the Nazis. The story really touches my heart because it shows what it is like to lose all your Freedom. I never been through war but I do realize how important it is to be reminded of the freedom that we have. That is why I am involved in the committee, so people don’t forget.”