My name is Jitse Bouma, I am a fanatic athlete and love travelling. In september I will be leaving for India by bike to raise money for the Princess Maxima Centre.
Why am I going to cycle 10,000 km for children with cancer?
When I was 12, I had leukaemia. For 2 years I was limited in my energy and I could not exercise. By training hard under the guidance of a physio I became fit again! I found his work so cool that I studied to become a physiotherapist myself. After 5 years of doing this amazing job, I have decided to stop and travel again.
Travel
My dream as a little boy was to travel the world. One of the places that impressed me was the Amazon. Last year I lived in the Amazon jungle for a month and one of my biggest wishes came true. While I was there, I realized that the leukaemia had had a greater impact on my life than I initially thought, and I wanted to do something with this realization! I wanted to travel but without damaging the environment. This in combination with my love for sports and nature gave me the idea to go cycling! I thought “how cool would it be for me, as an ex-cancer patient, to inspire children who are currently in hospital by taking them with me on my bike”
One thing led to another and six months later the DreamCycle Foundation was created. The foundation cooperates with the Princess Maxima Centre and is committed to ‘inspire children with cancer and ex child-cancer patients to live their dreams’. We also collect money for research into ‘improving the participation of children with cancer through occupational therapy”.
Vlogs
Together with doctors, physiotherapists and occupational therapists from the Princess Maxima Centre, we try to motivate children to exercise more and to participate in sport, among other things. I am going to use vlogs for this! Through my blogs and vlogs I hope to inspire children to live their dreams and follow their hearts during and after their period of illness. Children who, like me at the time, are limited by their illness.
I believe that positivity helps us to move forward. That is why I think we can help children with cancer to live their dreams, even if they are seriously ill. By applauding the small step we give them confidence in their own bodies and they can forget the illness for a while and enjoy the step towards their big dream!
If you would like to help, Click here to donate.