Student Adinda did an internship at Kolewa en created a beautiful flyer concerning Down Syndrome:
During the third year of her educational program Social Work and Services Adinda had to make a professional product: the treatment plan. The goal of the assignment was that she would focus on writing a plan for the client including activities which would connect to the needs of the client and the Kolewa foundation. Adinda chose to make a development plan for Wellem.
In the social work branch the work is mainly methodical. Methodical work happens in several steps. Information has to be collected, an analysis of the client has to be made, the needs and goals have to be set, activities need to be plannend and the implementation and analysis of these plans need to be made as well as the adjustment of the needed guidance and support.
This assignment is meant to show that the student can use the knowledge he/she has gained in practise and to get more skilled in writing a plan. For the treatment plan Adinda focused on Wellem. Willem is a 4-year-old boy who has anusatresie and the Down Syndrome. His mother and the staff of Kolewa had little or no clue of what this Syndrome meant and what Wellem could and couldn’t do. Wellem’s mother had a lot of attention for him and therefore Wellem had little space to make mistakes and to develop himself. Adinda made an activity schedule for improvement both physically as wel as metrically. The focus in this scheme was at learning to walk, learning to communicate by using sign language and the metric improvement by practicing with this. [Read more…]
It all started in 2015 with Ingky, a boy from Kupang that had been seriously mutilated by burns. At Kolewa, we had never experienced something like this before, and we called this teenager the ‘living dead boy’. It was truly shocking. For Syta Plantinga, it was clear that she was going to help this boy: she only had to think about a way how. By using and showing photographs and film material of Ingky, Syta discussed her plans with Nestor John Fawcett from Australia, who was also a field partner for people with eye problems on Bali. Deeply moved, John promised his cooperation and so the story starts. John made it possible to arrange a doctor and a hospital in Perth. Syta arranged all paperwork for Inkgy and his accompanying family, made sure Ingky and his family could stay at another family in Australia and also raised funds for travel costs and accommodation costs among other things. 
Hello everyone, my name is Eva Leliveld, I am sixteen years old and I live in Alphen aan den Rijn, in the Netherlands. I volunteered at Kolewa for one month. This past month has impressed me a lot, I have seen that Kolewa is a really special foundation, I have met a lot of new people and I have learned a great deal of new things. I would love to share my impressive experiences with you! 
On a Dutch forum on cleft lip and palate I found the following statement: ‘The reactions you get when your child is born with a cleft lip or palate are largely positive.’ Of course this sparked curiosity and so I read some of them. And I must say, the reactions were diverse. No matter how well-prepared parents may be, reactions of ignorant people can still be crushing. Even if the ultrasound has already shown that your unborn child has a cleft lip and an entire cleft lip and palate team will be there when you give birth, as parents you still have to go through quite a process. 
