“She has a life full of inspiring stories but also hardships.”

Amsterdam telt meer dan 880.000 buren met maarliefst 180 verschillende nationaliteiten! De Amsterdammers lopen, fietsen en leven langs elkaar heen, maar bij Burennetwerk proberen we die vele leefbubbels juist te doorbreken. Buren elkaar te laten ontmoeten, elkaar te helpen en van elkaar te leren. Meer oog voor elkaar en je blik verbreden, dat is wat veel buren uit hun ontmoeting met een buur via Burennetwerk halen. Regelmatig krijgen we leuke reacties binnen van buren die elkaar ontmoet hebben. Zo ook van goede buur Yuki. Ze stuurt ons een sprankelende selfie en verslag van hun inmiddels 3 jaar durend burencontact (in het Engels). 

“I’m Yuki and I’ve being regularly in touch with Mevrouw Schipper (90) for almost three years thanks to the Burennetwerk. Yesterday we finally took a selfie together. This is our story:

“Ans and I first met in 2020 as she was looking for someone to occasionally go for a walk with. Her physical condition suddenly worsen but we expected that it’ll get better in a few months. Unfortunately with the long term medication she got and although she’d exercised hard to be able to get fit, the pandemic hit forcing us all to stay indoors. She hasn’t being to able to walk well since, so we normally hang out at her place. Outdoors or indoors, it doesn’t matter as we always have a nice time, sometimes we spoke on the phone and eventually started meeting in person again. 

I’ve lost my grandpa in Japan a few years ago and it left a big hole, so when I moved to Amsterdam I was eager to discover the stories of older generations living in the neighborhood and who would appreciate some company. Ans and I immediately clicked, she hasn’t become a grandma to me as I first expected, that age gap disappeared once we just became friends that enjoy a nice chat. She has a bright mind, wisdom, kindness and a life full of inspiring stories but also hardships. I’m always impressed to see how independent she is and how she faces the daily challenges of a visually impaired person.

Our next goal is for her to stay active so we can finally go for walk together in spring 2023!”