Social engagement is an important part of our philosophy at Wolky. We learned about the disease spina bifida because of Teun, the son of friends of Wolky director Anthony Diks and his wife Ingeborg. Anthony and Ingeborg’s thoughts were: We have a healthy company and two healthy children. Can’t we give something back? The result is the Spibi Foundation, a charity set up last year that is dedicated to improving the lives of children and young people with spina bifida in a practical, targeted way. The first project was to produce a reading book for young children with Teun in the leading role, explaining what spina bifida is in a fun, easily understandable way. There are several projects on the drawing board, but there is a lot to do in the meantime. The Spibi Foundation is therefore working hard to find donors and volunteers who are willing to help, for example by organising campaigns or activities.
Spina bifida is a congenital defect in which the spine and spinal cord are not properly formed during pregnancy. There are various forms, of which Teun has the most common: spina bifida occulta, which literally means ‘hidden split spine’. The only visible sign on the back is a lump, a dimple, a red mark or a patch of hair. In some cases there is nothing to see at all, so this form is often only discovered by chance in a CT scan or a back X-ray.
"Having a child with spina bifida means providing a huge amount of care. Teun sees so many different specialists: a urologist, a neurologist, a neurosurgeon, a rehabilitation specialist, a physiotherapist, a social worker, and a paediatrician. He also goes to a rehabilitation centre, where he has a rehabilitation specialist and a special needs educationalist to help him learn to cope with the fact that he is different from other children. When he needs new shoes, it’s not simply a matter of going to a shoe shop. No, first he has to go through months of measuring and fitting at a shoemaker’s".
To find out more, go to spibi.nl. - in the Dutch language only
