When Queen Wilhelmina celebrated her 50th official jubilee as Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, an amount of 6,371.60 guilders was collected from the Dutch islands as a gift to the queen on this occasion. She gave permission to use this amount for the establishment of a foundation, that would bear her name and aim to help paying for the medical treatment of less wealthy cancer patients.
Because the Queen was given the title of princess after her resignation, the foundation on Curaçao was called the “Prinses Wilhelmina Fonds”, established on November 16, 1949. The foundation provides support and guidance to cancer patients and close family members, it promotes the implementation of educational programs about different types of cancer. “Prinses Wilhelmina Fonds” does not receive any subsidy from the government or other organizations. Every September an annual fundraising is launched, it opens the door for local and international donations to be able to pursue the objectives of the foundation. I had the privilege to sit with Mrs. “Frieda Geller”, the president of “Prinses Wilhelmina Fonds”, to elaborate over her work and personal experience throughout the years since she joined the foundation.
A sturdy woman, charismatic, dynamic, with a lot of passion and enthusiasm for what she is doing. During the entire interview, she had a continuous flow of positive thinking, optimism, and self-confidence. Not to mention how persuasive she was, showing respect and trust for others. Not dolling herself up, she was dressed in a comfortable pantaloon and classy chemise, flat shoes, we sat for a 60 minutes chat over her life and career. When asked about how she perceives herself, she answered in a humble way that she tries to create a pleasant environment at work, and to understand the people around her. Peace is her mantra; controversy is her adversary.
She started working 50 years ago, she thought she might become a Spanish teacher, instead she took over her father’s business along with her husband in 1973. He was in the US navy, came to Curacao on a mission from “Guantanamo Bay”. They met at a party after a dinner at the rabbi’s house. “Fate brought us together”, she nodded with a resonance in her voice! They got married in New York in the 60s. He is her biggest fan, encouraging her all the time: “behind every great woman there is a man”, he told me after the interview with an expansive smile. “He has a sense of humor”, added Mrs. Frieda, “this what gets us normally throughout the day”.
There were moments where pragmatic decisions had to be made. She was concerned more with matters of fact than with what could or should be. She did have her dad around who guided her all the way, teaching her the “Faerman” family business. He allowed her to make mistakes so she can learn from them. She believes that she grasped a lot of his characters, and as the years went by, she knew that it is about time to allow others to bring in new ideas. She is fortunate to have young people working with her undertaking the fact that there are things you cannot do on your own anymore.
I asked her about her career and if it did affect her role as a mother of 2 girls: “As a working mom, living in Curacao makes it a less day’s back breaking work”. She thought back then that she can do it all! Lunch hours gave her the time to pick up children from school and she was lucky enough to have assistance at home. “Were you a good mother?” she took her time to find a proper answer: “you need to ask this question to my children”!
Maybe her children wished she would have been home for longer period, but as they grew up to have their own careers, they did understand it better. She admires women who struggle every day to put food on the table, trying to put a balance between a working force and a human being. They might not have the luxury to have someone to watch their kids. She is doing her outmost to help these women, sometimes she must opt for the business and sometimes forget about it and opt for the human aspect. “Most of my employees are women, they are the backbone of the island”. She strongly thinks that women are profoundly serious about work, they know deep inside that they must keep their jobs even if they do not like it that much. Their sense of responsibility and motherhood give them the ability to work in the most challenging environments.
About women empowerment, Mrs. Frieda believes that every woman should be financially independent. She spent a lot of her savings on her daughters’ education, for them to lead a secure life.
I asked her how she joined “Prinses Wilhelmina Fonds” over 20 years ago: “I started as a volunteer, giving lectures about cancer, i loved what i was doing and i decided to stay”. After a while she was asked to join the board as vice president and then as president. “You start to see life from a different angle when you are confronting cases of people who are staring death in the face, they are heroes”. The foundation brought balance in her life, she started weighing the size of her own problems and those living with cancer. She is aware about the negative impact of cancer on the entire family. For her, a good gift for a cancer patient is to be there when needed, give hope and show empathy.
She thinks Curacao is one of the leading places in fighting and curing cancer in the Caribbean. The government takes good care of all expenses. I asked her that If the world would be full of her clones, how would it be like? “A peaceful one, as simple as that”, she answers. Conventionally, she does not judge people, everyone comes from a different environment. She does not regret anything that she couldnt go back and change, maybe she might have done it better, notwithstanding she doesn’t look back.
Her role model is supreme court judge “Ruth Bader Ginsburg”, if Ruth can still perform her duties so can she. Her experience throughout the years made her foresee things before it happens, she knows the outcome and the consequences. Regarding the donations, she admits that it is more difficult to have more people engaged this year due to the current situation. “If You are healthy and having a hard time, imagine what the cancer patient is feeling”. The crab is a symbol of cancer all over the world. That is why the “Prinses Wilhelmina Fonds” has also placed the crab in its logo as a symbol for cancer prevention.
The crab will live, and the claw will regenerate when one is removed. But if you take both claws the crab is defenseless and cannot feed itself, so it is doomed (Jacques Cousteau.org). The foundation needs donations. It is crucial to make an appeal for people to take the initiative to start donating, lets join hands together to make cancer patients feel better.”Yuda nos pa yuda nan”(Help us to be able to help them). © ReinaSankari 2020
For donations: Call center at P.W.F: +599 9 4611998
Banco di Caribe: 15547301
Orco bank: 1064790195
MCB: 25211800
RBC: 800000010322787
Vida Nova: 1159344000
www.prinseswilhelminafonds.cw
