> Dear Editor,>> > My full name is gerard Vandenberg, thirty-one years old and living> in The Netherlands. I had until my age of twenty years just a> normal life. I worked as a roadworker and I was one day at school> and one in a company where you can buy tires and rims. On sunday> it was my girlfriends-day. > when I was almost twenty-one years old, I had a car accident. This> accident was not my fault, but my person was the only one with> severe injurries. I had blood in my lungs, fractured jaw, leg, and> hip and laid for about ten weeks in a coma. I’ll woke up in a> rehabilitation-clinic, after staying a few weeks in the hospital.> After that period I went to a verry wel known clinic.There I was> learned to talk again, but I was unfortunately still in a> wheelchair. After ten months I was allowed to go home and wait> there for about three months, until a place and a room were vacant> in a rehabilitation-clinic about hundred miles from home. When I> came there(still in a wheelchair), I made myself a clear Goal:> When I leave this place, I can walk again. In the first two> clinics I got a lot of help from family and personal over there.> That was a very good thing because I was not mentally a strong> person, not yet. It’s a very big change for a person. In> approximately one day you can do everything, the other day you> can’t even even walk and talk. When I look back, I know now what> really is important in life. This because I was aware of> everything. I know now that nothing, I mean really nothing is a> matter of course.> On the fifth of November it’s exactly eleven years ago, since the> accident took place. I know now, it takes you approximately ten> years to recover. And when you recover completely, I think, you> can handle just every problem.> When I was in the last rehabilitation-clinic doing praktice alone> outside. I’ll sat for five minutes and something in my head said:> ” Keep moving and you will mean a lot to the lives of other> people”. Since that time I knew for sure that this was my real> Goal in life.> If I ask myself the question: in which country can I find Quality,> Service and mean a lot to many people(as much as possible)?> The answer: The United States Of America(Canada and Alaska).> > I think that cycling, just almost eveywhere, is a very good thing> to do with elder and their kids. Cycling is a very good thing for> body AND mind. I know it because when I came out of the clinic, I> had no work any more. My friends from earlier weren’t there> anymore. It felt I had to do it all by myself. But I had the> (bi)cycle. I cycled the first year around seventhousend miles. I> was, at the time, absolutely no sportman but it felt amazing. I> have no driverslicense anymore, because of the coma-period. So I> had to cycle or sit(at home)> > My question is: > can I please join your team? I will make the people, including the> kids, their times of their lives by reeding my adventures. I know> I can and they desirve It!> > > > The question> if a have a churche background, I can say that my closest> family(Mum, Dad, brother and my twinsister) didn’t go frequenly to> church. Although my parents did went after my accident often.> Believe me, when you ar twentyone years old and sitting in a> wheelchair, you have only one thing that is important for you. And> that is that you must, as fast as possible, get out of this thing> and get on with your life. Although after ten years of recovering> I believe strongly.>> I believe also this can’t be only be my succes. My Mother did affirm > the subject when she said the Clergyman and the people from the > village where I lived all prayed in churge for my survive, and We did!> I’ve been thinking about live more than ussual because I experienced > life second time just from the start. My Mum always says than I was > born tho times. Only the second time I was already a grown up man. I > couldn’t walk, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t eat or drink by myself, > just really nothing.> If you have experienced that side life, you love working with kids > because they have a big life ahead of them.> The reason why I love working with kids is that I’ve worked for about > eight years as a school-porter at my old christian-highschool. At that > time, I learned dealing with kids of all different backgrounds. I also > talked infront of fourty different classes of religios-teacher. I told > a bit of my lifestory to the kids. On a different way with a lot of > humour in it. This because everytime they laughed I thought: Yep > gerard, they remember it.> > > I ‘m willing to do all kind of things like: mowing the gras, keep the > grounds and so tidy, weed wacking helping with maintenance.> Cycling with a group of people and seeing a lot of things from nature.> In a specialised campground-magazine you can advertise and I can of > the last tour we made by bicycle.Discribe all the adventures> we experiened.> For example: going with a touringcar to some kind of big park, hundred > miles from the campground. There in big house with barn stand around > fifty bicycles. We go cycling and seeing the nature. At the end of the > day we’re back. Barbeque near the house, sleep one night in the house > and the other morning we went by touringcar “home” to the campground. > In the touringcar we see the movie of the trip.> > Why do I want to work there? The answer is that I want to mean > something to lives of many people. Letting people know that if you > believe something is attainable, you can accomplish it. The U.S. > offers me much more people where I can share my experience> with. Just by cycling, seeing, telling AND writing about all the > things I’ve gone through, I will help a lot of people, I’m defenitely > sure.> > When people are involved, I’m availible just at anytime.> > gerard Vandenberg> Prinsenhof 24> 3297 CW> Puttershoek> The Netherlands> E-mail: [email protected]> Birthdate: 5th of march 1974