We are Flexiforum - Vazom & Kinso

In the coming weeks, we will introduce you to some of Flexiforum's tenants. They will talk about their experiences with this striking building and how they are building a new community together. This time speaking to Natalie Savelsbergh of VAZOM (Vrije Akademie) and Ingrid Stessen of Kinso.

Natalie Savelsbergh, VAZOM (Free Akedemie) 

Those looking for a fun and educational course can do very well at Free Academy (VAZOM). VAZOM stands for quality art education and wants to be open to everyone. "It is always possible to come and take a look on the third floor in the Flexiforum to see what we are all about," said Natalie Savelsbergh, director of Vrije Akademie. "There is something for everyone at www.vazom.nl".

In fact, VAZOM provides art education. "For example, visual arts courses (drawing, painting, modeling and photography). We do that for both adults and children (youth workshops). We also provide preliminary training for the art academy," Natalie explains. "We are also active with all kinds of projects. With the courses the main focus is the end result, with the projects the process is also important, the social aspect. And we also have the project 'creative together' every day. In this project, for €2.50 per half day, you can meet other people who are creative."

VAZOM also cooperates with healthcare institutions such as Mondriaan, Levanto and Radar. People with disabilities are also welcome at Kinso. A partner the Free Academy works with, among others.

Ingrid Stessen, Kinso

Kinso stands for Quality In Special Care and provides out-of-school care for special education in the Flexiforum. In addition, Kinso offers day care in Heerlen. With the Flexiforum, Kinso has found a location next to 2 schools for special education. Kinso has its own rooms in Flexiforum.

Director Ingrid Stessen says of Kinso: "Together with the parents and the school, we have the task of giving children the opportunity, in an atmosphere of safety and trust, to stimulate their curiosity. So at Kinso, three core values are central: atmosphere, trust and safety."

Speaking with Ingrid, one soon finds out that her work is a kind of vocation. Ingrid herself has a handicapped daughter and experienced firsthand that she had nowhere to put her daughter's care. Just like Natalie's son, whom Ingrid in turn knows because both children were in each other's classes. This group of children, Ingrid explains, actually fall between the cracks because, in addition to their disabilities, they also have to deal with autism, epilepsy, etc.

That shared challenge therefore created a bond between Ingrid and Natalie. A bond that both are now trying to translate into the next concrete collaboration. Ingrid sometimes says: "You can be disabled (in this society), but not too disabled. For the target group that falls into this category, we would like to set up an expertise center in the Flexiforum. A place where not only the children themselves, but certainly also the parents are properly informed and can exchange experiences."

Considering the passion with which both ladies expound on their plans, that center of expertise is definitely going to happen!

For more information: www.vazom.nl and www.kinso.nl