Page 18 - Amigoe Aruba, Curacao

6 ZATERDAG
27 FEBRUARI 2016
IN tShPeOT LIGHT
10 Ways of
Orlando Jakobus Overcoming Working Mom’s Guilt
Orlando Jakobus was born and raised in Curaçao 60 years ago.
He moved to the Netherlands in 1987, and has been working as
a concierge for 20 years. “ I love my job, and could do this for
many more years to come,” he says.
By Rushanette Martis
Orlando has always been a handyman. When he was 14, he started
working as a distributor for Dovale Advertising. “I used to distribute the
magazines Curaçao Holiday and Viva Curaçao. I used to know every
single street in Willemstad like the back of my hand,” he continues.
After a few years, Mr. Dovale asked him to start working as a yacht
broker. “I sold and maintained a lot of the boats anchored on the Span-
ish Water in Curaçao,” he says.
After the birth of his son, Orlando and his partner moved to the Neth-
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after, due to health issues. This is when he came across an ad for a
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sister, Orlando took a 3-month trip back to Curaçao after 16 years. “ I
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time with my family, and don’t regret anything.”
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In 2015, Orlando was named Hague School Janitor of the Year. After
the announcement, the school had a big celebration dedicated to Or-
lando. “ I was in complete shock,” he continues. “Even my son and
grandchildren were invited, which was like the cherry on top of the
cake.”
After receiving the title, Orlando was swamped with interviews. During
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that it was Louis van Gaal. Little did Orlando know that his son was
planning a great surprise for him, along with television station RLT4.
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when one day, he was asked to get a ball on top of the school rooftop.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” he said. What he didn’t know was that the
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the time, and I didn’t even notice it.” Then, he was suddenly invited to
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bergasted, Orlando accepted the invitation. After arriving at the airport,
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to the city of Manchester. Orlando was on his way to a 3-day surprise
trip to Manchester, where he had the opportunity to meet his idol, Louis
van Gaal. “It was an amazing experience,” he says. “Better than win-
ning the lottery! Money is eventually spent, but my memories will last
forever.” Orlando will give up his title to another lucky concierge in the
summer of 2016. Still, he is looking forward to working for many more
years, and will forever cherish the year he was named Best School
Janitor of the Year.
AMIGOE
The maternity clinic Fundashon Duna Lus is the center for
complete obstetrical care on Curaçao. The Foundation
now has 18 employees who give professional maternity
care. Last year, over 500 babies were born at the clinic.
The foundation was established in 2006, and consists of
five partners: The General Association of Midwives, the
Trade Union, the Curaçao CBV, the SVB and the govern-
ment.
By Judice Ledeboer get tested. The midwife always looks at their
The maternity clinic is there for women who are blood pressure, their weight, listens to their
not considered high risk, and are expected to hearts, and looks at the growth of the baby. In
get through their pregnancy without complica- the course of the pregnancy, the women also
tions. Women who fall within a risk group, such get advice. By the end of the pregnancy, the in-
as women with high blood pressure, diabetes, formation is mainly focused on the delivery.
obesity, and women who are pregnant of mul- The clinic also provides aftercare. This means
tiple babies have to give birth in a hospital. The that after giving birth to her child, a woman can
SVB checks if there is a medical indication. come back to the maternity clinic every week,
Of the more than 2000 women who give birth until it is time for the mother and her child go
in Curaçao every year, a large part goes to the WR WKH &RQVXOWDWLRQ 2I¿FH 7UDGLWLRQDOO\ DW WKLV
FOLQLFZKHUHWKH\JHW¿UVWOLQHPHGLFDOFDUHE\ point, a farewell picture is taken of each new-
midwives. Women who, over the course of a born, accompanied by a teddy bear.
pregnancy, get complications, have to go to a On the maternity ward, there are no class dif-
specialist. Most births take place at the mater- ferences. There are single and double rooms.
nity clinic. The women can also choose to have Each room has air conditioning and a TV, and
their babies at home, but they do not ask for the babies are allowed to stay in their mothers’
that, very often. rooms. It is also possible for the mothers to get
At the maternity clinic, women give birth under help from professionals from the maternity clin-
the supervision of midwives. There are six mid- LF DW KRPH GXULQJ WKH ¿UVW GD\V DIWHU GHOLYHU\
wives in Curaçao; three are in permanent em- Women who gave birth in the hospital can make
ployment at the maternity clinic, and three work also use of these services.
independently. The midwives are available for The maternity clinic is open for consultations
their patients, 24/7. Pregnant women may go to from Monday to Friday. Patients must make an
a midwife without a referral from their general appointment ahead of time. Of course, the ward
practitioner. for women who are going to give birth is open
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intake interview, an ultrasound, and a lab test. The clinic is situated at Schottegatweg Noord
Up to the birth, the women are examined every 43. It is growing rapidly, and there is a new busi-
four weeks. The closer they get to giving birth, ness plan. The aim is to adapt the buildings this
the women have to come back every two or year, in order to be able to give more quality
three weeks, so both they and their child can care. Their phone number is + 5999-869-2510.
You worked more than 8 hours and come
home feeling guilty because you just missed
your son’s football game and now failed to
tuck your lovely daughter to bed. Girl, cheer
up! You have been struggling to juggle up
School Janitor your career and your family every day. You
of the Year are doing a great job. Stop pressuring your-
self to be supermom, because without you
knowing it, you are already one supermom.
By Arlene Tabamo the household. Don’t slave yourself with mak- household. Think of it as good parenting.
So how do you alleviate that working mom’s ing dinner and at the same time, changing the Sharing important life lessons to your kids,
guilt? Read along. diaper and putting the laundry in the washer. even career related would help them with re-
1. Remember, you will only feel guilty if 'HOHJDWHWKHMREWR\RXUKXEE\RUWHDFKNLGV ality as they grow.
you did something wrong. If there is noth- to run some chores for you.
LQJ ZURQJ WKHQ LW LV MXVW SXUH VHOIORDWKLQJ 5. Have a working mommy’s support group. 9. Nurture a future-oriented state of mind. You
Breathe in 1, 2, 3 and breathe out those pes- Lean on the shoulder of friends, family or col- can plan ahead so that you will be able to fully
simistic thoughts. They would never be help- leagues who will boost your morale, will pat live in the present. You can avoid the morning
ful for you, mom. your shoulder or will lend a kind ear to listen chaos by preparing stuffs at night, and you
2. If you are trapped in the mommy guilt, it to all your rumblings. can have ample time for obtaining that perfect
only proves that you are a good mom. Bad 6. Be grateful that you are setting a good ex- smoky eyes for work.
moms may not feel the guilt because they ample to your kids. Your babies will be looking
GRQ¶WFDUH<RXGH¿QLWHO\KDYHWKHFRQVFLHQFH DW\RXDQGZLOOVD\³,MXVWZDQWWREHOLNH\RX 10. Have your ME time. Indulge yourself to
and yes, you value your kids so much. PRPP\<RXVLPSO\GRMXVWDERXWHYHU\WKLQJ some pampering or meet ups with friends.
3. No matter how much you want to be the <RX JR WR WKH RI¿FH FOHDQ WKH KRXVH KDYH Consider this as your useful preventive mea-
“perfect” mother, there are only good moth- friends, drive us to school and even do my sure when you are having those burnouts
ers. Being a mother is already a humbling hair”. RYHUWKHJXLOWRIMXJJOLQJZRUNDQGIDPLO\
MRE<RXPLJKWEHDLPLQJIRUWKHVXSHUODWLYHV 7. Loosen up a bit. If you are stressing your-
that you start comparing yourself to the sup- self that your kids would be underdogs with If you think about it, you will never be at peace
posedly “perfect mom” in your neighborhood. those kids who have stay-at-home moms, with yourself since you always assume that
You do not know what happens between their ease up a bit because studies show that they what you give to your family may not be
walls, stop comparing. ZRXOGGRMXVWDVZHOOLQVFKRRODVWKRVHRWKHU HQRXJK 6RPHWLPHV \RX MXVW KDYH WR VWRS
4. Yell for help. Don’t prohibit yourself in del- kids. then appreciate and celebrate your capabili-
HJDWLQJ MREV ZKHWKHU LQ \RXU ZRUN RU LQVLGH 8. It is not a sin to talk about work within your ties and strength as a woman, a wife and of
course, a mother!
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