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Tessa de Goede
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You don’t normally think of a hospital as a
“happy place” but this one sure is. Clínica Los Tulipanes is located on the
outskirts of Antigua Guatemala and caters solely to children with cleft lip or
palate. Tessa de Goede, founder of the NGO
Tess Unlimited that runs the clinic,
made her dream come true by now having her own place where children receive the
best care they can get. For years, Tessa brought in medical teams to do the
surgeries on location, which was always complicated and rarely comfortable. Now
the children receive surgery in a top of the bill location, as well as any
other care they might need. Think a special milk program for new-borns, psychological
consultations for the parents, speech therapy and dental care for the older children.
Tessa managed to turn a clinical space into a warm home with lots of details
that will most definitely bring a smile to anyone’s face.
I feel honoured to have been involved in the
art design part of this project. The opening of the hospital was much delayed
due to the pandemic, but that gave me all the time to paint cute animals (al
with cleft lips!) in the recovery rooms. Earlier this year I painted some animals in the
dental clinic, including an installation that hangs from the ceiling, depicting
a hole in the ceiling that opens up to the sky. That and the butterflies that hang
from it give the children something to look for while in the dentist chair.
Just last week I painted, on Tessa’s
request and kindly sponsored by the Dutch foundation Podia4People, a large map
of Guatemala. It’s actually a cork-board that will be used to pin down the
hometown of each patient. Next to it a quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala.
A perfect spot for selfies, of course!
It’s wonderful to have seen the clinic transform
from a construction site into an buzzling beehive of activities. Dozens of
children have already benefited from this happy place, and dozens more are on
the waiting list.
Does that mean that my work is over? Thank
goodness no! The next step is to build a temporary home for patients’ family.
Tessa and team laid the first brick last week, so the work has begun. And
contrary to the clinic, there are not so many healthy and safety regulations to
take in account, so we can go as crazy as we want. Looking forward to it!
Many thanks to Colour4Kids and People4Podia
for sponsoring!
