Kristy Jana
"Showing life stories not as tragedy, but as motivation."
A woman with a big heart who, together with her mother, founded the organization Children's Wishes Fulfilled. Despite many obstacles, they work tirelessly to bring joy and change the lives of disadvantaged and seriously ill children.
How did the idea for founding the organization Children's Wishes Fulfilled come about? What inspired you to do it?
I like to say that my mother and I each had our own part of the story, which influenced us very personally. On my mother's side, it was a direct experience. When she was little, doctors gave her a medical diagnosis and, on their recommendation, she was placed in an institution for handicapped children. Unfortunately, no one explained to her at the time what the situation was, where she was, or why she was there. At that time, it was not common to meet handicapped children on the streets, so she was in absolute shock at the world she had found herself in. She was surprised at the behavior shown towards such individuals. That is why she decided that if she ever had the opportunity to change something in this regard, she would be happy to do so.
When my mother was pregnant and I was still a small baby in her womb, the doctors told her that I would be born disabled and strongly recommended that she have an abortion. My mother refused. To what extent it was madness, strong intuition or a conscious manifestation and her conscious decision, I do not know. She had absolute faith that everything would turn out well “and thank God it really did end up that way.” I found out about this during puberty and it shocked me very much. I began to ask myself whether my closest friends and family would accept me if I were “different”. Whether people would like me or be afraid of me. That is how my interest in the world of disabled children naturally began.
That was the theme of each of us and at one point it all came together beautifully when we met an amazing little girl, Vanessa, who had problems with growth hormone. Her big wish was to visit the musical Cleopatra. She loved Egyptian culture and watched the musical every day on DVD. At that time, I was in the cultural field and I knew that if great people came together, this mission could work. Vanessa's wish was achievable. And then fate helped us! We met Michal David, told him about our intention and he wanted to help us. He became our first patron and thanks to him, little Vanessa's wish was fulfilled.
After the first child's wish came true in 2012, we had an amazing response and people told us: "You have to keep doing this, no one does anything like this here." We liked it, my mother and I were burning with enthusiasm. But then various experts told us that if we wanted to continue, we had to help found an organization for this form. And so it happened. After studying all the information and ensuring the necessary formalities, it was registered with the Ministry of the Interior at the beginning of 2013.
When, years later, we see the enormous impact of providing an experience we prepared for a disabled child and how it can fundamentally improve their quality of life, we are grateful that my mother and I persevered in our efforts.
How did you start? What obstacles did you and your mother have to overcome?
In the beginning, the biggest obstacle was that my mother and I were two unknown women to everyone else. Neither of us was a model or the wife of a billionaire, which proved to be a problem. We founded the organization with good intentions and a pure heart, without any millions in our bank accounts and knowing that it would take some time to gain the trust of both families and supporters. It was a huge amount of hard work. In order for the organization to function and for us to fulfill children's wishes, it meant a constant process for us to go to work to earn money for the organization, because at that time no one was willing to give us a larger financial donation, because no one knew us. We were extremely grateful for every individual or company that decided to support us over the previous years.
But we knew it was worth it. We persevered and didn't give up. The reward for us is that we gradually meet great people, whether small donors, volunteers or partners, with whom our approach and ideas resonate. They like the way we help, they perceive the depth and scope of the experiences we have. New companies are also emerging that are eager to cooperate. Cameronni is one of them, which is a great honor for us. I feel that we have common values, a desire to make people happy and show them how special they are.
How specifically does the process of fulfilling a child's wish work? Please describe it to me.
We gradually build a relationship with individual families, get to know the children, their interests, and what they really love. We give space and time to cooperation, we consistently examine whether the wish we know about is really the child's dream and whether he has a long-term relationship with the topic. Whether he really desires something or is it just a momentary hobby. If there is a real inner desire, passion, and love in the child, then this is the right engine that constantly drives him forward and with its help he will be able to develop calmly throughout his life.
I will mention Ondra, who has been diagnosed with autism and a speech impediment. When we met him, he was 8 years old. We already knew back then that his great passion was Lego and the opportunity to build various ideas with it. It was a drive for him to explore and discover, he didn't build ordinary models. He thought of how he could build a lamp and how to make it light up. Ondra needed help, especially in socializing with the people around him and to push him to start communicating with them. We decided that we would push him to do this through his greatest hobby - Lego. We prepared a code book for him, and when he solved it, he learned that he would be the next child whose wish would be fulfilled and we would take him to Legoland.
To the uninitiated, it looks like good fun and entertainment, but we had to crack a tough nut to crack because we decided to arrange a visit to an amusement park for a little man who has been diagnosed with autism. Which means that he has a great potential to go crazy in crowds, hates noise and bustle, and it can be very stressful for him. We spent a year preparing for it and collecting various information on how to work with him and how to do it at all. Ondra actually got to Legoland, he enjoyed it a lot and it was a huge benefit for him. We started the mission a month before the outbreak of Covid in the Czech Republic, which is why the boy ended up waiting another three years for his wish to come true. But before leaving Legoland, he revealed a surprising fact to us - he finally understood what "waiting" is, because autistic people don't understand it and he knows that if he waits for something, it can come true. That was a big turning point in his life. Since then, he has been trying to help us make other disabled children's wishes come true, just like he did back then.
Sometimes we get an interesting opportunity, like watching a live film shoot, and we don't know of a child who has such a dream. Then we send a message to our community, where there are currently over 250 families registered, and ask. Then we get a lot of applications and we carefully analyze step by step which child's wish we will grant next, taking into account the conditions of the event, their health condition, and other criteria.
Can you share a memorable story of a child whose wish you granted?
For example, our help was provided to a little boy who is now 9 years old and named Sebík. He was bullied and had a very difficult period, after which he began to withdraw into himself and almost stopped communicating. My mother and I knew that he was interested in filming, creating videos and that he would be very interested in the world of film. We created a mission for him "How a film comes to life", started taking him among people and gave him huge challenges to overcome, for example, to communicate, present himself and start moving forward. It was a huge challenge for him, but the topic itself motivated him a lot, his wishes really came true. And after a few months of cooperation, we managed to reverse his condition. He is gradually becoming a braver boy who is willing to communicate and stand up for himself.
How many childhood wishes have you managed to fulfill?
I will tell you that at the moment we have completed 10 missions, which we call "Children's Wishes Fulfilled". It involves intensive individual cooperation with the family, support for the child, professional assistance and an experiential event. The preparation of these missions takes from a few months to several years. As part of "Family Events", we have fulfilled the wishes of 64 children. We have also implemented 6 missions "It Makes Sense", which provide teenage children with challenges to overcome their fears and help them in everyday life. We have also published 188 life stories about families with disabled children, which you can read about on our website.
How does cooperation with Cameronni work?
We have set up two forms of cooperation and support with Cameronni. People who want to help other disadvantaged children can join our missions either by regular contributions, the amount of which they choose according to their capabilities, or by ordering a unique gift voucher on the Cameronni website without the need to order additional products. The contribution will be given to the organization in full with the option of receiving a tax-deductible donation receipt. Thanks to our transparency, they will know how their support was used and which child we helped. We care that donors enjoy and are happy with the cooperation.
Another valuable support will be provided directly by Cameronni, in the form of ongoing contributions throughout the year. A financial contribution will be made from each order placed to the account of the Fulfilled Children's Wish organization, and the customer in question will receive more information about this. This is a huge help for us! We are not able to draw on grants or subsidies, because we do not fit into their boxes due to the originality of the project. Financial contributions are therefore a necessity for us so that we can continue our mission and God-pleasing activities.
Do you have a mission of your own?
Showing the life stories of disabled children not as a tragedy, but as motivation. We are all familiar with the situations when we sigh that something is not working, it is too demanding and complicated. But when we get to know the stories of these families and realize what parents have to cope with and go through, we can be inspired by them. I was recently at the gym, I was a little out of shape and so I complained to myself about how demanding it was. And then two young guys came there to work out independently. One in a wheelchair and the other without a leg. And I was grateful for that, because it motivated me to stop whining and really work out.
In addition to my work in the organization, I also work as a mentor, and my personal mission, which permeates everything I do, is to help people understand, respect, and honor each other. Both for ourselves and for those who are part of our world.
What is your personal wish or message for the coming year?
Most often, people wish us to be healthy. It all depends on our capabilities, how responsibly we approach ourselves. Whether we take care of ourselves, whether we make time for ourselves or whether we succumb to external pressures. Whether we say that something is not working, what limits us, or whether we decide to see the opportunities that are available to us. I wish all of us not to just see and perceive everything, but to also take actions and real steps towards what we desire. Because the very health that we all desire can be the fulfilled wish for each of us. The ability to "be healthy" is related to the awareness that we are each individual and the way in which we can live together as best as possible is about mutual understanding and respect.
Do you want to support the organization Children's Wishes Fulfilled?
Even a small contribution can make a big difference. Scan the QR code and help fulfill the dreams of other disadvantaged children as part of the Dachnička mission.
How can you contact the organization?
By email: splnene.detske.prani@gmail.com
Web: www.splnene-prani.cz
Facebook: facebook.com/splnene-prani
or facebook.com/splnene-prani-vyrobky
Instagram: splnene.prani
The interview was written and edited by: Lenka Petrásková