Wings of Support

Being a naturally curious person, I love to find out more about the people I meet. As a flight attendant I meet many people, giving me the possibility to collect a lot of beautiful stories.

But it isn’t only the stories of our passengers that I find interesting. Working with different colleagues all the time, I am also lucky as I find out about many of those 9,000 lives as well.
What strikes me is that most of the professions I can think of are represented by our cabin crew. I’ve flown with carpenters, surgical assistants, lawyers, writers, computer programmers, horse trainers, photographers, chefs, ballet dancers, teachers, accountants, painters, shiatsu and aerobic instructors, interior designers, firemen, dental hygienists and goldsmiths. Just to list a few.
Not to mention all those interesting, curious and unique hobbies I’ve been told about.

But what impresses me most are all those colleagues who spend their free time doing voluntary work. On my last flight a colleague told me it was her last flight before her summer leave. When I asked her whether she had plans to go somewhere nice, she told me she was going on a bush camp. A bush camp?!

She explained that she was going to Kenya to volunteer at camps for children living in care homes. The camps are organised by Wings of Support, a private initiative by KLM and Martinair staff.

The foundation of Wings of Support was based on the experience of many crew members confronted by situations of poverty during their stopovers all over the world. They often feel helpless and want to take part in improving the lives of the children they see. Any crew member coming across a potential project that could be supported can report on it when they return to the Netherlands. Wings of Support then takes over and investigates the project. Once adopted, the project can be visited by all crew members having a stopover near the project, thus continuously checking on its progress.