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First in line
Special kids get special treatment, thanks to 13 French Kiwanis clubs
Mustering his courage, Luc takes a
deep breath and climbs into a seat of
a swinging Viking ship. He squirms
a bit, but that’s just because his coat’s
too small. Or so he tells himself. But
then he begins to worry. It’s fast.
Too
fast. It goes really high. Too high.
And it’s scary. Too scary. He hops
from his seat and hurries away, certain
he’ll take the next ride.
Though he’s only 7 years old, Luc’s
life is far more scary and uncertain
than any swinging Viking ship. Yet
for one day this past April, he was
determined to prove himself brave.
Thirteen Kiwanis clubs in Division
925 Alsace Nord of the France-
Monaco District spent Kiwanis One
Day with Luc and more than 500
other children at Didi’land, a family
fun park near Hagenau. The boys
and girls came from families in difficult
situations. Some of the children
had been separated from their parents because of domestic violence or
drug abuse. Some were immigrants,
newly arrived in a strange new country.
Others’ parents had lost their jobs
when a local textile plant closed.
Park owner Arthur Werner realized
that, due to their families’ circumstances,
many of these children
would never visit Didi’land. He suggested
to friends in Kiwanis that he
would open the park exclusively for
these kids if the clubs would pay
for meals and bus fares and provide
chaperones.
The chosen day—a dreary, drizzly,
chilly Saturday—was the day before
the park’s grand opening for its 25th
season. Crews and entertainers had a
chance to practice, and the children
had the park all to themselves. There
was no waiting at La Pomme, a caterpillar-shaped roller coaster. The kids
were already wet from rain, so why
not get soaked on Rivière Sauvage,
a log flume ride? And there were
plenty of seats near the stage at the
Spectacle de Cirque show.
There were no lines to stop Luc, either.
He had no problems with the
carousel, the slow antique cars, or
other tame rides. But he usually clung
timidly to Suzanne Fischer, wife of
Saverne Kiwanian André Fischer.
“He followed me like my own
shadow,” Suzanne says.
Repeatedly, he convinced himself
to take a seat on something fast or
high or dizzying.
Each time, he lost his nerve, stepped
out … and returned to Suzanne’s
side. But once aboard a hilly coaster
ride titled Caravelles, his courage
held long enough for the ride to
begin, and he rode up and down and
all around the track again and again
and again.—Fabienne April
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