Roparun backs retreat for women living with cancer

Update: Roparun funds another retreat in April 2027

ROTTERDAM, 28 October 2026 – Stichting Roparun has awarded a further €3,120 to Rotterdam-based Stichting Voor Jou, helping ten women living with or after cancer participate in a retreat from 9 to 11 April 2027.

The new edition of Coming home to your body (Thuiskomen in je lijf) will again take place at conference centre Samaya in Werkhoven. Participants will take part in yoga, meditation, movement exercises and conversations with other women affected by cancer. The programme also includes a group coaching session with horses in Arnhem.

Stichting Voor Jou says the retreat is intended to help women reconnect with their bodies after the physical and emotional effects of cancer treatment. Women living with metastatic cancer can also participate.

The participant contribution is €425, including activities, meals and two nights in a private room. The actual cost is higher, with donations and grants helping to keep the retreat accessible.

The foundation has now organised three retreats since introducing the programme in 2024. All three were fully booked, reflecting continued interest in this form of support.

Women interested in participating can find further information and an application form on the Stichting Voor Jou website.

The original report from 1 April 2026 continues below.

ROTTERDAM, 1 April 2026 – Roparun has donated €2,845 to Rotterdam-based Stichting Voor Jou to support a retreat weekend for women living with or after cancer. The June programme is already fully booked, underlining how strong the demand has become for spaces focused on rest, recovery and shared experience.

The donation will help fund Coming home to your body (Thuiskomen in je lijf), a retreat taking place from 26 to 28 June 2026 for women living with or after cancer, including women with metastatic cancer. For Stichting Voor Jou, the support helps keep the weekend financially accessible to participants who need it.

The Rotterdam foundation says the retreat is built around rest, recovery, reflection and peer support. The programme includes group coaching with horses, haptotherapy-based exercises (haptonomische oefeningen), dance and bodywork, yoga, meditation, relaxation exercises, conversations, healthy meals and time outdoors.

A retreat shaped around recovery

The weekend itself will take place at conference centre Samaya in Werkhoven, while the horse coaching element will happen at a location in Arnhem. The aim is to help participants reconnect with their bodies, build trust in themselves and in life again, and take home practical ways to relax more effectively in daily life.

Just as importantly, the retreat gives women space to share experiences with others in a safe setting. That kind of contact can be hard to find elsewhere, especially when illness, treatment and recovery affect not just the body, but also confidence, identity and everyday routines.

A growing need for deeper support

Stichting Voor Jou has been organising relaxation weekends for women with cancer since 2013. In 2024, the organisation launched a pilot version of this retreat in response to a growing need for more depth and emotional processing in a calmer setting.

That pilot was evaluated very positively, with the organisation pointing to meaningful insights, emotional depth and the added value of elements such as horse coaching and haptotherapy guidance. The 2026 edition is already fully booked and has a waiting list, which says plenty about how needed this kind of support has become.

Why Roparun is supporting it

Roparun director Lesly Wolters said: “With this donation, we are supporting an initiative that truly helps women living with and after cancer move forward. Especially during a period in which trust in one’s own body can come under pressure, it is of great value to find rest, recognition and new strength. This retreat weekend offers space for that in a warm and personal way. That fits with Roparun’s mission to contribute to quality of life for people with cancer.”

That mission has been part of Roparun’s work for 35 years. The organisation supports palliative care projects for people with cancer, including hospices, wish ambulances, wigs and holidays for people with cancer and their loved ones.

Rotterdam remains the finishing point

For many people in Rotterdam, Roparun is still most visible during the annual Pentecost weekend event, when thousands of participants run and cycle from France and the Netherlands to the city. In 2025, the fundraising event brought in more than €4.7 million.

This latest donation is much smaller in scale, but very specific in its effect. For a Rotterdam foundation like Stichting Voor Jou, it helps protect access to a retreat that offers women living with or after cancer a little more breathing room, and a little more support, at a time when both matter.