Volunteer work at a funeral museum

For five years, Ilse has been volunteering at café Roosenburgh. Together with her fellow volunteers, she welcomes visitors from the memorial park De Nieuwe Ooster and the funeral museum Tot Zover. “Sometimes people are very sad and leave with a smile.”“As an artist, I work alone a lot,” Ilse says, “that’s why I enjoy being around people one day a week.” She likes approaching people in the café. “You can tell if people need to talk. I ask them why they are here and if they like it here. Sometimes people are very sad and leave with a smile.”

Day of Lights

The café volunteers can do all kinds of tasks alongside. “Sometimes we help with a group at the opening of an exhibition or a lecture. You are then very much together. A beautiful memory is the Lights Day from two years ago at the cemetery. Six thousand people remembering their loved ones, incredibly impressive. I had very nice conversations then.”

Death is becoming less scary

At home in her room-studio, Ilse makes urns. She also creates paintings in which the ashes of a deceased person are incorporated. “Some people want that as a memory. It fits the trend that I see in society: In the past, death was considered scary, but that is becoming less and less the case.”(text continues below the photo)

Chairs and coffee

We walk through a light corridor, where an urn is placed under a glass floor plate. “Death is just part of life,” Ilse says. At the end of the corridor, there are photos of the deceased. One photo struck Ilse in particular: a cradle in a garden with snow, with the deceased child inside and the other children around it. “I am proud to work here,” Ilse says, “such a beautiful place where people can find their peace and where you can be involved with death in a different way. Where everyone does their best to make people feel comfortable.” A fellow volunteer agrees with Ilse: “If the café wasn’t here, I would set up chairs and a coffee pot. People always want to sit for a moment.”

Little in life is certain, but at café Roosenburgh, visitors are warmly and caringly welcomed by Ilse and her colleagues.Interview: Angélique Derks
Photos: Jackie Mulder

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