Every year, the Beurs van Berlage selects a social cause to actively support. In 2026, we are dedicating ourselves to the ItsME Foundation, an organisation committed to research into encephalitis and meningitis. The choice for this cause hit close to home this year. Our colleague Kaitlyn lost her best friend Suus in 2024 to the complications of meningitis. Suus was only 17 years old. In this interview, Kaitlyn shares her story and that of Suus.
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Kaitlyn. To start with: could you briefly introduce yourself? What do you do at the Beurs van Berlage and how did you end up here?
‘I’m Kaitlyn van Dongeren and I’m 19 years old. I ended up at the Beurs van Berlage because I was looking for an internship for my course, and I thought it would be really fun to do it here. I’m doing a rotational internship. That means I carry out a different role every month and will finish with the event managers. This way, I get a really clear picture of how everything works within the Beurs.’
You put forward the ItsME Foundation as our Social Impact Partner for 2026. When and why did you think: we must do this?
‘At the start of my internship, there was a staff meeting where we were told that the Beurs van Berlage was looking for a new charity to support. I immediately thought of Suus and how it’s still a mystery how her illness managed to get so seriously out of hand.
It made me realise how important more research into this is, and that it requires proper donations. I started looking into different charities and eventually chose to put forward the ItsME Foundation.’
You lost Suus in 2024. Who was Suus to you, and what was the best thing about her?
‘Suus is my best friend, more like a sister. The best thing about her was how incredibly funny she could be, and how she’d always come up with the best ideas to do something spontaneous. She was always positive and saw the good in everyone, no matter who they were.’
Many people know that meningitis is dangerous, but they often have no idea what it actually entails. What did you see with Suus that you didn’t know before?
‘For Suus, it started with a flesh-eating bacteria that entered her bloodstream through a wound on her knee and ultimately reached her brain. She became very ill, ran a high fever, and was eventually put into an induced coma.
When she woke up, you could really tell how much the illness had taken out of her. You could barely recognise her. If you asked her something, you’d just get a blank stare at first, and only get an answer after about ten seconds.
What I particularly didn’t know is that it can leave you with lifelong consequences. Suus developed epilepsy and often suffered from severe headaches, which meant she frequently couldn’t join in with things. Because the seizures happened in her sleep, people didn’t always see right away how serious it was. She also often pretended to others that she was fine. Ultimately, she passed away from the complications of a seizure.’
Losing your best friend at such a young age is heartbreaking. It’s deeply impressive to see how you are turning this into action. How does it feel for you that the Beurs van Berlage has taken this on so wholeheartedly?
‘It really means a lot to me that the Beurs has taken this on and wants to dedicate itself to it. As an intern, I think it’s special to see that there is awareness for the subject in this way, and that there is a genuine interest in supporting more research.’
What do you hope stays with people the most after reading Suus’s story?
‘That these are the kinds of stories you normally only hear or read about somewhere, and you don’t really think twice about because it feels so far away. You quickly think it could never happen to you or anyone around you.
With Suus, it started with something tiny. A cut on her knee after a night out from falling off her bike. At the time, it didn’t seem that bad, maybe even a bit funny. But in the end, it turned out to be the start of something devastating.
It shows how quickly things can change. Suus was actually really healthy, sporty, and went to the gym a lot. She was right in the prime of her life. That’s why her story hits so close to home, and makes you realise it can happen to anyone. Faster than you think.’
What do you personally want to contribute to the collaboration with the foundation this year?
‘This year, I’m going to take part in the Dam to Dam run with my friends who also knew Suus well. We’re trying to raise money online by sharing her story.’