This week I began my Leadership-in-Action placement with Serve the City in Brussels, a non-profit organisation that works with a network of NGOs and local charities to “spread kindness in practical ways” through food distribution as well as social and education projects that address the needs of the city’s most vulnerable populations.

I am extremely passionate that migration is a human right and so I felt that my Leadership-in-Action placement would be best spent directly working with asylum seekers and refugees, as well as people experiencing homelessness, vulnerable children and victims of domestic violence.

I chose to volunteer in Belgium in particular its government is currently pursuing, what is described on the Belgian Immigration Office’s own website as, its “strictest asylum and migration policy ever”. This hostile approach of deterrence, rather than protection, has raised concerns of human rights violations in recent years. Indeed, there was a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that Belgium’s treatment of four asylum seekers violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights[1].

On my very first day of the LiA, I immediately learned of some of the many impacts of this policy upon my arrival at the Humanitarian Hub, a day centre that provides essential services to socially and economically vulnerable people, such as food and clothing distribution, showers, social and legal advice. After my induction, I was informed about the reception crisis in Belgium which forces many asylum seekers to sleep rough and that, as a result, there are usually tents outside the Hub. However, that morning there had been a raid, where people’s tents were destroyed and some people’s belongings, including essential documents, had been taken. I was also told that earlier this year the Hub’s service offering essential healthcare and psychological evaluations, was forced to shut down due to government funding cuts.

That day I served tea and coffee at both Lunch4All and Dinner4All shifts at the Hub where we served over 400 beneficiaries. It was a very chaotic and overwhelming but rewarding start to the LiA that tested my French and (currently non-existent!) Dutch language skills.

By the end of the week, after I had worked on various food distribution/preparation sites, I was starting to realise that it would not be possible to implement the SMART goals I had originally set. I had been looking to make small improvements to the current food distribution system but due to its scale, complexity and efficacy, I realised that my goals were unrealistic and unachievable in only six weeks. However, due to my background teaching and learning languages, I was offered the role of Project Facilitator on the relaunch of French4All Programme in a reception centre for asylum seekers. Therefore, I will be resetting my SMART goals towards implementing and improving that programme.

I went to the project for the first time on Wednesday evening alongside my supervisor to understand her vision for the programme. We only had one pupil(!) but it was my favourite activity of the week and it reminded me just how much I love teaching. I am determined to grow the project although it comes with many challenges. The main challenges are catering to a wide range of abilities (the residents are usually either absolute beginners or native French speakers) and engagement (residents come very irregularly, understandably so, since, they experience a lot of instability in their lives). 

The final highlight of the week was volunteering for an evening kids’ club at a Samusocial centre, a residence where asylum seeking families and individuals can stay whilst awaiting their papers. It was a really hot day, so we arranged a water fight for the children - I got absolutely soaked and had to the metro home in wet clothes (oops!) but it was absolutely worth it.

I would say that my adaptability has been my most tested attribute this week, but also the one I am most proud of. Firstly, I have entered a new cultural and linguistic context and switching between English and French, whilst trying to get to grips with the most basic Arabic and Dutch for the food distribution, has been an exciting (but mentally exhausting) challenge. Secondly, I had to significantly readjust my expectations and SMART goals for my LiA which could have felt like a massive setback, had I not been offered the opportunity to lead the French4All project.

In terms of development, I am going to intentionally work on my Global Citizenship. I have already learnt so much through meeting people from many different countries and cultures, but I have definitely felt the limits of my Western-centric understanding of the world. I have been curious, admitting to my own ignorance and seeking to understand more about cultures that I may know less about, but there are already areas that I know I can educate myself on to be more culturally sensitive and informed.

[1] https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/70838/belgium-fails-to-house-asylum-seekers-adequately-ecthr-ruling-finds.