🇬🇧 The call from Brussels (update 03)

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Dear friends,

You often ask us the question "So when are you leaving?

We can tell you that since our conversation with Iwona and Pascale from the L'Arche community in Brussels, 15 July seems to be a good date.

Iwona is in charge of the hostels and Pascale is in charge of the day workshop. We had the pleasure of talking to them last Thursday, to get to know each other, to present our approach and to ask all possible questions. A whole hour to build the first stage of the journey.

The L'Arche Community in Brussels

After 14 years in L'Arche in Compiègne, Iwona joined the Brussels community last October. Pascale has been working there for 5 years. They have two things in common which are quickly apparent in video: their enthusiasm and their broad smiles.

French-speaking Belgium has 4 communities in Namur, Bierges, Aywaille and Brussels. The latter is located in the commune of Etterbeck and was created in 1973. It consists of 4 residential homes and a day activity centre "Le Grain".

The 4 homes are independent, close to each other, and about 20 minutes from the workshop. They currently accommodate 28 residents, plus the volunteers who share their daily lives. A fifth house, historically dedicated to the reception of volunteers, has many rooms, and Iwona has kindly offered to accommodate us in this house.

The workshop "Le Grain" is open from 9am to 4pm. Before Covid, it welcomed the residents plus half a dozen of people who are accommodated by their own means outside the community. For the time being, some of the activities are taking place directly in the homes to limit the risk of the virus spreading. The community members will be vaccinated in March. This perspective allows them to start thinking about the post-lockdown period.

The activities at the workshop are either 'creative' such as woodwork, sewing, ceramics or drawing, or 'community service' such as preparing meals (for 45 people!), tending the garden and vegetable patch, or 'fun and sports'. An educator-cabinet-maker leads the making of wooden toys, lecterns, frames, ceramic supports, crosses, stools and Christmas decorations.

Ceramics, sewing and wood are popular at the Christmas market, along with the wines of L'Arche de la Rebellerie.

Participating in the life of the community

As in many communities in France and Europe, covid has interrupted community life between homes and shared life with friends, volunteers and families. The perspective of vaccination and the easing of sanitary measures opens up the hope that we can once again experience these moments of "doing things together", celebrating and meeting people. We will contact each other again in May to find out what we can do more precisely, but already some possibilities are emerging: contributing to the sewing workshop for Christine, to the wood workshop for Vincent, accompanying outdoor activities at the weekend, perhaps visiting another Belgian community, participating in small maintenance and renovation work in the homes.

Any particular links with other L'Arche communities?

Iwona worked in the Compiègne community, her husband in the Bruges community, an assistant from Brussels joined a community in India, L'Arche de la Rebellerie participates in the Christmas market. Here again we find concrete evidence of the culture of exchange, meetings and travel of the L'Arche communities.

And what about the children in all this?

Christine and I fully assume that this project of travel and meetings is our project as a couple, that we have proposed to our children. Pascale's question is right on target. For them, we are trying to reconcile the meetings with other young people around the communities, as well as the discovery of these communities. Some assistants and volunteers are young, and other assistants sometimes bring their children to the activities. These are all opportunities to meet other people. Pascale and Iwona suggest that they take the message to the homes and to the educators and families. Let's bet that a lot of nice surprises will come out of these meetings.

And a video in the style of the Tour des Copains by L'Arche in France?¹

The idea is attractive, to be done with the helpers on site. One household even turns every birthday party into an improvised show. The talents are already present in Brussels. All that remains is to reveal them and make them known to the other communities we meet ❣️

Thank you!

We will meet again in May to clarify the programme of our visit, to get to know the assistants we will be meeting in particular, and for some of the residents to get to know Daphne, Joséphine and Barthélémy.

Thank you Pascale and Iwona for making this project a reality!

1. What exactly is La Tournée des Copains?

A regular event by Zoom to get together between communities, get to know each other better and have fun! On Thursdays, a different community each time presents its spaces, members and activities to the other communities in a fun and relaxed way.