Fedasil Rixensart
Belgium
Children
Social work
Environment
Children
Social work
+1
Fixed dates
About the project
Fedasil Rixensart
📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
The Rixensart Asylum Seekers Centre accommodates people or families who have asked for asylum in Belgium. Refugees come from Syria, Irak, Iran, Congo etc. Many of them fled from war or from countries that were under a dictatorship or devastated by an ecological disaster. Thus they came to Belgium with dreams of stability, richness and comfort life. It is not, however, that easy to be allowed to settle in Europe, especially for somebody from the South or the East. Before these people may start their new live, their refugee status has to be proven and accepted. While waiting for the document that will enable them to remain legally in our country, the immigrants are accommodated in this centre in the Brussels vicinity.
People living there await the solution concerning their administrative status. They never know what tomorrow may bring to them.
Therefore, residents often found themselves overwhelmed by feelings of relief and anguish, hope and disappointment. The life of Rixensart Asylum Seeker Centre reflects these individual dramas and hopefulness of residents.
Website (available in English): https://www.fedasil.be/en
This project is organized in line with several other volunteering teams hosted in refugees centre in Belgium. It aims to bring a small contribution to the welcoming of the residents as well as to permit the volunteers to learn about and be better aware of the realities of the migration policies.
By volunteering for this project, you are actively helping the centre welcome people coming from a wide variety of difficult situations and take care of them while they are waiting for a response to their asylum request (UN SDG 10 Reduced inequalities).
💼 What the programme involves
The volunteers will give a hand, new inspiration and ideas to the centre\'s animation team.
They will be required to get actively involved in the daily life of the centre.
For most of their time, volunteers will propose and plan activities for children between 3 and 6 years old. According to the population currently present in the centre, activities can be proposed also to teenagers, isolated women... Some example could be: creative and artistic workshops, board games, walking excursions, going to swimming pool, sports and games, movies, cultural visits, …
To a lesser extent and depending on the weather forecast (2 afternoons/week in small group), volunteers will take part in gardening tasks. For example: pickings, planting of seasonal vegetables, storage and cleaning of the site. Recently the centre starts a vegetable garden project with and for the residents.
The management team of the centre is very well used to work with volunteers as they have been hosting this workcamp for many years.
🏠 Accommodation on site
Volunteers will be lodged in a common room (dormitory) in a building next to the central one. Showers are accessible in the central building. A washing machine is also available.
BEWARE : Volunteers will share the same living conditions of the residents that are really “basic”.
Self-catering. Take your own recipes and ideas. Please, be aware that meals have to be simple. You will have access to a small kitchen to cook your meals. Vegetarian or any other diet should be announced in advance in order to organise shopping.
📍 About the location
Rixensart is located in the Brabant Walloon province, 25 km from Brussels and 7 km from Waver. The zone is highly urbanised and has all the usual conveniences, Rixensart still keeps its countryside charm but one can feel the proximity of Brussels (40 minutes by train, 20 by car). Asylum seekers Centre is located outside the town centre, but at a walking distance from the famous local lake Genval, cinema, shops, supermarkets, train station…
⚠️ Requirements
This project is a volunteering team, supported by the European Solidarity Corps program of the European Union.
Compared to the usual workcamp participation scheme, some main financial and administrative
differences must be underlined:
The participation to the ESC volunteering teams is subjects to several principles and conditions, presented on the ESC webpage: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity/mission_en
The volunteers do not have to pay any fee (not sending, nor participation fee) to attend the project
The volunteers will receive pocket money, calculated on basis of 4€/day, once they arrive on the project in Belgium
The volunteers will receive a financial support for their travel, according to a maximum amount established in accordance with their travel distance (up to 275€)
The volunteers need to register on the European Solidarity Corps Portal; CBB will organize their matching, on the online system, with the volunteering project
The volunteers will have to complete a participation report, submitted online by the ESC portal
We warn the volunteers that the consumption of alcohol is strictly forbidden inside the centre.
The volunteers are required to have basic knowledge of French.
Besides, it is necessary to have basic knowledge about group’s animation (songs, music, dance, plays…) and to be able to assume responsibility within a group. Be able to listen to others is very important there. This kind of workcamp is a very rich personal and human experience. It makes people aware of the complexity of certain social conditions related to the great inequalities on our planet.
In order to demonstrate this, we ask the candidate volunteers:
to send a short motivation letter
to answer our specific questionnaire (if you do not have it yet, please ask it to your sending organization)
to send us a CGC (Certificate of good conduct)
We will not confirm any placement request before the analysis of these documents.
Interested in this project? Create your account and apply online.
Sign in to apply📅 Available sessions
CBB0824ESC
04/08/2024 → 17/08/2024
Volunteers registered
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ℹ️ Key information
Age required
18–30 years old
Solidarity donation
0.00
French tax residents may be eligible for a tax reduction of up to 66% of their costs (membership, plane tickets, solidarity donation).
📍 Location
Rixensart, Belgium
Belgium
🌍 Location info
Local currency
Euro Member Countries (EUR / €)
Timezone
Central European Standard Time
Local time: 20:53 (12/11/2026)
🛡️ Before you leave
✅ Features
🏠 Accommodation
Collective
🗣️ Languages spoken
English
French