Founded over 200 years ago in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, a formal resolution was implemented in 1817: “That the British Charitable Fund is to be appropriated only to the Distressed and Deserving subjects of the United Kingdom by affording them temporary Assistance, dispensing Medicines, or enabling them to return to the Native Country.”
Since its inception, the BCF has depended on private donations to fund its work and a small army of volunteers to run its operation. The assistance it provides ranges from advice and support to material and financial assistance.
While serving the British community in Belgium, beneficiaries can also be dependents of British citizens, including widows and widowers.
The general rule is that BCF steps in when people have already exhausted other means of support, such as from families and the state. It is able to help people in challenging circumstances thanks to its extensive network of contacts throughout Belgium.
In offering its support, the BCF turns no-one away. Help not only takes the form of financial aid, it can be by social support by means of simple visits for a chat and a cup of tea.
Says the BCF committee: “If you imagine any scenario where old age, poor health or just life circumstances mean that you are no longer able to have a relatively comfortable, autonomous life, then the BCF can help, or at least try to.”
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The BCF Committee meets every three months and keeps detailed, confidential records of its work. “Time goes by and everything changes and yet nothing changes,” says the committee about the continuing need for support.
“We recently purchased a vacuum cleaner for a lady with back problems because her old one was too heavy for her. An elderly couple fighting ill health had resorted to buying food using a credit card and couldn’t pay the balance. The BCF paid the bill in full,” it adds.
Due to recent rises in energy costs, the fund has raised the monthly stipend it provides to some beneficiaries to help alleviate the financial pressure in their lives.
It’s not only about providing financial support. “Our volunteers pop round to visit people who, if it wasn’t for the BCF, would not see a soul from one week’s end to the next.”
Concludes the committee: “Whatever the reasons, society will always have its vulnerable and it is up to us to look after them. We live in times where the welfare state exists, but there are always some people who fall through the net and those are the people who really do need good, old-fashioned, warm-hearted care.”
More information on donating here
More information on volunteering here
