With Belgian cities hosting summer camps for Ukrainian refugees, birthday celebrations for Belgium's oldest man (and Napoleon!) and fish curing Alzheimer's, there's plenty to smile about in this week's round-up of positive Belgian news.
Today's positive pick
The small city of Mechelen, nestled between Brussels and Antwerp and home to over 100 nationalities, has organised a free summer camp for Ukrainian children, offering a wide range of activities from circus skills to bracelet-making and cookery classes.
The project was launched by the BelUkrA organisation and was initially created to help refugee families find jobs and accommodation while children are on their summer holidays.
Belgium has so far granted asylum to over 70,000 Ukrainian citizens who have fled Russia's brutal invasion, with almost 6,000,000 Ukrainian refugees now scattered across Europe in total, according to the UN.
Most of these refugee children have only been in Belgium for a few months or even weeks. They are under temporary protection and their parents do not receive social assistance: only sandwiches and overnight accommodation in the Mechelen Dorp container town, organised by the Red Cross. They need a residency card to receive financial support.
"My younger sister, my grandmother, my mum and I [live in Belgium]. My father stayed in Ukraine. We haven't found housing or a school yet," Ilona and Amina, refugees from Rivne in western Ukraine, told the Russian-language media.
Trips to the zoo, bouncy castles at the beach and Circolito circus workshop in Mechelen. Credit: Rena Faradzheva
The camp aims to help parents find housing and jobs by keeping the children occupied, explained camp co-founder Vladlena Yaroshenko from Kyiv. She understands the parents' needs well as she, too, came to Belgium with her child after Russia invaded in February 2022.
While some parents are already working and others are not, they all have a lot of paperwork that they cannot do with their children around.
"People stay [in Mechelen Dorp] for around two or three months, then try to find another place to live," Yaroshenko told The Brussels Times. "Parents who were working were very grateful that their children were kept busy with good activities. The camp also gave unemployed parents the opportunity to find work, and some used the time to finish their paperwork."
'Life can still be beautiful'
As well as buying much-needed time, the camp also provides parents some respite from childcare. The psychological impact of fleeing from war remains fresh in the mind of many Ukrainians, but the camp has allowed families to relax and re-energise.
Supporting stressed children and helping them distract themselves and regain their self-confidence is the main goal of the summer camp, the camp organisers say. "We want to invest more in building the children's confidence. They are still children and they can dream and some dreams can come true; life can still be beautiful," co-founder Rena Faradzheva, who has lived in Belgium for 15 years, told The Brussels Times.
The summer school includes Dutch and English lessons, visits to museums, zoos, and the beach, in and around Mechelen. There are singing, dance, and arts and crafts workshops and team building activities – all for different age groups.
Rena's birthday celebrations with Biriuk Nataliia, Vladlena Yaroshenko, Rena Faradzheva, Nelli Kotylevych (left to right) and a trip to St. Rumbold's Tower in Mechelen. Credit: Rena Faradzheva
Thanks to the support of Stad Mechelen and the Red Cross, Rena and Vladlena organised a similar camp in Antwerp's refugee village last year, which has continued this year. They hope to expand the project to more cities with high numbers of Ukrainian refugees and offer activities during school holidays throughout the academic year in the future.
The students 'graduated' on Tuesday after four weeks, received their summer camp diplomas and were awarded with gift bags.
"Everyone had a good time. We saw the children's happy faces and realised that the camp gave them confidence and made them feel better. From what we have seen, it was a success," Yaroshenko concluded.
Other stories from this week to make you smile:
1. Oldest man in Belgium celebrates 109th birthday
The oldest man in Belgium, Jaak Broekx, celebrated his 109th birthday on Sunday, telling friends and carers that the secret to a long life is "simply being content". Read more here.
2. Waterloo hosts events to celebrate Napoleon's birthday this weekend
From demonstrations of Empire cavalry, combat and Amazon riding to a display of cannon and rifle firings, this weekend at Waterloo is a must for history buffs. Read more here.
3. Belgian research with fish opens way to new Alzheimer's treatments
Belgian scientific research looking into the effects of a cocktail of two drugs on the brains of aged fish may open the way to new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. Read more here.
4. One big dog walk: On a mission to walk every single street in Brussels
A 27-year-old Brussels resident has announced her plan to walk every single one of the Belgian capital's 5,000 streets – accompanied only by her pet poodle. Read more here.
