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St. Vincent de Paul Society – saint Francois d’Assise conference

By Brigid Alty

Kraainem (04 December 2005).- Most of you are aware of L’Olivier, the Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) drop-in centre for Refugees here in Brussels?

You probably don’t know that there is an SVP conference saint Francois d’Assise, which has very close links with L’Olivier? We’re a small group of 8 people and 2 of us happen to be active Parishioners here. Our monthly meetings are in French but half of us are English speaking!

We visit people in their own homes and they’re referred to us from L’Olivier. The people we visit come from virtually everywhere in the world, though there are trends depending on certain political events. At the moment, my visits are mainly to families from Kosovo. The people we visit often have actually no income whatsoever. Their CPAS (social security) has been cut and they’re appealing against a refusal to be allowed to stay in Belgium. This can take years. The only official help most of our families receive is payment of urgent medical expenses.

Because of their precarious position without papers, these families often live in horrendous conditions. They are often exploited by unscrupulous Landlords and owe enormous amounts of money to their Compatriots. If they manage of find work, they tend to be paid a pittance – they have no rights here and can’t return to their home countries.

If we have the means, we can sometimes help financially towards fuel bills or towards the rent or just to buy groceries. We often help with school costs, as most of the schools charge for photocopies and lunchtime surveillance etc. We sometimes pay for school dinners also, as this maybe the child’s only chance to have a decent meal. Some of the accommodation we visit is appalling, where many families share unsafe and unsavoury kitchen and bathroom facilities.

We’re having a fundraising event very soon 3 Dec with the group Take This. This event is being sponsored by a Parishioner here.

We rely completely on donations and the annual charity collection is shared between L’Olivier and the conference. Thank you for your continued generosity and support!

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