andage – marche-en-famenne
Looking for one volunteer
Trip type
City + Country
Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium
Dates of the project
01/02/2027-31/01/2028
Deadline to apply
5th of october 2026 23h59 CET
Hosting organisation: Andage


The missions of the non-profit organization ANDAGE is to develop innovative projects and responses adapted to the needs of people with physical, mental or multiple disabilities, adults and children and their families.
In order to fulfill this mission, Andage has 6 services, each answering a different need: residential, daycare, accompaniement, community house, supervised houses and help to families.
Andage’s actions are also built on a wide network with many local organisations, as well as families of their beneficiaries. Through the services and collaborations, Andage offers individual and collective support to their beneficiaries in order to increase their quality of life and well being.
All year long, Andage proposes different activities, collective or not, within their services (workshops about carpentry, handcraft, gardening, music, sport) or outside (visits, excursions…) among which different residential trips are organised.
Andage also organises the ‘Alter Boutique’, a swap place in the centre of Marche en Famenne, where anyone can come and swap items, have a cup of coffee or admire the constantly displayed local artists exhibitions. The place is link with the community, encourages inclusion and is held by beneficiaries as well as Andage staff.


Support organisation: CBB
- Promote the project and links between local and international associations
- Support the selection and preparation of European volunteers before arrival
- Manage administrative matters such as budget allowances, creation of bank account, enrollment at the municipality, insurance contracts
- Write the activity agreement
- Provide pedagogical support for the volunteer and the hosting organisation by ensuring the participation to the NA seminars, organising evaluation meetings with the volunteer and the hosting organization to reflect on learning outcomes
- Handle practical arrangements, including accommodation, health insurance, French lessons, online language tools, etc.
- Create networking activities with all ESC volunteers of the hosting organisations we support
In general, the volunteer can be involved in the following:
– Taking part in the team meetings
– Taking part in the meetings with the beneficiaries
– Implementing new projects, activities, workshops
– Joining the different workshops and residential activities
Supporting the existing projects:
The day Center of Aye (SAJA)
The main part of the project will take place within the day care service, called “SAJA”.
The center welcomes 25 beneficiaries with varying degrees of disability from the age of 21. Beneficiaries are welcomed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. The center is characterized by a particularly spacious building and a garden, the place of numerous activities. At the day center, the activities offered are essentially activities linked to crafts, leisure, sports, cooking, well-being or individual support.
The volunteer will participate and promote the participation of beneficiaries according to their individual needs and their motor and mental abilities in a whole series of activities, depending on the program. Here are a few examples of activities:
– Participation and support in Wednesday cooking workshops (helping with shopping, helping people during the workshop, helping to tidy and clean afterwards)
– Participation and support in gardening workshops (growing flowers and vegetables, collecting seeds for sowing, etc.)
– Other possibilities: sport, well-being, cognitive, pottery, carpentry, music and rythms, adapted artistic expression,… workshops
– Collaborating with external partners.
From the SAJA, the volunteer will be collaborating with other departments:
“Le Cerisier” (community house)
Every Monday afternoon, the volunteer will have the opportunity to join and help the team to support the group life at the community house.
The role imagined for the volunteer is to support the Andage team, participate in the household chores with the beneficaries, doing groceries; but also to be a source of proposals for new workshops, new activities, etc.

The 'Alterboutique'
The Alter Boutique is open between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and once a month it offers learning workshops for beneficiaries on Thursday. The volunteer will only come to the boutique occasionally, whenever it is needed. They may participate in tasks outside of the opening hours, when organizing a special event (for example: “Statues en Marche”). In that case, they would compensate the extra hours with time off.
The volunteer will be able to:
– Accompany the beneficiaries in their tasks, with the reception and service of users;
– Participate in the set up and cleaning of the place.

The volunteer will be encouraged to bring their point of view, their potential expertise, and to explore new avenues and new projects according to their interests and desires. Space will be left for spontaneous initiatives within the various services of Andage.
Time will be provided for the volunteer to be able to reflect on a personal project to be carried out within Andage and in accordance with its principles, values and rules.
Accommodation in Marche-en-Famenne
Andage is located in Marche-en-Famenne, a small, 17.000 inhabitants town in the French-speaking part of Belgium. This unique situation will allow the volunteer to share the semi-rural lifestyle of the area, but also to meet young people from different places of the country as well as to be in contact with people from the other side of the world.
The volunteer will live and mostly work in Marche-en-Famenne, which offfers all modern facilities (shops, supermarkets, sports centre, cinema).
For the urban-life-style-lovers, it is, however, IMPORTANT to know that our town is located in a semi-rural area. Even if it is not far away from the biggest Belgian cities (57 km from Liège, 106 km from Brussels, 47 km from Namur) and well connected by train, Marche-en-Famenne can sometimes look remote and very quiet.

The country - BELGIUM
Squeezed between the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France, Belgium is one of Europe’s tiddlers. The north is flat, with a beach of 65km along the North Sea full of resorts, except for a few patches of windswept dunes. In the south you will not find mountains, but the hilly forests of the Belgian Ardenne. We have 4 seasons well contrasted, cold winter and sunny summer… But be ready to look up to a grey sky at least half of the year.
Despite the rainy clouds, Belgian people are usually warm. A lot of cultural and free events happen during the year, which makes your journey in this little country entertaining and resourceful.
This project will take part in the south of the country where we speak French. Be therefore ready to learn and speak French!
- Specialities : FRIES, BEERS and FESTIVALS
- AREA: 30,518 sq km
- POPULATION: 11.492.641 million
- CAPITAL: Brussels (pop: 1.212.352)
- REGIONS: Flanders (North), Wallonia (South), Brussels – Capital
- COMMUNITIES: Flemish-, French- and German-speaking community
- LANGUAGE: Dutch (±59%), French (±37%) and German (±1%)
- CURRENCY: Euro
Working Hours
Working hours will usually be from 09:00 until 16:00 but we ask our volunteers to have some flexibility about this. You will have an average of 35 hours a week.
Food
You will receive a budget and will prepare your own meals.
Pocket Money
Participation in the European Solidarity Corps is free of charge, except for exceptional contribution to travel costs. You will therefore receive free board and lodging during the whole activity. In addition, you will receive pocket money for personal expenses throughout the duration of the activity, including holidays.
Accommodation
You will live in a house that will be shared with other volunteers, with a separate room. It is located in the centre of Marche-en-Famenne and has all the modern facilities.
Insurance
You get covered, throughout the activity period, by the obligatory European Solidarity Corps insurance plan (Henner) that the European Commission sets up. This coverage is only complementary to the mandatory coverage of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which you must obtain prior to departure.
In certain cases, when national rules deprive participants from coverage under EHIC for the duration of the placement, Henner will provide full coverage. However, you must provide proof that obtaining the EHIC in your case was not possible. You should contact your National Agency for advice on your specific circumstances. You must read carefully the insurance-related information here.
Language course
EU Academy + French lesson. We provide an online language course as part of the budget from the Commission. You will need to complete a level test before the activity starts. We encourage you to join free French lessons given in the municipality or around if possible. We recommend that the participant starts practicing French prior to their arrival in Belgium and that they participate in as many activities as possible in order to get better at the language.
- Aged 18-30 years old
- Motivated to join our project
- Sincere interest for our activities
- Interested in learning french (for better interaction with the beneficiaries)
- Willing to discover and to learn, open minded to try new things.
- Before departure, being in contact with a support/sending organisation to receive information and preparation
> Look up for a support organisation in your region via this link - Project open to everyone, regardless of their nationality, religion, believes, diploma, or professional experience
- Able to give copy of your criminal record before starting the activity
How to apply ?
Deadline to apply: 5th of october 2026 – 23:59 CET
1. Answer the questionnaire below – scroll down a bit to see it (NB: you will be asked to attach a CV at the end of the form)
2. In the frame of the new program of the European Commission, the European Solidarity Corps, you need to create a profile on the new data base: https://europa.eu/youth/solidarity_en (“JOIN THE CORPS”).
3. (optional) if you’re feeling creative, please feel free to send us any additional material related to your application: esc@compagnonsbatisseurs.be
The creation of a profile on the ESC portal AND fulfilling the form (in English or French) is compulsory for us to take your application into consideration.
In the days following your application, the pre-selected volunteers will be contacted for a skype interview.
PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM WITHOUT THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE !
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, we prefer personnal answers than perfect ones.






