Foyer Aubépine
Looking for one volunteer
Trip type
City + Country
Havelange, Belgium
Dates of the next project
1st September 2023 – 31st August 2024
Deadline to apply
29 May 2023 (23:59)

Hosting organization : Foyer Aubépine
“Foyer Aubépine” is a non-profit organization which was created in 1965 and is located in the village of Havelange, a rural area not far from the big city of Liège and close to the towns of Ciney and Marche-en-Famenne.
The association holds the official title of S.R.G. (“Service Résidentiel Général”) given by the French Community government. The main aims of Aubépine are: social help, education, host, support of youngsters with difficult socio-economical and family backgrounds. The aim of the organization is to build trust between youngsters, their relatives and workers of SRG. In Aubépine youngsters and their relatives can live through constructive experiences in order to grow towards a stable future. The workers support youngsters in everyday life in order to help them to find the educational, professional and personal path.
Currently, Foyer Aubépine is hosting 2 ESC volunteers and this position will be to replace one volunteer leaving in September. The other one will be leaving in December.

Aubépine’s team implements activities:
- daily support about 15 youngsters who face all sorts of difficulties, who are in dangerous situations (security or health), who face lack of educational support. The organization faces minors from 3 to 18 years old benefitting from a right of protection. Aubépine provides them with food, care, sport activities.
- Welcoming the youngsters’ relatives: create working and discussion groups in order to help them to overcome the challenges, to reinforce the family bonds;
- Helping the youngsters finding a project that will be beneficial for them, their relatives and the association.
Check here their Website

Foyer Aubépine is part of a non-formal network of local associations called “Droûve tèsoûyes”(aka “DTO”). This network is described as a “short circuit network of solidarity for socio-cultural profit”. The member organizations have to be active in the municipality of Havelange and be “associations of natural persons”. They all share a number of common values and a charter. Four times a year, the member organizations meet in order to increase the mutual resources, share, develop new common projects and galvanize the social work in general. The gatherings often lead to workgroups and then to concrete local actions involving the member organizations. For that matter, a brand new yurt has been built in Foyer Aubépine’s garden where the organization “AMO LE CERCLE” welcomes youngsters for activities linked to school dropouts.
Once or twice a week the volunteers will take part in activities organized by some of partner organizations, such as Vis-à-vis ASBL, a service that welcomes people with mental and physical disability. The volunteers have to spend time with them during excursions, create and facilitate workshops for them (how to manage their budget, cooking workshops etc.)

CBB hosts in total 26 international volunteers around Wallonia. The ESC team of CBB tries its best to connect this network of volunteers together trought different collective activities, seminars
Support organization : 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
Activity 1 : Support the team of Aubépine and local activities
Volunteers will be involved in two main aspects :
1- Accompaniment of young people in their daily lives. This activity involves work with kids and teenagers from 3 to 18 years old. Aubépine is a children’s home, therefore, there are tasks to perform daily from 9 am to 10 pm. ESC volunteers are involved in the everyday life routine:
- Supporting the technical team:
- Maintaining the house;
- Preparing the meals;
- Helping with the maintenance of the interior buildings, care of the exterior and vegetable gardens;
- Supporting social educators:
– spending time with kids and teenagers during meals and snacks;
– welcoming kids and teenagers after school days, helping them with homework;
– preparing funny activities and games for leisure time (sharing moments of games on evenings and weekends);
– helping with preparation for bedtime;
– participating in outside activities. - Participation in gravitating projects:
– help to develop the project of living space in the caravan;
– implementing a personal activity in the last stage of the activity.
Collective activities with other ESC volunteers:
Volunteers are encouraged to participate in the aims of increasing European awareness among the local community and surroundings, as well as enhancing closer networking between the local non-profit services. For this reason, some activities might be run with other ESC volunteers involved in other local organizations. The volunteers are encouraged to take any initiative and make their presence visible in the community. Volunteer gatherings and activities will be planned in order for the European Solidarity Corps to gain visibility and encourage cooperation between local associations through cultural events.
Activity 2: Support the local partners
- Vis-à-Vis ASBL is a non-profit organization that develops assistance, support, training, professional integration and actions for people with fewer opportunities. The office is located in Namur but they organize group activities for adults with mental disabilities who live in Havelange. The volunteer will support the team to organize thematic workshops with them once a week. Involvement in the work of Vis-à-Vis is an important part of the project.
- The « Foyer des jeunes » (Youth House) in Havelange aims at promoting the development of a critical, active and responsible citizenship, mainly among young people aged 12 to 26. They implement and encourage sociocultural and creative activities. The volunteer will support the team with the organization of one thematic “welcoming” space for youngsters after school (once a month); will accompany the youngsters during external activities (once a month, often organized on Wednesdays, Friday nights or Saturdays). Besides these regular activities, the volunteer will have the opportunity to help them out during cultural events (WEAD Festival; cabarets;…), summer camps and to join the Youth Councils.
- The volunteer can also join meetings or events organized by the local network.

Accommodation in Havelange
The “Foyer Aubépine” is located in Havelange, a small village close to the city of Ciney (15 km), not far from Marche-en-Famenne (25 km) and Liège (45 km) in the Belgian province of Namur.
The volunteers are accommodated in Ciney, a town of 16 000 inhabitants in the Belgian province of Namur. The town has its own cultural centre, a library, a youth centre, a swimming pool, a quite wide range of options in sports, arts (there is an academy proposing drawing and painting initiation as well as a music conservatory) and culture. Supermarkets and several shops are available in the town centre. Ciney has a well-connected train station with direct and regular connections to Namur, Brussels or even Luxemburg. Other cities such as Liège are also easily reachable. During the week, the town is full of students from different primary and secondary schools, however, is rather calm during the weekend.
The volunteer receives a bus abonnement to reach the Foyer Aubépine (+-30 minutes by bus) and will have the possibility to use a bike as well. Sometimes, workers organize lifts from and to Ciney.

The country - BELGIUM
Squeezed between the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France, Belgium is one of Europe’s tiddlers.
The north is flat, the south dominated by the picturesque Ardennes and the 65km North Sea coastline monopolized by resorts, except for a few patches of windswept dunes. The 4 seasons are well divided, cold and white winter and warm and sunny summer… But be ready to grey sky at least a half part of the year.
But the Belgian population are usually warm. A lot of cultural and free EVENT in the street happen during the year, which brings your journey in this little country fun and resourceful.
This project will be taking part in the south of the country which is french speaking. Be therefore ready to learn and speak french! Especially in this project involving kids.
- Specialties : FRIES, BEERS and FESTIVALS
- AREA: 30,518 sq km
- POPULATION: 11.420.163 million
- CAPITAL: Brussels (pop: 1.191.604)
- REGIONS: Flanders (North), Wallonia (South), Brussels – Capital
- COMMUNITIES: Flemish, French and German speaking communities
- LANGUAGE: Dutch (±59%), French (±37%) and German (±1%)
- CURRENCY: Euro
Working Hours
Working hours will be FLEXIBLE from Monday until Sunday and can also involve occasional participation in evening and weekend events. Once a week, when helping the educators with the late shift, the volunteer will be asked to sleep over at the Foyer. On average, 5 days per week will be worked and days off will compensate for the extra shift hours if necessary to keep an average of 38 hours maximum a week (French lesson included). The volunteer will generally have two consecutive free days per week except for special events and has the right to two days of holiday per month.
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.
Accommodation
The volunteers will have a private room in a fully-equipped shared 3-bedrooms-apartment in Ciney. The transport costs from the house to the location of activities will be foreseen and covered.
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.
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.
Profile of the volunteer
- Aged 18-30 years old
- Open-minded, curious, enthusiastic, empathetic
- Able to work in a team, with different target groups, and in a multicultural environment
- Willing to learn French
- Interested in working with children and teenagers
- Ready to propose, take initiative, discuss and give your opinion
- Flexible in terms of working hours, which do not correspond to a classic schedule
- 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 certificate of good conduct related to the work with minors before starting the activity
How to apply ?
Deadline: 29/05/2023 at 23:59 (Brussels time)
1. To join the European Solidarity Corps programme, create a profile on the European Youth Portal (click on “register” at the bottom)
2. Answer the questionnaire below (you will be asked to attach a CV at the end of the form)
3. If you’re feeling creative, feel free to send us any additional material related to your application to esc@compagnonsbatisseurs.be (optional)
The creation of a profile on the ESC portal AND fulfilling the form are compulsory for us to take your application into consideration. In the days following the application deadline, we will contact the pre-selected volunteers for a Zoom interview.