Testimonials of short term activities in Belgium
International workcamps and volunteering teams
Volunteering Team at Fedasil Sugny 2025
Luigi 20 from Italy
Hello everyone, my name is Luigi, I’m 20 and I’m from Italy. I’m writing this text to talk about my experience in a workcamp in Sugny, a little village in Belgium, but on the border with France. I will never stop to say it, I joined this project by chance: the idea of participating was proposed to me as a joke, but in the end I thought that this could have been an opportunity. Even though I was expecting nothing, at the end of the 2 weeks, I strongly believe that my views and opinions about these type of projects has changed so much. Like everytime you start something new, you are always a little bit scared of every literal thing: the people you will have to share your time with, the people of the village you will meet, the idea that there could be problems… However, this is a list of the things that I believe I achieved here:
MULTICULTURALITY : being a European workcamp, people from different countries have joined, so I was able to speak more languages (English, French, Spanish). Even if the “common language” to communicate was English, I was so happy to get sop many useful and unknown informations about every country and their own words, culture, stereotypes and lot more.
TEAMWORK AND SHARING : doing this project also means that you have to share the room and not only with other 10 people. It might be difficult and weird, especially because spending some time alone is necessary, but with these great and amazing people, I was so happy to share literally everything. I didn’t mind about knowing them for a week, I already felt the chemistry and the respect between each other. Even organizing the tasks together and doing them always with a different group was so important to understand that work in a team is so much efficient and could bring a lot of positivity and less fatigue.
MOTIVATION : accepting this offer, I knew that I had to be prepared to spent all my day doing activities. Motivation is fundamental, and even though some days I felt a little bit tired, at the same time I realized that I was doing that for the good cause, so at the end I wasn’t tired, but the opposite, motivated to do more and more.
JOY AND LAUGHS : participating in this workcamp meant also working with a lot of children. I will never forget what the people from the team said: “It doesn’t matter if we don’t finish our plans about the maintenance and other stuff, the crucial aim is to make children
happy”. As I heard that words, I immediately realized what was the all point: to bring joy, fun and especially a lot of laughs to all of them. I think that all of us put so much effort to reach this goal, and seeing that reactions was something outstanding, something that I cannot express. Their smile and their trust, even though we were able to know each other for 3 days, meant everything, because you can understand how much a kid’s soul is pure and genuine when they find someone to spend their time with.
GRATITUDE : expressing my gratitude for getting this possibility won’t be enough. As I said at the beginning, I joined expecting nothing and by chance, but now, after 2 amazing and fantastic weeks, I feel like I’m the richest person in the world. Make someone’s day better cannot be compared with money. All the richness I have is filled with love and kindess in my heart, and I will never forget that for any reason in the world.
After writing this text with all my motivations about the experience in Sugny, I would like to finish saying thank you to every participant of this workcamp. Thank you to Inma and Vas, the best co-leaders we could have asked for, and thank you to Ibra, Tódor, Titu, Lucie, Lou, Emma, Sila and Maria, the best people I could have asked for and the people that made this group special.
Volunteering Team at Fedasil Sugny 2024
Diego 27 from Spain
“It was a dream. We had deep conversations, funny moments (and also some sad moments), we had time to discover that change is possible and that change starts with opportunities like this. I enjoyed it like a child and, more importantly, I connected with other realities and stories, some of them very hard ones, trying to learn from the residents and trying to be a support during the workcamp, providing also my help during the work time to create a better space for residents. I strongly believe that humanity starts in a place like Sugny where people are, simply, humans trying to look for a better and comfortable future, far from war. Finally, I have to say that I drink a lot of tea, so now, my body and my mind are more refined.”
Simone 24 from Denmark
“Fedasil Sugny is the place where…
… Isolation is a recurrent theme. Both physically and mentally. With nothing but serene forests and drowsy villages around, the centre location provides both tranquillity and nicotine addiction from the lack of contact to the outside world and all its opportunities. As a reflection of the secluded venue, life at the centre unravels in a lazy tempo, albeit daily chaos too reigns. A slow chaos, if you will.
… Your daily dose of smiles is filled above and beyond with a simple ‘bonjour’, a respectful hand on the heart, or an improvised dance greeting. It’s a sense of standstill, but also laughter and silly games.
… Friendships bloom. There is nothing more heartwarming (nor -melting, for that matter) to see the children play across ages, languages, families, and continents. Walking with five children hand in hand in a line around the centre or sitting with three on your lap restores faith in the future, which their refugee experiences you come to learn unjustly shattered. With a backdrop of mountainous forest, evening walks catalysed sharing of everything from childhood memories to crossing the Mediterranean —not only between me as a volunteer and residents, but also between residents. Working in Sugny is gently swiping away tears from children’s cheeks when they skin their knees and having your own tears swept as gently away by the residents when hugging goodbye skins your heart. It’s feeling comfortable and respected in their company ‘despite’ both subtle and major differences, be it playing foosball or drinking tea in the early hours.
…Childhood takes on an atypical character. But one full of love and a community of people aspiring to make it as ordinary as possible. Playing with or being comforted by all residents, parents or not. It takes a village, ne? Working with these children in the centre ‘school’ (my old metier back home) too brings a sense of regularity from the abruptly paused schooling.
…. Your senses are overwhelmed with bliss. It’s the sound of Fairouz in the morning. The smell of the billion cigarettes in the evening company of the residents (shortening my life with a good handful of years from passive smoking, but no regrets). The touch of a child who comfortably puts their hand in yours. The sight of the sunset illuminating treetops in shades of raw beauty while sitting on a bench with residents. The taste of the incredible amounts of chocolate, tea, and snacks I am constantly offered (read: force-fed if not willingly accepting).
…Anticipation rules the agenda. It means shattered dreams after a denial of asylum, but still hope for a positive outcome in the second try, all while trying to create a sense of everyday life. Celebrations of a positive response, a culmination of the search for dignity, which reawakens hopes and dreams of setting on foot a new life, becoming president in the country you fled from, and to one day see your loved ones again.
…you leave the mountains of Sugny with your heart full of habib(t)is.“