Anthropology Serving in Situations of Vulnerability

Students work in two experiences to welcome or integrate people in vulnerable situations, whether migrants, people with disabilities, refugees or undocumented migrants. Working with different institutions and associations enable students reflect on their experience and analyze the practices of the host organization to encourage the inclusion of people with disabilities and welcome immigrants. The aim is to help train citizens who are open to the world and concerned to contribute to greater social justice for the most vulnerable while contributing to the student’s intellectual training, to the citizen’s questioning of his or her place in society, and to the individual’s reflexivity through the experience of encountering otherness in the context of situations of injustice.

From: 2022 (January)

Continues

Context: Concerning social problems, different integration flaws were observed —be them in the field of housing or work— link to people without disabilities and asylum seekers. Therefore, public authorities have defined a restrictive asylum policy and an insufficient number of reception places.

Solidarity action: To welcome or integrate people in vulnerable situations.

Learning: To deepen the comprehension of the richness and difficulties of immersion as a way of knowledge.

Direct beneficiaries of the solidarity action: Approximately 600 individuals, from children to senior citizens.

Type of service: exclusively in the field

Main activities carried out by students: Students help to distribute meals, take part in sheltered workshops or suggest activities of services linked to daily necessities of the place they choose. Contribute to ongoing research on the challenges of Service-Learning by sharing their perspectives.

Number of weekly hours that students dedicate to the project: 2 hours per week during a semester.

Mandatory nature: It’s mandatory for all undergraduates.

A. Students: The have learnt the importance of working on conceptions of culture, not in the abstract, but by perceiving them at work in oneself and in others, in situations of intercultural encounter.

B. Community: Encouraging encounters between vulnerable groups and young people who are integrated into Belgian society and eager to enter into an intergenerational exchange has been most valued and appreciated.