“It was very valuable to give the children a fun afternoon. We all went home feeling fulfilled.”

Last week, a group of students from the Marnix Academy Utrecht came to the Star Lodge to give the Huiskamer van Welkom in Utrecht a facelift. The students, together with a group of residents of the Star Lodge, did an incredible job. Within a few hours, the entire Living Room was transformed into a tidy, clean and organized, cozy space. Everyone got talking to each other, which made for great meetings.

But once the children got out of school, the students’ faces really lit up. They enthusiastically puzzled, tinkered, drew and chatted. At the end of the afternoon, a great conversation ensued. How had the students experienced it? What is it like to be in an AZC for the first time? Many of them did not know beforehand what to expect and still had some prejudices because of the reports they hear in the media. But at the end of the day, the conclusion was drawn that an AZC is actually not such a crazy place at all, and that very normal people live there!

And so you see how a day with a practical content can lead to valuable encounters and new insights, great!

Thanks students of the Marnix Academy for your efforts and Tabasum Westra of Present Utrecht for the link ❤