Normally, we mainly share photos of participants and volunteers during our activities, but it’s high time we introduced ourselves! Today, it’s the turn of the Vlampijpstraat team with Eline and Hamist.

Since this summer, this small team has been working at the newest asylum seekers’ center in Zuilen to give newcomers a soft landing. Eline and Hamist go way back, because they met in 2017 at the asylum seekers’ center in Oog in Al. Hamist lived there and Eline was a volunteer at the time. Hamist heard through the grapevine that a day out was being organized and ended up at Welkom in Utrecht through mutual acquaintances. “The activities were a lot of fun and the only distraction at the asylum seekers’ center. We weren’t allowed to go to language classes or work. Eline and her colleagues gave me a hug and made me feel seen.”

Hamist has now been working at Welkom in Utrecht for a year and a half, first as a contact worker at the Pahud in Overvecht and now as an activities coordinator on Vlampijpstraat. Hamist: “I lived in an asylum seekers’ center for a long time myself, and I know where people are coming from. Now it’s time for me to give something back. I think it’s important to talk to people and ask them what their needs are and what they want to achieve in the future.”

Eline first visited the asylum seekers’ center years ago because of a school assignment for her son, and since then she has become an indispensable member of the Welkom in Utrecht team. “I’ve always felt that I have it so good. I was born in a rich country, I have everything I need, and my family is doing well. But that’s not the case for everyone, and that’s why I want to share what I have.”

Hamist and Eline are trying to create a homely atmosphere on Vlampijpstraat. For them, equality is extremely important in this regard. When you participate in an activity, when you dance or eat or make something together, you are part of something together and you feel connected. We are all equal, whether you live in a reception center or are a volunteer, local resident, or employee of Welkom in Utrecht.
Eline: “In the coming year, I want to work even harder to build bridges between the asylum seekers’ center and the neighborhood, to invite local residents here and to show that we are all the same, whether our names are Piet or Mohammed.”