News & activities

Rima builds what is lost

Rima is one of our regular volunteers. She helps with recruitment every Thursday morning at azc Joseph Haydnlaan. She lives with her family in the emergency shelter Star Lodge Hotels. Also there, she actively participates in a lot of activities from Welkom in Utrecht. What Welkom in Utrecht means to…

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Keep moving in a VR-workshop!

Last Wednesday, in collaboration with the de Vrolijkheid Foundation, the enthusiastic tea of On the Move Sports Friends visited us to give a VR workshop to the youth of the AZC. “This is soooo cool and you should come now…..” This was said by a boy who spontaneously called a…

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Welkom in Utrecht and Ukrainians

For a few hours last Thursday, Ukrainians sat drawing. In concentration and with a lot of feeling. Because this is what intuitive drawing, or ‘neurographic drawing’ as it is called in Ukrainian, is all about, according to Marina who guided the drawing class. Marina herself gave workshops in Ukraine. Now…

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Building light sculptures for Saint Martin

What a celebration, the kickoff of light sculpture building for the festive Sint Maarten Parade in Utrecht! On Friday, November 11, it is time again for this annual parade of people with music, performances and beautiful light sculptures from all over Utrecht. In district West a big Hendrikbeest (yaja) is…

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“A really special and beautiful show”

“It was a really special and beautiful show, I was very moved and a bit sad” This is what Karama from Iraq said after the fantastic concert by the Netherlands Wind Ensemble – NBE Wednesday, Sept. 21, on Peace Day in TivoliVredenburg. More than 70 people from azc, emergency…

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Yesss, Aikido!

….Yesss, Aikido!!! They have been doing it for a while, together with kids from the neighborhood, and with a lot of fun. A group of children from 8 to 14 years old from the emergency shelter in Star Lodge Hotels have been sports at Aikidio Utrecht for several months.

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Yoga for refugees!

Just imitate that, such a twist-yoga position! For years Claas Hille of studio iYoga Utrecht has been teaching classes to refugees. He did that when we were still on Einsteindreef inside Plan Einstein, at the azc in Oog en Al, and now in Theaterhuis De Berenkuil for people in the…

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Buddy families BBQ

“Can the party go on any longer? I don’t want to go home yet!” Buddy families from Eritrea, Syria, Yemen, Jordan and Turkey and of course the Netherlands enjoyed the delicious barbecue provided by Diana, Heba and Amani and of course the barbecue men Bassam, Yasser, Fouzi, Shadi and Abdesalam.

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Painting nails in the emergency shelter

Wednesday afternoon, the unit at the Star Lodge Hotels emergency shelter on Biltsestraatweg is buzzing with activity. Groups of smiling and chatting girls gather around neighbourhood resident Eline Hoogstra. If you look closely, you can see what is happening. Nail painting. Red, purple, blue, with glitter. Eline paints the girls’…

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Being a buddy family: ‘Truly a super experience’

In 2018, Welkom in Utrecht started the pilot project Buddy Families. In this project, refugee families are paired with other families from Utrecht. We do this because many of the newcomers need contact with Utrecht families, but do not have it. At the same time, there are Utrecht families who…

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