Day 5

Day 5 is like a day entirely dedicated to discovering the conditions of the Belgian Youth. We visit Habbekrats. Habbekrats is a well-managed established name in the world of youngsters from underprivileged groups. The team of dedicated professional youth workers creates a warm nest of colorful houses for teens who needs answers to their social and psychological problems and opportunities for them through adventures and selective activities.

The delegates are inspired to benchmark Habbekrats. There are a lot of youth related-problems in the Philippines but with no creative interventions such as Habbekrats. I think it is  quite possible for us since we have networks and resources to make a project such as Habbekrats feasible.

This is a room in the Habbekrats Headquarters where the youth can gather and just chill out. (credits to Faith Villianueva for the photo)

We also visit Unie Der Zorgelozen, a theatre company which works with people in deprivation. We learn that they make stage plays related to common challenges the members are facing in their daily life.

We have coffee/tea while Uni Der Zorgelozen discuss to us their interventions.

In the afternoon, we visit JOC. We are guided in the youth center officiated by the Kortrijk Youth Council. The Youth Center provides an avenue for the Belgian youth to learn what they want to learn. They can form small groups of people with the same interest and the center will provide them the venue and will help look for a suitable instructor for them. In the Youth center, they have a large and accessible function room to cater parties and events that are open to public. They have rooms for music, photography and even Graffiti classes and also have a room complete with recording facilities for aspiring recording artists. We have graffiti workshops after our guided tour and we also enjoy having drinks and just chilling out in a pub located at the top floor of Youth Center building.

Really cool graffiti and a youthful atmosphere at the Youtch Center

This is the function room that can be rented for occasions, but it is also where dance lessons are held.

Martin and I becoming juvenile delinquents. Haha. No, really, we're having graffiti lessons.

Graffiti is considered an art. So, instead of discouraging the youth to suppress their artistic talents, the Youth Center offers Graffiti tutorials.

After graffiti lessons, we had drinks at the pub. I had Duvel, it's a strong kind of Belgian beer, it tastes really good, though. I'm not a beer drinker, but I gotta try this Belgian beer because it's BELGIAN. Janica (left) and Saira (right) are minors, so they serve themselves juice instead.

After this, we go to the Youth club Reflex, it's a subsidize club for the youth to get cheaper alcoholic drinks. Drinking is something that's very socially accepted in Belgium, so they make interventions for the youth, so they have a cheaper place to chill out. It's funny for me because while I was studying High School, it was reinforced that drinking has bed effects for the health. In Belgium however, it seems encouraged because of subsidized youth bars like Reflex.

Photo op at Reflex.