VRT fundraiser collects over 5 million for people with a lack of opportunity

For an entire week VRT presenters have been hosting a show from the Warmest House in Hasselt (Limburg) collecting funds thanks to an array of activities organised by everyday Flemish people the length and breadth of the region.

On air they spoke with people keen to highlight their fundraising activities, people donating cash and heard first hand accounts of the challenges posed by a lack of opportunities.

3,000 separate fundraising activities were staged.  Over 31,000 people ran in Warmathons, runs the entry fee of which goes to the fundraiser.  Over 10,000 listeners made a donation in return for a song request.

Artemis Kubala, Poverty and Well-being worker for the Women’s council explains: “A lack of opportunities is more than just a lack of income.  People living with a lack of opportunities are stuck in a web of social exclusion.  We’ve noticed that there are groups that are becoming increasingly vulnerable: single mums, people with a migration background and renters”.

Heidi Degerickx of the Network against Poverty is pleased that the Warmest Week identified the problem because she says too often a taboo surrounds poverty: “People prefer to look away.  But we see the problems every day together with the people experiencing poverty. The Warmest Week showed that there isn’t a stereotype for somebody living with a lack of opportunities.  It’s not just about the homeless.  In every class or place of work you will encounter somebody having a hard time financially and who as a result lacks opportunity. I challenge everybody to dialogue with these people not only this week but the entire year”.

Heidi notes that much of the cash from the Warmest Week will go on support measures in projects.  She insists that structural measures are also needed to remove people from poverty: “Children getting help with their homework and a warm meal is fine, but they also need a good home with parents with an income above the poverty line”.

The Network believe politicians must provide the answer: “In Flanders we are prosperous enough to allow everybody to live in a humane way, but we must dare to opt for structural efforts to combat poverty.  We are looking to the federal and Flemish governments and at local authorities”.