Emmaus International is publishing its first Global Report on its fight against poverty

In its first Global Report, Emmaus International is making the voices of the most excluded heard, presenting alternatives and demands, and launching a new appeal against the causes of poverty.

To mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, on 17 October, Emmaus International is releasing “Our Voices”, the first Global Report by Emmaus on its fight against poverty. Another report? No, a wake-up call! Because as Abbé Pierre, our founder, explained “the voice of those who are voiceless should keep the powerful awake at night”. Faithful to this tradition 50 years on, the Emmaus movement wants to make its voices and its claims heard.

We believe that 150 million more people will fall into extreme poverty in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis (source: World Bank), with production and consumption models leading to rapid environmental degradation and increasing human suffering. Against this backdrop, Emmaus International is highlighting the solutions put forward by the 425 Emmaus groups around the world. Throughout this report, you will discover the islands of hope these solutions represent for excluded people and for all those who believe in the existence of credible alternatives to the dominant model.

What do the Emmaus organisations have in common in Brazil, India and France, and in each of the 41 countries where we work? Common requirements and claims to tackle poverty and exclusion. This report reiterates – as it seems to have been forgotten – that poverty is neither inevitable nor a natural phenomenon. It invites decision-makers to draw inspiration from the real-life experiences of Emmaus organisations worldwide and to listen to the solutions that they propose. Because fighting poverty means transforming the system that causes it!

To find out more about this report and sign our appeal, visit: ourvoicesmatter.emmaus-international.org

News Tackling Poverty / Solidarity

Emmaus in Belgium

A discussion with Julio de la Granja, national delegate for Belgium on the board of Emmaus Europe.

Tell us about how Emmaus began in Belgium.

In Vivegnis, a suburb of Liège, William Wauters and his friends took action in 1949 to support poor families who were still suffering in the aftermath of WW2. They renovated hovels as well as distributing coal, food and clothing. Their efforts eventually led to the creation of the first Emmaus community in Belgium, the Emmaus-Brasier community.

In 1960 the Belgian economy got back on track and daily life began to improve for our people. The community thus decided to focus on helping countries from what we used to call, back then, the “third world”, and they launched the “Terre” [Earth] group. This group set up income-generating initiatives in order to improve the living conditions for the local people for the long term. Terre began to move away from the Emmaus movement in the 1990s but the Emmaus adventure is still alive in Belgium nonetheless!

The working community in Ghlin and the Emmaus community in Brussels were both founded in 1957. Following the death of the leader of the Brussels community and upon a request from Abbé Pierre, the La Poudrière community took on the responsibility for the community in our capital in 1975. This community had remained independent from the movement since it was founded in 1958 but it joined the movement through this merger in 1975. In the 1960s two new communities emerged in the region of Charleroi: the Marchienne-au-Pont and Lodelinsart groups. The Lodelinsart group closed in 2018.

We now have 3 Emmaus groups in Belgium: Marchienne au Pont (Charleroi), Ghlin (Mons) and La Poudrière with its 3 sites (Brussels, Péruwelz and Rummen farm). We have 4 sales areas and over 140 people involved in the movement in our country!

What types of activities and initiatives are led by Emmaus in Belgium?

In Belgium the three Emmaus groups are all traditional Emmaus communities. We have 60 companions living and working in our 3 groups. We lead the traditional Emmaus activities of collecting, sorting and selling second-hand objects. Combined, our 3 associations collect around 1,000 tons of furniture, clothing and electronic goods per year, 70% of which are brought back into circulation in our shops.

The La Poudière community has also been doing a lot of work at Rummen farm since 1964. We rented this farm, based in the Flemish region of Belgium, in order to produce fruit and vegetables and to rear livestock (pigs, sheep and hens) to feed the community. Nowadays we produce 50 tons of apples, 5,000 bottles of apple juice, pears and prunes at the farm every year. We sell our produce in our shops in Brussels and Péruwelz.

Over the last three years we have been working to develop the bike part of our activities in Brussels, work which has been recognised by the regional authorities. Our workshop where we fix and sell bikes is open to the general public 5 days a week. The majority of the bikes we sell are collected by the community from local recycling centres before being fixed in our workshop and then sold on.

Our community in Ghlin was concerned about the environmental and economic impact of producing waste and thus sought out innovative solutions to this issue. For several years they have been taking action to reduce their environmental impact (collecting rainwater, improving the insulation of their buildings, carefully managing their heating system and installing solar panels) but recently they were looking for an idea for how to better promote recycled wood, similar to their work with clothing, books and electronic goods. This innovative project, launched by a collective that wishes to add value to second-hand wood thanks to their collaborative carpentry workshop, is called Holy-Wood. They also create eco-design furniture and have opened a shop selling environmentally-friendly products.

In addition to our local initiatives several important events for our movement have been held in Belgium over the years. The world assembly was held in Namur in 1984 and the regional assembly was held in Brussels in 2009. These general assemblies are important moments where members of our movement come together for debates and to take key decisions.

What are the current challenges for the Belgian groups?

Our 3 communities were all created more than 60 years ago and their current leaders have been involved in the movement for many years. We mainly offer welcome to undocumented persons because Belgian residents have access to a lot of social support from the central government and from the local authorities. The people we welcome often leave our communities once they are granted the right to stay in Belgium, they don’t see Emmaus as part of their long-term plans.

Our three communities are, therefore, coming to a crossroads and we must find people to lead our associations for the years to come. This is already beginning to take shape as certain roles within our groups are becoming more professional (the role of driver and admin roles, for example) and thanks to partnerships with other associations.

Notable partnerships include:

The L’Ilôt house which has set up a partnership with our Marchienne-au-Pont group for support in managing community life
The Compilothèque, an association of artists which has set up a partnership with our group in Brussels. They rent part of our premises and help us with the daily activities of our community
The Scheldt Plains Nature Park, an environmental association working in this park along the border with France uses office space at our Péruwelz site and helps us with our work with wood and with our orchard in Péruwelz
The Terre group, which used to be a member of Emmaus, buys surplus clothes from our Péruwelz site

Generally speaking it is important that we pass on values such as giving, sharing and fraternity to young people. These values are brought to life in Thierry Coppée’s fresco, ‘L’entraide’, based on his comic book series called ‘Les Blagues de Toto’. The fresco was made for the 60-year anniversary of the Ghlin community. For the last 13 years the La Poudrière community has been running summer camps at Péruwelz, generally hosting around 10 young people at the site over the first two weeks of August. We also host young people doing their Belgian civic service at La Poudrière for periods of 6 months. All of these initiatives will help ensure that young people will soon take over the leadership of our communities.

How have you been managing since Covid-19 struck and how have you adapted to deal with the situation?

In 2020 and at the start of 2021 we had to stop our collections several times due to the Covid situation. Our shops were either fully closed, half open or completely open, depending on the measures put in place at the time by the Belgian government.

During lockdown we had to stop all activities taking place outside and just focus on jobs that we could do inside the communities: cleaning up the shops, focusing on the environment and doing some gardening. It was a tough period but the whole experience actually brought us closer together!

From an economic point of view, yes, we lost income during the Covid crisis but our expenditure was also lower during this period. Whenever we could start selling again our customers came in number, ensuring that we got plenty of money in. Our shops are now open as usual once again and our activity is back to normal. Emmaus Ghlin, however, cannot yet do collections from the general public due to social distancing measures, so it’s a little bit more difficult for them. But, overall, the situation in the communities is pretty good!

Belgium News

A creamery is helping refugees to rebuild

The IFS group was launched in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1999 after members of the group met with Emmaus International during the war in the former Yugoslavia.

Today the wide range of activities launched by the group make it almost an alternative Ministry for Social Affairs: welcome for exiled persons taking the route through the Balkans, a retirement home for mothers of victims of the war, a centre providing psychological and geriatric care for the poor, social aid and food provided to isolated elderly people, grants for children of single-parent families in rural areas, etc.

In total the group serves over 3,000 meals a day to these people and this is why IFS decided to produce some of the food they consume themselves. They first launched their own bakery, allowing the group to make savings of 1,000 euros per month. Next, in the very rural Doboj region, the group decided to kill three birds with one stone by helping former inhabitants of the region to resettle there following the war. In the early 2000s these people had been provided with cows as part of the international resettlement programme but they had nowhere to sell the milk they were producing. IFS’ objective was, therefore, to collect this milk in order to provide income to these farmers and boost local employment. In turn, the creamery would produce the yoghurt, butter, milk and cheese that the group needs to provide food aid and maybe, one day, the creamery would be able to generate a small profit that would help the group to fund its many social initiatives.

The creamery was created in 2007 thanks to a partnership with the Italian Emmaus community of Villafranca. It currently employs 12 people and collects 2,000 litres of milk per day from small-scale local farms (1-10 cows per farm). In the first few years of its existence the creamery required external support in order to balance the budget but in the last two years the group has been able to generate a small profit at this site by selling some of its produce to shops and restaurants. They now have plans for an extension!

Bosnia Herzegovina Defending human rights / Migration News

Velüs: bikes just keep on giving

Cycling is, after walking, the most environmentally-friendly mode of transport. Bicycles are also the best vehicle in terms of social value and in terms of contributing to the creation of a fairer economy. Basically, the Velüs project is a no-brainer! This Emmaus project involves cleaning and repairing second-hand bikes as well as managing the bikes according to a circular economy logic: by re-using bikes that have been given to Emmaus. Vincent Chapuis, the leader of the Emmaus Jura group, told us a little bit about this trendy project being led by Emmaus in Switzerland.

Emmaus Jura decided to use bikes as a means for creating a fairer, more equal society. Thanks to partnerships with associations which work in the field of mobility and who are our allies in the social economy sector, we were able to open a repair/upcycling workshop in Boncourt. Michel joined us and has since become “Mr Velüs”. He set up the workshop and skilfully oversees the repairing of the bikes, some of which are sent to us in poor condition. This activity has not yet reached financial autonomy but it provides us with a great opportunity to reach out to a new audience and to tell them about what Emmaus does. For example, the Velüs team sometimes leave the workshop for events where we offer free repairs and maintenance. At these events people (re)discover that bikes, even old bikes, are both useful as a way of getting around and as a way of forming bonds with others.

A brand to develop and a network to create

In the Jura region, hidden away in garages and attics, an estimated 2,000-3,000 bikes are waiting to hit the roads again! We decided to work with just mechanical bikes, not electric bikes, and we have partnerships with independent bike shops from our local area. The local salesmen have outlined how what Velüs brings to the table complements their offer. Our intention now is to continue to build up the Velüs brand (a word combining “velo” (bike) and “Emmaus”) in order to make the most of the social potential that bikes offer. We are looking for partners to help us to create a network of skills throughout the Emmaus movement as many of our groups regularly fix bikes. Together we could share our technical knowledge and also contribute towards developing more social and income-generating initiatives related to bikes and cycling. What do you think of the idea of an Emmaus bike network that stretches all across Europe?

More information on https://emmaus-jura.ch

Circular economy / The environment News Switzerland