In the summer, tens of thousands of volunteers joined the Red Cross and other organizations to help in Wallonia. Solidarity in Belgium is still great. There are still dozens of volunteer initiatives on Facebook and people go to the affected area every week.

1000hands Foundation is one of the active organizations in the region. “The idea was to rebuild an entire village with 500 volunteers, 1,000 hands, in one day, but that was a bit over-optimistic,” says Jay van Niuenhuaysen, a member of the organization’s board of directors. The Foundation was established in September with the aim of providing assistance after the reconstruction crisis of the affected villages.

Help from all angles

For example, Turnhout and three neighboring municipalities have sent their technical staff to the village of Bryon Walloon via the Foundation. Companies in Turnhout and the surrounding area have also been recalled. Brian is grateful for the help. For example, a garden was planted again and a sports hall was reconstructed, where it will be possible to bathe and cook in the future. “It should really become a community center for people who still live on the first floor of their house,” says Van Nieuwenhuysen. From 4 Flemish municipalities. But due to the huge amount of work to be done, the foundation is now also active in Chennai.