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Support Le Pastel

Le Pastel is a home for children suffering from severe domestic problems in Mons.   

Since public support for Children’s Homes in Belgium only covers the bare minimum expenses to keep the houses running, ‘Le Pastel’ greatly appreciates any external help. Therefore we - a small group of volunteers from SHAPE - have been supporting ‘Le Pastel’ for several years.

We are mainly collecting donations (maybe you still remember the ‘Don’t throw anything away’ cards during the SHAPE flea market) and are organizing various events for the children throughout the year. For example, last year we were able to provide the children with new mattresses and new school bags. 

Now we are facing our biggest project:

The building of a new kitchen!

The current kitchen is a very small room, with only one stove, sink, and oven – all in poor condition. It’s unbelievable to think they cook for almost twenty people in such inadequate facilities every day! The kitchen appliances are not only outdated, but also unsafe. Therefore, the children are not allowed to prepare anything themselves, which does not help them learn the independent living skills they will so desperately need to face the real world.

Additionally, the current situation is dangerous for the children because they are constantly passing through the kitchen to get from the playroom to the dining room.

A new kitchen is just what ‘Le Pastel’ needs to continue to provide a safe and comfortable place for these children to live. We hope that we will be able to realize this large project and improve the lives of the children living here; not only today, but in the future as well.

On 5 December 2011 we had a construction ‘kick-off’ ceremony at the Le Pastel. The Director NCSA,Lieutenant General Kurt Herrmann, was invited to “break ground” by knocking down some of the wall where the new addition will be added in January. Padre Alois Berzl, the German chaplain, blessed the home of Le Pastel and asked for the protection of all who live there.

Finally we could start !!!

Photo courtesy of NCSA