Oasis Belgium

Oasis Belgium is a registered charity in Belgium, helping the most excluded and marginalised find freedom, community, access to government services, education, job training and employment. As part of the Oasis international family, our work makes a difference in nine countries around the world. Our vision for the future is for building healthy communities: places where everyone is included, making a contribution and reaching their full potential. Specifically in Belgium, we work in the following key areas: Working specifically with women from South East Asia, particularly Thailand, our Oasis Welcome Project runs a helpline for women who are experiencing violence in the home. We also visit Thai massage parlours and empower the women to take control of their own lives, find freedom and new employment. The work is intensive and long-term, with forty women being assisted at any one time, helping them find access to social services, community and job training. Oasis works with a local school in the St Josse area of Brussels, ensuring that the most needy children have breakfast and lunch and are helped to access homework clubs. The organisation is just starting trauma informed yoga sessions to help the children who are dealing with post traumatic stress, often because of their migrant experience. The project aims to include their mothers in yoga sessions early in 2019. In the city of Beringen, Oasis Belgium runs a project called the Buurtbar, which aims to help isolate elderly people find community and purpose. Work largely with the flemish population, the project operates a mobile coffee bar that visits social housing, service flats and elderly care homes, as well as organising home visits and working with social services and local schools to put on events such as “Digibabbel” which connects young people with the elderly to answer their questions about smart phones, so they can stay in touch with family.