the Guyanese back after their
Continuation and end of the exchange program between Guyana and Belgium. The young Guyanese returned from their stay in Brussels on May 26, 2022. All members of this project, supported by the organizations Peupl’en Harmonie and JAVVA, will retain a rich experience shared. She taught them to have confidence in themselves and to open up to those around them.
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The second and last part of the exchange program between Guyana and Belgium by the associations Peupl’en Harmonie and the organization JAVVA (Young Active in Volunteering and Alternative Travel) has just come to an end. After having welcomed the Belgians at home at first, then having gone to Brussels on May 18the seven Guyanese members of the program returned home this Thursday, May 26, 2022.
“On a fact a lot of things!“, says Alexia Philippart de Foy, coordinator of the exchange for the Guyanese association Peupl’en Harmonie. And to continue: “We tried to follow the same logic as what was done in Guyana, so always on the theme of ‘thinking globally, acting locally’. We got off to a strong start, with three days of volunteering. We spent two days on a permaculture farm, during which we planted, we sowed and we integrated the foundations of a yurt.“
The young people met a 23-year-old baker who told them about her experience.
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The seven young Guyanese, their nine Belgian friends, as well as their supervisors also showed their generosity. On the occasion of a world music festival, held in Brussels, they volunteered to dismantle the structures set up for the event. The following days, the activities were less physical. Guyanese have discovered the capital of Belgium. They notably visited the Parlamentariumthe visitor center of the European Parliament.
During the dismantling of a marquee during the world music festival in Brussels.
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Of course, we had reflection workshops. For a whole morning, on a game to a game on inequalities in the world. We have seen the distribution of wealth in relation to the populations of certain geographical areas. On a also talked about migration […] it opened our eyes to certain subjects that we don’t necessarily talk about on a daily basis.
Alexia Philippart de Foy, coordinator of the exchange for the Guyanese association Peupl’en Harmonie
The exchange group participates in a role play at the Parlamentarium, in Brussels.
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The 16 participants in the program also took a moment to take stock of their exchange between Belgians and Guyanese. Two feelings, shared by all the young people, came back to the table: self-confidence and openness to others. For example, 22-year-old Amana from Taluen realized that his insights and advice were knowledgeable and he shouldn’t be afraid to share them with the whole group.
Alexia Philippart, Ghislano and Amana (two participants) worked on the construction of a yurt in Belgium.
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“They did not expect to open up so much to strangers, because finally, over a past nearly 20 days all together. It was very rich for such a short time. There was a lot of sharing about our cultures, our personal lives, our ambitions, our plans for the future, etc.. The participants were excited, especially the Guyanese girls, most of whom were Amerindian“, adds the coordinator of the exchange.
The exchange allowed me to discover beautiful, wise, sensible, funny people. We discovered a lot of things: commentary [les Belges] ate or traveled, especially with the metro. It was so beautiful. It was a pleasure to welcome them to Guyana. Visited the Guiana Space Center, Montsinéry-Tonnegrande […] It was so beautiful that I don’t know what to say. It’s something that doesn’t happen all year round, you always have to take the best opportunities!
Levhi, Guyanese participant.
The young members of the exchange program each received a certificate of participation.
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This experience also aroused the curiosity and desire to travel among the young participants. “They are all young and many realized that the difference was not an obstacle, but rather a richness“, continues Alexia Philippart by Foy. “All this made them want to travel, but not in a ‘superficial’ way, rather to meet the people who live in the territories where they will be“, she finished.