Festivities and Frolics

In total BSB has taken in over 50 students from Ukraine. Some are being hosted by families already attached to the school, others by staff members. Some students are living with alumni or relatives of graduates, and some are staying with family members of those who are already at BSB. All school fees have been waived, a decision that was immediately and unanimously agreed at the Board of Governors level.

While BSB as a school moved swiftly to accept Ukrainian students, the wider community was also quickly mobilised to provide external support.

The BSB community’s response to the crisis was overwhelmingly inspiring at such a challenging time, with families making room in their own homes to house Ukrainians escaping the conflict, and people of all ages volunteering and donating to ease their plight. With many arriving in Belgium with very little but the small amounts of possessions they could fit into a backpack, the school and the wider BSB community pulled together to provide the Ukrainian students and their families with everything they needed to begin a new life and to feel settled.

“When we realised the scope of the crisis, we knew we had to do something,” says Maurits. “We immediately launched our Ukraine appeal for the community to donate goods. Within a day or so we had about 40 people in a WhatsApp group organising and planning collections of donations. We built up a whole logistical network of collections, deliveries and people at the school sorting the items.”

Indeed, the whole community swung into action, with people donating money, clothes, bicycles, toys, and even musical instruments. The objective was to give the Ukrainian families security to be themselves again and feel safe in their lives.

As Maurits says, “No one at BSB and in our BSB community will feel alone or disengaged, we will reach them and support them because that is the essence of what we are and what we do.”

Amongst everything else BSB is about having fun