The Jury Prizes
Belgische RETT syndroom vereniging
Rett Manual
The goal of the association is to collect and disseminate precise and objective information concerning the cause, identification, treatment and prevention of Rett Syndrome, and to accompany both patients and their families. RETT Syndrome afflicts primarily young girls and results in serious physical and mental handicaps. The association is requesting project support in order to distribute their manual: the Rett Manual, with information about the day-to-day experience of living with the disease. This book has already been translated and printed in a limited number of copies. However the association has encountered problems in its efforts to distribute the manual, which it does in part free of charge (for specific target groups such as patients and their families) and in part for payment (15 EUR). The Proximus Foundation's financial contribution covers the additional printing and shipping costs.
OC Clara Fey
Shower chair - shower stretcher in activity house De Schelp
De Schelp is an activity home for slightly, moderately and severely mental handicapped persons who are unable to attend a sheltered workplace. A number of these individuals require a great deal of assistance. Resources are indispensable for proper assistance on the level of hygiene and care. The association received financial resources to enlarge their bathroom with a water-resistant shower chair with armrests and with a moveable, height-adjustable shower stretcher.
La Boîte à couleurs
The "Ferme du Monceau" not-for-profit association - The Paintbox
The Ferme du Monceau brings the rural heritage within the reach of everyone, whether they are disabled or able-bodied, through farm-based events and activities. It proposes various training courses (for boarders and day visitors) focused on life on the farm, nature and horse-riding. The farm must increasingly satisfy the needs of multi-disabled children and adults, people with motor troubles or in a wheelchair. At least 50% of the 6000 overnight stays organised annually concern disabled people. It is, therefore, indispensable to refurbish bedrooms to make them more comfortable and adapt them to provide quality, welcoming accommodation adapted to the needs of disabled people. The association received the financial support of the Proximus Foundation for the purchase of variable height beds and their accessories.
MS- en Revalidatiecentrum
Promotion of self-reliance among MS patients on the visual level
The centre specialises in diagnosing, treating and accompanying patients with multiple sclerosis and related neurological disorders. Patients are often limited in their possibilities for (e.g.) reading independently. Thanks to the Proximus Foundation, the association will purchase a page-turner that can be operated by a switch, e.g. chin control. In this way patients can stay informed of current events, maintain their cognitive potentials and spend the day meaningfully.
De Egel - Vesta
Sensory perception garden with animals (= outdoor Snoezelen garden) for individuals with a mental and additional physical handicap
De Egel is a home for persons with a mental and additional physical handicap. The home has its own hippotherapeutic programme, which is very popular with the residents. However, some of them are no longer physically able to participate in the programme. To permit them to nevertheless participate in activities with the horses, De Egel would like to establish a Snoezelen garden that would include the use of animals. No Snoezelen garden like this has ever been created before, and the home thinks that it might also attract external interest to the home. The costs covered by the Proximus Foundation concern designing and laying out the Snoezelen garden with Snoezelen equipment, making the meadow accessible for wheelchairs, and so on.
ADO Icarus
Towards an effective call and communication system for handicapped persons
For people who have been physically handicapped from birth or become so due to accident or illness, their possibilities are often further limited by their dependency on friends and family. The independent living service provides adapted houses, the right technical aids and permanent assistance to offer them a self-reliant life. The crucial aid for independent living is a well-functioning call and communication system, so that the handicapped person can contact an assistant any time of the day or night. The existing systems are often too expensive or unwieldy for individuals with a serious physical handicap. ADO Icarus has therefore already been working for several years on designing a reliable, handy and inexpensive call system (with mobile phone, PDA, etc.) that will be useful for all independent living services (for around 365 persons throughout Belgium). The association has already been helped by Belgacom, Proximus and Deboosere Telecom. The Proximus Foundation's donation concerns the continued development and installation of this system.
Den Ommeloop
Shower without threshold
Den Ommeloop is an association which provides residential supervision for mentally handicapped individuals. It runs a home for mentally-handicapped people who work and reside in supervised accomodation. Given that it was not originally intended to receive people with a physical handicap or wheelchair users, the building was not initially adapted for this purpose. However, a number of the residents are now in wheelchairs. The home therefore wants to offer a shower without a threshold which can be easily entered, thus allowing these residents to wash themselves independently. Currently, for example, one boy who actually could shower himself alone always has to be helped in simply because the shower threshold is too high, that situation will soon change thanks to the foundation's financial help.
ASBL Julie Drion
Improvement work on a centre for families of patients at Bordet hospital
The objective of the not-for-profit association Julie Drion is to participate in a wide range of actions aimed at combating cancer. In this context, the project presented here concerns improvement work on a centre for out-patients living a long way from the Institute Bordet and for the family of patients hospitalised there. The Institute Bordet is one of the few hospitals not to have such a structure at the current time. The presence of close family members is essential for the well-being of people receiving treatment. The Proximus Foundation's aid financed work on the building (plumbing, electricity).
La Petite Plante
Purchase of a stretcher-shower
The association cares for multi-disabled adults who have no family or social support. The purchase of a stretcher-shower enables patients to be given showers while lying down. In addition, it facilitates the work of the nurses. The equipment concerned is a waterproof trolley-stretcher. As the sides fold down, this shower is easily accessible for bed-ridden people (all they have to do is roll over) or for people who do not have the use of their legs, without the work being too burdensome for the nursing staff.
La maison de Volaiville
Music, an interesting teaching aid for disabled adults
The Maison de Volaiville is a centre which is home to some thirty adults with severe mental disabilities. It has all the necessary structures for their social integration in a family atmosphere. The activities it proposes include in particular cookery, reading, DIY, events, games. It also organises occupational workshops, which offer work suited to the capacities of the centre's residents in an area which is distinct from the living area. This project requires the support of the Proximus Foundation in order to enable the association to provide the centre's residents with the opportunity to play various musical instruments, sing and dance; these activities which combine pleasure, are a vehicle for communication, personal enhancement and psychomotor exercises. The budget offered by the Proximus Foundation covers the purchase of various musical instruments (djembes, tambourines, bongos, cymbals, etc.).
Les Renivaux
The benefits of contact with animals
This not-for-profit association manages a residential nursing service for men and women with severe or profound mental deficiencies. The Renivaux is licensed to accommodate 21 people. These adults cannot integrate into social life by themselves. The benefits of contact with animals are various and proven: animals encourage communication, enhance understanding and help to adapt behaviour (self-esteem, reduce aggression). The association would like to set up an animal farm, which would have numerous beneficial effects: outside area of interest on a daily basis, awareness of the cycle of seasons and insemination (death, bereavement, the need to drink and eat, etc.), responsibilities (care), outside contacts (purchase of hay and food), contact with the veterinary surgeon and the team building the animal shelter. The Proximus Foundation's funding covers the cost of building an animal shelter; the work is carried out by a technical college in the region.
TCAW Piramide
Den Inloop
Den Inloop is a readily approachable, walk-in services and meeting centre where the underprivileged can come every working day to meet one another, take a shower, and find support for resolving their problems. There is always free fresh soup. Each Wednesday afternoon there is a special activity for underprivileged children. All activities are supported by volunteers. The underprivileged can also wash and dry their clothes here. Thanks to the Proximus Foundation, the association will soon purchase an industrial dryer as the current dryers often break down due to overuse.
Centrum ter preventie van zelfmoord
On line assistance via the Suicide Line
The suicide prevention centre ´the Suicide Line´ runs a helpline - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - for people who are struggling with thoughts of suicide, as well as for the persons around them who are confronted with suicidal behaviour. Given the advent of the Internet as a means of communication, the not-for-profit association now wishes to offer on-line assistance as well. This will permit the association to reach even more people (young people who hesitate to make a telephone call, people with hearing problems, etc.). Such on-line help has already been offered in the Netherlands for some time now, and it has been shown to work very well. The Internet is also the perfect instrument for assuring anonymity, privacy and accessibility. The budgets which are necessary for designing a chat software which can be easily used by all those seeking help tend to be high. The center will also have to purchase the computer equipment for the volunteers, who must be trained, and so on. The association can now count on the Proximus Foundation's donation to cover these expenses.
Mains tendues de l'abbé Corin
Christmas warmth
This association provides aid, in particular material aid, to the poorest sections of the population, irrespective of their background and the reasons for their precarious situation. It organises, in particular, "cloakrooms" offering clothes at knock-down prices, home help, home visits, etc. The project presented covers material assistance for a very poor family, where the husband suffers from multiple sclerosis. Their roof is leaking and as their house is not properly insulated, the gas bill is exorbitant, while the family has very little money. Thanks to the Proximus Foundation, the not-for-profit association will now be able to repair the roof, which has been leaking for a year, and complete the general insulation of the house so as to make heating more affordable starting from this winter.
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Equipes d'Entraide AIC Belgique
Cafeteria of the P'tit Magasin in Mouscron
This not-for-profit association groups together a large number of local actions intended to provide aid to the most disadvantaged and people excluded from society. These local initiatives include the Social Grocery Store in Mouscron (Le P'tit Magasin), which offers very low-cost quality products to families with serious financial problems. The store's customers are entitled to a monthly credit for purchases for a specific period. The project submitted concerns the installation of a cafeteria in the P'tit Magasin, for people to socialise and relax. Over and above the convivial aspect, it could constitute a kind of "school for consumption" to teach people with financial problems the concept of responsible consumption (in particular in relation to the risks of excessive debt). This Mouscron project could serve as a pilot project, and the action could be extended to the whole of the country. The donation offered by the Proximus Foundation includes the purchase of furniture (tables & chairs), crockery, a coffee machine, a microwave oven, a television, etc.
Le Quinquet
Project to purchase a minibus to collect and transport children from families with difficulties, enabling them to participate in the Quinquet educational and creative workshops
The Quinquet proposes both vocational training and workshops for children and adults from disadvantaged sections of the population. For 42 weeks a year, the children's sector organises creative and recreational activities, a school for homework, etc. The cost of participating is extremely low in order to ensure that cost is not a factor of exclusion. The aim is to give children the opportunity to flourish outside the school environment, in order to break the "hereditary" chain of poverty and insecurity. The Quinquet has noted that a large number of children living in neighbouring districts do not participate in its activities because of mobility problems (long journey, no bus, etc.). To ensure that all these children have the opportunity to participate in its activities (and reduce to zero the additional factor of exclusion), the Quinquet has purchased a minibus and can now organising pick-up points for these children, thanks to the Proximus Foundation's support...
Les Amis d'Aladdin
"Les amis d'Aladdin" children's centre
This children's centre is located in one of the most disadvantaged districts of Brussels, with a population of diverse origins, and characterised by a low percentage of children in schooling, high unemployment, low incomes, poor housing and a poor knowledge of the two languages used in Brussels. The centre tries to help people break out of their isolation, by serving as both a day nursery for children and a meeting place for parents. Looking after children enables the parents to train for a job and strengthens the cultural ties between them. This year's project to encourage exchanges between parents is a "Breads of the World" workshop, since bread-making is a universal activity specific to each culture. These workshops also result in the publication of a collection of recipes, illustrated by tales, legends and photos. The financial contribution offered by the Proximus Foundation includes the cost of IT equipment, kitchen equipment and office supplies, etc.
Jeugdzorg Ter Elst
Layout of a play woods
Jeugdzorg Ter Elst runs a treatment and observation centre (TOC) for 96 children with behavioural and emotional problems. This year, the association planned to build a playground (at its own expense), but also hopes to be able to lay out a play woods on a surface of 7,750 m². The Proximus Foundation's support concerns the laying out of this play woodland area.
Matthijs
Creation of a Snoezelen and hydrotherapy room.
The not-for-profit association Matthijs is a therapeutic day-care centre that provides day care for children and young people with multiple handicaps within a wide area around Ypres. Leisure activities are essential for successful integration between the child and the family, the family and society, and the association wishes to further optimise the leisure activities of the various target groups. The Proximus Foundation's financial contribution supported the purchase of equipment for the various rooms (Snoezelen, hydrotherapy, etc.) in their new building, which included an assortment of Tibetan scales to increase relaxation by means of music and vibrations, as well as a permanent storage and organisation system for handicraft materials.
Het Veer
Tingelingeling tingelingeling De Muziekkar
Het Veer is a therapeutic day centre for around 30 children (0-6 years of age, non-schoolgoing handicapped children). A good auditory orientation is a basic prerequisite for speaking and language development. Some children learn to discern, localise, recognise and distinguish sounds; other children get no further than discerning them and thus enjoying the vibrations of a certain instrument. Thanks to the Proximus Foundation financial contribution, the association purchased a cart which will be filled with musical instruments and can be used by the therapists in the different communities; as well as suitable musical instruments and auditory equipment.
t Appelboomke
Toddler work for autistic children
The Rehabilitation Centre ´t Appelboomke is a day centre for the treatment of toddlers and pre-schoolers with autism or related disorders. The day centre receives both speaking and non-speaking children who cannot find their right place in existing educational structures. Toddler work is a method in which normal toddler and school-preparing skills are taught in a way which is specific for those with autism. The two major objectives are: teaching the right work attitude (remaining seated, asking for help, etc.) and secondly, communicating concepts related to visual-motor skills, memory, spatial and formal understanding and conceptual development. The financial help offered by the foundation concerns the purchase of furniture and additional equipment.
De Dam
Renovation of the residential unit
De Dam is a supervised home in Leuven for girls between 12 and 18 years of age who, due to problematic familial situations (sexual abuse, exclusion), require intensive supervision. They are placed here by the Juvenile Court or the Special Youth Care Committee. The home still urgently needs a number of structural works to be performed in order to guarantee that they can live there comfortably. Each year a number of works are undertaken, depending on the funds available. The roof had to be redone. The association could already count on support from the Flemish Community and external sponsoring. The Proximus Foundation's financial contribution covers what remained to be paid after these interventions in order to completely finish the roofing work.
Ter Loke
We´re working to close the digital gap
The goal of the not-for-profit association Ter Loke is to accommodate and accompany three target groups in three distinct sectors: handicapped care, family support and special young people´s assistance. It fulfils its mission by means of residential stays and supervision; day care and supervision; ambulatory supervision. The proposed project seeks to achieve a digital integration of the underprivileged and a number of groups from society for which it provides care. It requested the intervention of the Proximus Foundation for the purchase of PCs, an ADSL connection, customised training packages and various other related expenses.
Huize Bethanië
Van Celsthuis
The facilities of Huize Bethanië are active within the Special Young People´s Assistance sector. Van Celsthuis is one of these facilities. It receives 31 girls with problematic family situations, meaning that the situation at home is problematic without the cause being exclusively either the child or the parent(s). The children must therefore be carefully cared for and supervised, but the same applies for the parents. The facility urgently needed new furniture for the bedrooms and the living room for the girls. Until recently, the facility has used only second-hand furniture. New furniture, funded by the foundation, is improving the living environment. It also offers a way to teach the residents to have greater respect for furnishings within a pleasant setting.
VZW Jeugdzorg Christelijke Scholen Monterosa
Conversion of an attic into a therapeutic recreation room for adolescents
Monte Rosa is a supervised home in the Special Youth Care sector. The children and young people admitted here are between 3 and 18 years old. Beyond this age they are further accompanied in independent living. The submitted project concerned the conversion of an attic into a recreation room for 9 young people aged 14 and older. They all come from problematic familial situations and, in one way or another, all have come into contact with the courts. In Herent the group works on teaching social skills, self-confidence, learning to live with frustrations,... Monte Rosa therefore wanted to create a pleasant and safe space where these things can be taught alone and in the group, using therapeutic and recreational materials. The foundation's contribution includes the transformation works (windows, floor covering, etc.), playing equipment (educational and recreational) and so on.
Les Goélands - centre de psychiatrie infantile
Paddling pool, shower-room
The Goélands welcomes children and teenagers (aged 2 to 19) suffering from serious psychological problems which make it difficult for them to live in society. The not-for-profit association provides support to help their re-integration into society and schooling. The Proximus Foundation's support concerned the construction costs of a small swimming pool in existing premises so as to allow the children who cannot go to the local swimming pool to practice water sports: familiarisation with water, psychomotor activities in the water, relaxation.
ZEmmanuel
Creation of a "Snoezelen" space: area of relaxation and multi-sensorial stimulation in a home for multi-disabled young children.
The Foyer Ste Thérèse is a home for young children suffering from serious neurological lesions which leave them multi-disabled: paralysis, mental disabilities, epilepsy, etc. The association wants to offer these "bedridden" children an area of relaxation for their well-being, taking into account their limits and needs. The project supported by the foundation involves the creation of an area of relaxation and sensorial stimulation adapted to their needs. This "Snoezelen" space will now provide a comfortable, cosy area allowing the children to interact with their environment, with musical water-mattress with a vibrating base and an interactive light source with coloured, changing lights.
Enfants d'un même père
This summer, the Tour of France in Seny too...
The association offers temporary accommodation (sometimes several months) for disabled children, to help out their families at holiday time, or for disabled children waiting to be placed on a definitive basis. The association provides accommodation, education, as well as social, medical and paramedical support for the children. Thanks to the foundation, this Summer, the home will create in its garden the "Proximus Circuit", a track for cycles, tricycles, wheelchairs and other scooters and will also be equipped with three adapted cycles (manually and foot-operated tricycles), since it is impossible for children with reduced mobility to move around in a wheelchair or on a bicycle in a garden that has not been specially adapted.
Lui et nous
Mini Bus
The not-for-profit association Lui et Nous runs a day centre for deaf children or children with impaired hearing, combined with behavioural or personality problems, which are sufficiently serious to adversely affect their schooling. When they leave the centre the children must be capable of reintegrating a specialised school for children with hearing deficiencies. The centre has just been refused a certificate of compliance for its old, rusty minibus. This minibus is indispensable since the centre relies on it to organise outings (crucial for thechildrens social reintegration) and additional activities (hippotherapy, swimming pool). In addition, the centre lends this means of transport to other centres. Even if the centre is subsidised, the subsidies were insufficient to cover this expenditure without putting a serious strain on the centre's budget for investing in educational material. That is why the Proximus Foundation decided to fund this minibus project.
Cancer et psychologie
Creation of a book for children whose parents are seriously ill
This not-for-profit association is composed of psychologists, psychotherapists, doctors and voluntary workers who are sensitive to the psychological dimension of serious illnesses and the resultant upheavals for sick people and their close family. It provides support to sick people and also looks after children visiting sick parents in hospital, provides a telephone help line, and arranges workshops and counselling for children and young people in mourning. The project submitted to the Proximus Foundation concerned the creation of a book aimed at children aged from 8 to 12 and having to cope with the trials of a sick parent. This album will now be an aid to help children express their feelings and address the impact on their life of the illness of a parent. This book is intended not only for parents but also grand-parents, teachers and health professionals. The foundation took charge of the cost of producing the text and graphics, as well as the cost of printing and distributing 3000 copies.
La Pommeraie
Renovation of two fundamental tools for the not-for-profit association's educational project: gym and relaxtion room, shower room and washrooms.
The Pommeraie is a special educational project for 15 young teenagers with serious behavioural problems, which constitute a major handicap for their social inclusion, schooling and integration into family life. These young people are entrusted to the association by the Juvenile Courts. As they represent a very specific and difficult category, the Pommeraie needs to renovate and modernise rapidly some of its structures to facilitate communication with these young people. The project submitted concerned the restoration of the gym and relaxation room, which are very old and, moreover, have been damaged by young people using them. A second part of the project concerned the renovation of the washrooms and the shower room. The association also proposed the participation of a Proximus employee.