Photo: Douwe de Vries
A message on Facebook and a message in Resource yielded dozens of responses, for the student international development studies. The reactions were all from students that wanted to help him think of sports activities for refugees in the Process Reception Location (POL) in Wageningen-Hoog, who according to Douwe are pretty bored. Monday evening an information meeting was held to brainstorm the ideas and to make a campaign plan.
There were about fifteen people at the meeting, said Douwe, who all want to be involved. ‘We brainstormed in small groups on activities that we could organize for the refugees. We wrote all the ideas on large A3 pieces of paper. The ideas varied from football and rugby to dining together.’
At the end of the evening two commissions had formed who are now actively going to take on several ideas. The most concrete plan: a Zumba evening. On 16 March the dance teacher Rachel van Ooteghem of De Bongerd together with several students will shake their hips at the POL on the Keijenbergseweg.
In the meantime Douwe is going to concentrate on organizing a football match with students and refugees. ‘This could be possible on location or at the field of De Bongerd, but it is my aim to play in the stadium of Wageningen. That would be great.’