Don't forget to have fun! - Leisure Time in Basque Country

In our efforts to implement strong boundaries, it is important not to loose sight of the unique warmth and friendships offered by community sponsorship.

We must not forget that families arrive alone, often leaving behind their support network of friends and family. Their community sponsorship group may be their only source of social connection for a long time, until they establish themselves. So, amongst the practical support of banks, housing, jobs and health - it is also important to find time for a little fun too!

In the Basque Country, Asociación Loiolaetxea Elkartea arrange an annual holiday for families who have been welcomed through their programmes. Inés Vicente Barbero explains more:

For us, the Jesuit organizations in the Basque Country, it is very important that families and local groups can share moments and build memories together. For most people, the best memories come from time spent with family and friends sharing meals, celebrations, holidays, fun activities, etc. That is the reason why, apart from language learning, helping refugee families with administration procedures, etc., we also focus on leisure and holiday activities. We organize picnics on the beach or a park, we participate in the local festivities, we celebrate together important events or holidays for all the people participating in the project whether they are related to religion or not. Last summer for example we also spent five days in a big house in a small village all together and we had time to go for a walk, to go to the swimming pool or to the river, to play, to dance or to cook together. Another goal of all this kind of activities is to offer refugee families some quality fun time that can help them heal all the pain they have been going through. We do not focus on very fancy activities that we would not be able to afford but some regular activities that families could then also do by themselves.