The PTB launches "A winter of solidarity" with more than 300 solidarity actions throughout the country
The PTB-PVDA has just launched the national campaign "A winter of solidarity" under the slogan "We leave no one behind". All over Belgium, 300 local PTB groups are implementing various solidarity actions in the coming weeks.
"The winter promises to be harsh, but we will not let anyone down", said Raoul Hedebouw, spokesman for the PTB. "Solidarity is in our DNA. Poverty is increasing everywhere. Many people are in a very difficult situation, financially and psychologically. Older people are particularly affected, but also young people. Loneliness increases, as does lack of perspective and inequality. Faced with that, we couldn't just sit back."
"We collect laptops for young people who don't have them at home, as well as toys for children living in poverty, " explains Raoul Hedebouw. "We prepare hundreds of litres of soup for the carers, to give them some warmth and comfort. We organize food collections that will be distributed in collaboration with local anti-poverty organizations. We write letters to the elderly in nursing homes. We also make cakes for garbage collectors and shopkeepers. Finally, we're looking for a thousand volunteers to help the students with their homework."
The PTB aims to bring together more than 300 solidarity actions on the www.unhiversolidaire.be website. Those who have something to offer or want to give a hand can register directly on the platform. Raoul Hedebouw: "People who want to devote some of their time to help can search for a solidarity project in their neighbourhood. Once they have found an action that touches them, all they have to do is register on the site, and we will contact them. Everyone is welcome: it's the little streams that make big rivers. So together, we'll help make these next few weeks a heart-warming winter of solidarity."
The more than 20,000 members of the PTB will receive a solidarity envelope with a poster to be affixed to the windows with the slogan: "We don't let anyone down". In this way, they show that they are available for others and participate in this winter of solidarity. The envelope also contains postcards to send some warmth to those around you.
"As part of this campaign, we also demand that the authorities structurally tackle the growing inequalities in our society", continued the spokesman for the left-wing party. “More than 200,000 people need to use food banks to survive, and that number is growing every day. It is not normal that, in one of the richest European countries, so many people are struggling to get by. It is high time to reverse the trend. We want to raise the minimum wage to 14 euros per hour and for replacement allowances to be above the poverty line, as we have been promised for a long time. It is a question of political will. It's about solidarity."
