December 2021
La Maison de l’Enfant, for whom and what?
Interview with Marie-France Constant, alderman for social affairs
Since its inauguration in September, we’ve been hearing a lot about the Maison de l’Enfant, but what exactly is it?
La Maison de l’Enfant is for (grand)parents, young people and children. Above all, it’s a friendly place to meet and find out more about children and education.
How does the Maison de l’Enfant work?
The municipal administration is in charge, but it’s largely thanks to volunteers that activities can take place. The more volunteers we have, the more new activities we can offer. We also recruit volunteers via the Give a Day platform.
Can you describe the activities already taking place there?
Every Wednesday morning, Café Bébé welcomes children aged 0-3 and their (grand)parents. While they get to know each other or discuss different topics, the children can play and come into contact with other children. Right from the start, we’ve had visitors, which proves that there’s a demand for such an activity in our commune. It’s also true that the location is particularly pleasant, as we benefit from a well-appointed space in the new Agora cultural center, not far from Parc Jourdain and the playgrounds. There’s also a wonderful social project, the “diaper bank”, which aims to collect “surplus” single-use diapers to make them available to the most vulnerable families in our commune. There’s also an info library and a “book box” where anyone can pick up or drop off books.
How do you see the future of La Maison de l’Enfant?
We are currently working on the future website, which will offer a wealth of information. We have also collected a large number of games which will enable us to create a games library as soon as we have the necessary computer resources.
There are also plans to organize “game afternoons” on Wednesdays. In fact, we’ve got lots of ideas, but we want to take the time to get it right.
We’re very proud that this project has come to fruition in Kraainem, because it’s the result of great teamwork. There are still relatively few communes in the area with a Maison de l’Enfant. Here, everyone is behind the project, both the majority and the opposition, and the commune’s “Well-being” department has given its all to make it happen. Many
citizens have already expressed their interest or come to visit us. I hope we can grow and, at the same time, encourage intergenerational and intercultural exchange among the people of Kraainem.
Maison de l’Enfant
Address: Centre culturel Agora – Rue du Patronage 9
Opening hours: Mon/Tue/Wed/Thurs 9am-12pm and by appointment
Telephone: 02 719 20 49
Email : maisondelenfant@kraainem.be
Facebook : @ Maison de l’Enfant Kraainem
