It was a cheerful crowd on Sunday at the Nescio Hotel in Haren. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, refugees from the war-torn country have been accommodated in the hotel. On Sunday, the residents wanted to thank all the people who helped them over the past year. “It was a nice and pleasant evening,” says Willemijn Kemp of the Social Brigade. “It was March last year that Russia invaded Ukraine. A few days later, the first refugees were accommodated here in Haren. Several people here in the village immediately got involved. How can we make the people feel at home? How can we help them? How can we make it as pleasant as possible? The Social Brigade is a result of that. We organize fun days and outings for the residents, we offer language lessons and we help where we can.” Food, music and puzzles And now it was time to give something back. “Some residents got up at 5:00 AM to get to work in the kitchen. They baked and cooked. Yesterday we were served multiple courses, consisting of traditional Ukrainian dishes. There was a cultural activity between each course. For example, there was a teenage boy who had made a puzzle of Ukraine with all the oblasts and landmarks. It had to be put together. There was a teenage boy who played the accordion, there were two girls who played the violin beautifully and there was a workshop on making lucky dolls.”
