Leuven (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Leuven charity Kirikou, celebrating its 10th anniversary, seeks more donors to support low-income families. Volunteers help distribute clothing, toys, and essentials to children in need across the community.
As VRT News reported, Kirikou, a charity based in Leuven, is asking for more donors to help children from low-income families. The organisation is celebrating its 10th anniversary. It organises to support families who cannot afford all the clothing, toys, and other items children need.
What items does Leuven charity Kirikou need to support 768 families?
Around 40 volunteers keep Kirikou running. They sort, organise, and distribute donated items, making sure each piece of clothing or toy is in good condition before giving it to families. These volunteers handle the daily work that allows the organisation to serve so many children. With more families needing help, Kirikou is now seeking additional donors to continue its mission.
“We’ve now filled a large depot with all the items we’ve already received,”
says Cindy Verlinden, a family support project expert for the city of Leuven.
“Last year, we helped 768 unique families. They received nearly 13,000 items to help them raise their children in good circumstances.”
Despite many donations, Kirikou, the charity in Leuven, still faces shortages of important items for children from low-income families. Volunteers say some items are often missing, such as football boots, boys’ pants in certain sizes, strollers, and changing tables.
“We accept absolutely anything that children up to 12 can use, because we can use anything,”
says Verlinden.
To help, Kirikou is asking all Leuven residents to donate items they no longer use. The charity accepts clothing, toys, baby gear, and other essentials. This year, Kirikou has also started collecting menstrual products to ensure all girls in low-income families have access to basic hygiene items.
Kirikou, a charity in Leuven, was founded in 2013 to help children from low-income families. Similar projects to Kirikou have been active across Belgium over the past decade. In 2012, Oxfam Kids’ Shops in Brussels started collecting and selling second-hand children’s clothes and toys to help low-income families.
In 2015, De Kringwinkel in Antwerp expanded programs to provide donated children’s items to families in need. Local initiatives also took place in Ghent in 2018 and Liège in 2020, where schools and community centres collected toys, clothing, and baby gear for struggling households.
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