Do you ever stop to think about this?
Our life is a mix of taken-for-granted things, obstacles, and surprises. But we don't often stop to think about that first category.
This is your chance to do so. Which situations are taken for granted by you, but pose a major challenge for others?
why we ask this ...
Strange questions, right? Or maybe not? Because although the answers are obvious to many people, that is not the case for everyone. What is normal for you can be a particularly big hurdle for someone else. And we need to reflect on that.
What if it isn't obvious? What then?
These stories are taken from real life. Read them and take a moment to reflect.
From Open Cards to standing still
Poverty of opportunity is not always visible and there is a gap between people with fewer and more opportunities. But how do you make that gap visible?
In 2024-2025, a whole host of organizations and volunteers worked on the Inspringtheater (Jump-in Theater) Open Kaart Spelen (Playing Open Cards). With this project, we wanted to strengthen mutual empathy, puncture prejudices, and thus contribute to more understanding and solidarity.
The project started with storytelling tables where people living in poverty shared their experiences and stories. Those stories formed the basis for a theater script in which various aspects of poverty were addressed, such as housing, work, and health.
Subsequently, we performed six shows in Ypres, Langemark-Poelkapelle, and Zonnebeke, for more than 400 spectators.
But the stories and testimonies are too valuable to disappear now that the curtain has fallen on the jump-in theater. That is why we captured them and molded them into the stories, questions, and reflections on this website.
Thank you for surfing here and taking a moment to reflect on these – perhaps somewhat strange – questions.
And a special thank you to all the storytellers, actors, and helping hands: Hilde, Jean Philippe, Peter, Nele, Anja, Kristof, Bonnie, Bruno, Daniël, Leslie, Annelies, Patrick, Abir, Gina, Friede, Dieter, Kim, Leslie, and Katleen.
This project was made possible thanks to a collaboration between Avansa Oostende-Westhoek, CM Gezonde Buurt, theater maker and director Lucas Vandenbussche, the local authorities of Ypres, Langemark-Poelkapelle, and Zonnebeke, welfare organization Tegoare from Ypres, welfare organization ’t Zunnetje from Zonnebeke, and the non-profit organization De Link.
