Free pans, cups and rice cookers for internationals: ‘It’s like Black Friday’
Clothes, pans and even blenders and coffee machines. Newly arrived international students can pick up second-hand household items for free during the registration day at Academia. And the stuff is flying out the door.
Aida is from Iran and is here to enroll in an Economics study: ‘I just arrived in Tilburg, and I already have a room. But my kitchen is still empty. And then I saw these stalls. I choose a few things that I often use in the kitchen.’ She is surprised and happy. ‘It really makes me feel welcome.’
Hiva from the United States is starting a study in Global Law. She has just scored a lamp, a teapot and a cutting board: ‘As an international, you don’t really know where to shop. So, I think it’s important that the university continues to do these kinds of things, to make life a little easier for international students.’
Small rush
The initiative, in which departing students donate their old belongings to the new batch of international students, is a great success. The market opened at ten o’clock on Friday 14 August in the Academia building. There was immediately a small rush at the stalls. “It’s like Black Friday,” Rachael Vickerman laughs. She is International Mobility Coordinator and supports exchange students in Tilburg.
‘Ten minutes before the official opening of Arrival Day, there was already a queue at the door. And at ten past ten, most of the stalls were already empty. Fortunately, we still have things in the warehouse, so that people who come later still have a chance to sort things out.’
Empty room
Sharing is Caring was set up for international students who have just arrived from abroad, Vickerman explains. ‘New students usually arrive in an empty room. So, we try to offer everything they need here.’
Vickerman: ‘Often these are kitchen utensils: pans, plates and cups and even rice cookers or toasters. These are donated by students who leave. Because they can’t carry these things to the train station or take them on a plane anyway.’
Leaving no one out
Vickerman emphasizes another starting point for this initiative: ‘We started Sharing is Caring at the end of 2022, and we now do this every semester. The central idea behind it is to think about sustainability and to avoid wasting good and valuable items. For example, we heard from WonenBreburg, the housing corporation in Tilburg, that they have to hire extra cleaners because so much stuff is left behind when students leave.
‘And we are also getting more and more stuff from people who are not students. Unfortunately, we can’t accept big things like furniture, bicycles and things like that. It will probably grow out of our office at some point. Then we have to start thinking about how this will continue to exist in the future, even if it is a very large project.’
Because everyone is welcome when handing out second-hand items, not just international students, Vickerman emphasizes: ‘We don’t want to exclude anyone. I really hope it’s something that can reach the whole campus and local students, and not just internationals on arrival day.’
