“Food for Thought, Soup for Souls,” led by the Philippine Independent Church in Brussels, provides support to victims of human trafficking. The victims are primarily Filipinos who were recruited through legal agencies in the Philippines but then diverted to exploitative jobs in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands after their one-year contracts expired. Workers were housed in abandoned warehouses, paid below minimum wage, and denied healthcare. Others were au pairs subjected to exploitative and unfair working conditions.

Currently the two largest challenges for program organizers are limited Dutch or French language proficiency among the beneficiaries and their own fear of reporting exploitative situations due to the immigration status.

Victims found Food for Thought through word-of-mouth and community networks such as resume and job search platforms. Volunteers and program organizers also expanded their outreach through partnerships with Holy Trinity Brussels (Church of England) and Kabataan, a group of women who are expats and wanted to help refugees in Brussels.

The group watched “Overseas” (2018), a movie produced by the Philippine Embassy  to raise awareness about domestic worker exploitation.

Direct Beneficiaries (First Quarter 2025):

• 60 individualsparticipated in their May 28 community kitchen/workshop (mix of undocumented migrants and trafficking victims)
  • Breakdown:
    • 42 women, 18 men(primarily Filipino, Bangladeshi, and Turkish nationals)
    • Included 12 familiesconnected to precarious labor or trafficking cases
  • Psychosocial Support was provided to 25 trafficking survivors(19 Filipinos, 6 from other nationalities)