Mi Amigo is a charity based in Schijndel (Netherlands) that works with extremely vulnerable families who often face exclusion from conventional food aid schemes. Every week, it distributes healthy food packages while offering a friendly place to be heard and ask for advice. 

The project is run by volunteers who have themselves experienced poverty, which helps them provide caring and appropriate support. In addition to the food aid, families can access clothing, hygiene products and a welcoming cafe space ideal for conversation. 

Sietse Dekker became involved in the project after a chance meeting on holiday in Spain. Touched by the enthusiasm of a Mi Amigo board member he met there, he wanted to see the initiative for himself. “I was deeply touched by this charity, which emphasises social inclusion and employability,” he explains. “These correspond perfectly with the criteria the VINCI Foundation uses when choosing a welfare initiative to support.” 

Thanks to the VINCI Foundation, the charity has been able to invest in a commercial refrigerator, a renovated cafe space and improved storage facilities.  

Sietse has also found the VINCI Foundation’s involvement extremely positive and wants to encourage colleagues to offer their time to a welfare initiative: “Look around you. There are so many fantastic initiatives. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, but the results are huge.”