This is Lieven

Our Face of Penta for this month is Lieven from Pentahotel Leuven. Lieven’s passion for the fight against poverty and social exclusion shines through in this interview and he believes that this is closely linked to the care for our environment and the importance of equality between all people. We at Penta wholeheartedly agree and have ourselves started a deep review of our ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance and goals, so watch this space. And for now, read on for some words of wisdom from Lieven.

 

1.     Who is the last person you called?

I called someone about our action on Saturday 15 October at the Market Place in Leuven, for a day against poverty and social exclusion.

 

2.     What do you do for a living?

I work in buurtwerk ‘t Lampeke, a non-profit organisation in Leuven.

 

3.     …and how would you describe that in simple words to your 6-year-old self?
We are an organization for everybody of all ages in our neighbourhood. We have a focus on people who live in poverty and experience issues of social exclusion. Anyone is welcome to play, to eat, to meet, to chat, to drink coffee, to ask support with homework, education, difficult papers and much more. We have many activities and projects. We believe in solidarity and human rights for everybody. We believe in changing the society from the bottom up, together, hand in hand with collective power.

 

4.     Tell us something that you are passionate about.

I am passionate about the fight against poverty and social exclusion - that’s why I work in buurtwerk ‘t Lampeke. I do believe this fight is also closely connected to the care for our environment and Mother Earth, and it also relates to the importance of equality between people of all genders, ages, origins etc. The power of people can change the world and that starts with your own life, by leading by example. I believe that greed is one of the big problems of humanity and when greed takes over, people lose their empathy and solidarity. So, the fight against poverty is also a fight against greed.

 

5.     Who are your role models?

Jeanne Devos, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Bram Vermeulen and the countless young people who take part in the Youth for Climate movement.

 

6.     Finally, what’s your drink of choice?

Fair trade coffee.