During the Gala evening of the Order of Saint-Gabriel in 2017, a raffle was organized and raised funds for the association Smiles.
Its purpose is to enable HIV-infected children attending the pediatric ward of CHU Saint-Pierre, to benefit from optimal care.
Smiles focused on three priority objectives:
- Improve the well-being of children on a daily basis by enabling sick adolescents to participate in European symposia in order to exchange their experiences with other young people suffering from the same disease, by organizing for them therapeutic holidays, snacks to the hospital, …
- Strengthen the medical, psychological, nursing and social team in order to provide HIV-affected children and their families with a management framework adapted to the complexity of the disease and to give the team the means to organize the support activities for them ;
- Support essential clinical research activities for more effective care approaches directly applicable to patients.
The support of the Order of Saint-Gabriel allowed the purchase nearly 200 toys that were distributed to children for the Holiday Season.
On 22nd December 2017, Lieutenant-General Alain van BELLINGEN, Honorary Consul of Estonia, and Senechal Hervé GILSON, Honorary Consul General of the Comoros, representing the Chapter of Belgium, were received by the President of Smiles, Mrs. Monique KUBORN, to attend the reception of the gifts that will be offered to children.
