I am happy today. I just went to the official opening of ZUMA, UC Leuven-Limburg's open community house in Hasselt – actually the place where I have my office. Downstairs has been invaded by lots of ladies, mothers to be, young mothers and babies.

ZUMA is the new project we are initiating for pregnant women and young mothers and fathers. We have developed this concept together with a number of key stakeholder groups in the province and the town. Hospitals, independent midwives, child care organisations, gynaecologists and GP’s. What we are doing is to strengthen the first-line health care. We are organising workshops where our students are helping (integrating community work with education and applied research too), etc. All of these activities were co-defined and co-developed with the stakeholder groups.

ZUMA will later be extending services, based on the same concept (first social work and education). Now there is a Mama Café, workshop place, meeting room, exercise room and even a cosy and intimate room where Mum can breastfeed her baby.

So when you are strolling through Hasselt now, a market town on a market day, you will come across a sign inviting you in, into the community house.

This is something that we were able to pull off because the PUMR philosophy, brought to us by James Powell and PASCAL,  was used to define the policy framework.

The name of my colleague who is the heart and soul of ZUMA is Dr Annick Bogaerts ([email protected])

More details can be found at this link(only in Dutch, since it is for the local stakeholders).