Community institution "De Zande"

The Sint-Pietersveld was originally a piece of wasteland or wastine.

In 1836, the “Société de Bruges pour la fabrication de betteraves” attempted to launch sugar beet cultivation . She built a sugar factory, a steam distillery and 7 houses. That failed miserably. To the extent that the company went bankrupt after just one year .

In the 18th century , home weaving was an important source of income. The man did his farm work in the summer and the winter was spent in the weaving room on the loom. The beginning of the 19th century marked a profound industrial revolution . The steam engine was invented and the Ghent resident Lieven BAUWENS (1769-1822) smuggled the "MULL-JENNY" or spinning machine from England and mechanized the textile industry.
Manual labor was no longer paid. In the 1840s the potato blight appeared, the tubers rotted in the ground and the grain harvest also failed due to rust disease. After a few bad years it became a real disaster. No food and no money ! Inevitably a serious economic crisis followed and, to top it all off, cholera broke out. Our villages had about 10 deaths a day.

It is therefore not surprising that theft, begging and vagrancy increased sharply. Juvenile destitutes were locked up together with adult criminals. The latter, usually very depraved elements, exerted a very harmful influence on the youth. Those who still owned something were obviously not happy with that. The possessing class had even more control then than now, so parliament proclaimed the Reform Schools Act in 1848 . These were intended to teach those thieving paupers some manners and to enable them to "enjoy" a re-education. This law provided that the boys were housed separately and trained as agricultural workers or other crafts , which could be practiced in the countryside.

The Belgian government then bought the land and the remaining factory buildings on Sint-Pietersveld to establish an "Ecole de Réforme" in 1848.

Eel (slurry) from the Ghent prison and street waste were used to fertilize the grounds . As early as 1849 and for several years, the institution rented a ship that brought the liquid manure from Ghent to Beernem. For the rest, proud gunners of the "train d'artillerie" or transport corps of the army artillery traveled every day with a caravan of beer barrels behind them along the dirt road to the canal. At the same time, thousands of wagons of street waste were brought in from the city of Ghent as compost fertilization.

The regime was based on a military base . The uniform, the clarion and the different degrees testify to this. During walks, music led the way. And even when going to work, which happened in ranks, proud buglers walked in the front. People ate from games and everyone, including the director, wore a uniform.

From 1911 onwards, every student receives a complete medical file. Some material changes also occur. The "gamels" disappeared in 1908, soup bowls and bags were placed on the table, but it was not until 1912 that plates were placed on the tables. The hitherto unchanged uniforms also disappeared . The uniform consisted of a blue smock, white linen trousers and a straw hat. They gradually switch to a normal costume in dark blue fabric. The "invigilators" also step out of their uniforms.

An appropriate leisure life comes into effect. Football, archery and theater are to everyone's taste.

The period of the charity school was characterized by the great construction industry that was necessary to provide the patients with, in addition to proper housing, the necessary education and training to ensure their readjustment in society.

In 1914 the asylum was given a German army division to house. The asylum was not far from the front and served as a barracks for resting troops. The extensive grounds of the agricultural company were suitable for establishing an airport. At the end of 1917, in the middle of winter, the entire institution had to be evacuated . Students and staff left in procession, between two rows of soldiers, to the station in Beernem. They were transported to Merksplas on cattle wagons . The succession went to Mol and the Beernem department to Namur. Ruiselede was seriously ravaged . The cell quarters next to the chapel were destroyed, the furniture and modern equipment of the workhouses were looted, and part of the archive was lost.

The students returned in 1919. Their numbers had fallen sharply, military discipline was thrown overboard and re-education became the focus. The moment had come to implement the new law of May 15, 1912 - the Carton de Wiart law . The strict character of the charity schools disappears and the cell quarters are completely demolished. From now on, the institution will only accept Dutch-speaking minors. Now more and more emphasis is being placed on educational assistance and the return to society. The regime becomes open.

The original buildings in Ruiselede have remained largely unchanged . Behind the main building was the training square, which was closed off on the left and right by lower buildings, which housed workshops and taught various trades that were common at the time , including blacksmithing, locksmithing, spinning, weaving, carpentry, wheelwrights, straw braiding, mat weaving, shoemaking, saddlery. and tailoring.

The institution currently provides residential care for underage boys by order of a juvenile court in a semi-open or closed regime.

The juvenile judge can place a young person who has committed an act described as a crime or is in a very difficult living situation in a community institution. In an open campus this is possible from the age of 12, a placement in a closed campus is possible from the age of 14.

Shelter, orientation and guidance for boys up to the age of 20 who have committed an act described as a crime and for minors who find themselves in a problematic educational situation.

Willem Vandenameele