20,000 paper birds help fund COVID-19 units at Belgium hospital

[August 11, 2020]  By Kate Abnett and Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A flock of 20,000 multicoloured origami birds has been installed in a cathedral in Brussels, Belgium, as part of a fundraising artwork that has paid for two COVID-19 units at a local hospital.

Suspended from the ceiling of the medieval Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula by thin wires, the paper creations have come from as far afield as Hong Kong, New York and Tokyo, after Belgian designer Charles Kaisin asked people to send in home-made birds, or deposit them in boxes in 160 shops around Brussels.

Each bird was matched by a donation from companies including French energy firm Engie, raising 101,625 euros ($119,744) for two units for COVID-19 patients at the Erasmus hospital in Brussels.

"I had a very serious heart surgery and I was well taken care of by this hospital. It's why I wanted to help them," Kaisin told Reuters.

Kaisin also organised an art auction which raised a further 300,000 euros ($353,000)for the hospital, which he said would support its medical research, including into the side effects of potential COVID-19 treatments.

(Reporting by Yves Herman, Kate Abnett; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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