Education Tour to Poland

Within an education year for the charitable project leaders of Caritas St. Petersburg, our staff undertook a study tour again, this time to get familiar with the structures of Caritas Poland.

Organizer of the study tour: Caritas Poland, Coordinator: Ms. Marta Titaniec. 

From 15th to 19th May 2012 the first group of our project leaders caring for disadvantaged children and young people with disabilities attended some projects of Caritas Poland in the dioceses of Warsaw-Praga and Elk. The first encounter with the work of Caritas Poland began with a meeting with the vice-director of Caritas Poland, Rev. Marcin Brzezinski and the Project Coordinator, Ms. Marta Titaniec, who presented all areas of work, charitable activities and modern fund-raising methods of Caritas in Poland. During the study visit, our project managers visited following projects: 

·         - Day Care Center for older people of the Diocese Caritas of Warsaw-Praga in the city of Warsaw

·         - Children's Center of the Diocese Caritas of Warsaw-Praga in the parish of St. Waclaw in Warsaw

·         - Children's Center of the Diocese Caritas of Elk

·         - Youth center "Quo Vadis" of the Diocese Caritas of Elk

·        -   St. Padre Pio Charity homeless shelter of the Diocese Caritas of Elk

·         - St. Faustyna Orphanage "Pomocna dlon" ( "Helping Hand") of the Diocese Caritas of Elk and the baby box "Okno zycia" ("Window of Life")

·         - Social and health care center for mother and child of the Diocese Caritas of Elk

·         - Caritas Kindergarten of the Diocese of Elk in the city of Elk

·         - St. Faustyna Caritas orphanage "Do Not Fear!" in the city of Goldap

·         - Caritas Sheltered workshops for the disabled in the city of Goldap

 From 20th to 25th May, then a the second group of our project leaders toured to Warsaw and Bialystok. This time, the focus was laid on projects for the elderly and the homeless. As with the first group, at the beginning a meeting with the Director of Caritas Poland, Rev. Marian Subocz, and the project coordinator, Ms. Marta Titaniec, took place. We visited:

-Day Care Center for older people of the Diocese Caritas of Warsaw-Praga in the city of Warsaw

·         - Relief center for the homeless "Tylko z darow milosierdzia" ( "Only with the gifts of mercy") of the Archdiocese Caritas of Warsaw,

·         - Caritas center in Legionowo in the Diocese of Warsaw-Praga

·         - Orthodox Mercy Center "Eleos"

·         - Hospice of the Association for Friends of the Sick "Towarzystwo przyjaciol chorych" in Białystok

·         - Recreation center for residents of the district "Kalina" in Białystok

·        - Club for forced migrants "Dobry czas" ("Good Time") of the Archdiocese Caritas of Białystok

·         - St. Kazimierz Parish in Białystok

·         - Rehabilitation center for juvenile drug addicts "Metanoia" of the Archdiocese Caritas of Białystok in the city of Czarna Bialostocka

·         - Homeless shelter of the Archdiocese Caritas of Białystok

·         - Relief center "Samaritan" of the Archdiocese Caritas of Białystok

·         - A nursing home for older people in Białystok, which is run by nuns

·         - two Sheltered workshops for the disabled of the Archdiocese Caritas of Białystok

 Our impressions: 

   • "The acquaintance with Caritas Poland has been an unforgettable experience. I realized how closely Caritas Poland is connected with the state. The legal framework is very different from ours. I was also impressed how quickly the public relations managers of Caritas Poland can respond. We left the headquarters of Caritas Poland at 13 o’clock, already at 13.15 o’clock the information about our visit was placed on the website of Caritas Poland."

 • "In Warsaw, I liked a project on labor law protection and employment services for people in pre-retirement age, which is optimistically called "50+". I was also excited by a day care center for the elderly. In this project, the" youth" of the older people is being extended. They gain more confidence and assurance that they are still able to do a lot of useful and necessary things, although they are already over 60 years. "

 • "During our visit to the Diocese of Elk, I found the work of Caritas pharmacies very nice whose profits are used for other charitable projects."

 • "The visit to the Children's Center has touched me very deeply: small children, very nice and friendly, young caregivers, children's handiworks, the way how these children presented us with their hand-made articles. One feels at once that it's a living, functioning and necessary project. "

 • "That was the visit to the Sheltered workshops that especially stuck in my memory: the desire of a disabled person to teach me within 3 minutes, how to weave a basket; the variety of activities; the professionalism of the staff who teach the people in the craft; it was pleasant that they do not focus their efforts on specializing the disabled on a specific work area, but try to bring a diversity to their work."

 • "All the projects we visited are of professional interest to me because they intersect with my previous work experience. In particular, the visit to the Sheltered workshops for the disabled and the meeting with the director of Caritas of the Diocese of Elk, Rev. Dariusz Kruczynski, helped me understand the process of organizing and leading a workshop. I gained new ideas regarding the watch workshop at our Support Center for the mentally disabled."

 • "The time has gone by very quickly. I do not regret that I have participated in the study trip. I had the opportunity to familiarize myself with problems and features of many projects and meet many interesting people. I collected many impressions and know-hows that I can use in my work. "

 • "The volunteer movement is strong. They work in all areas. Volunteer work is being developed almost from kindergarten. "

 • "When visiting the projects, we enjoyed a friendly and relaxed atmosphere everywhere. We met people with whom we do a common work. I had the feeling that we are a family. "

 • "The results of the trip exceeded all expectations. While getting to know like-minded people, I felt like a cell of the entire organism "Caritas". I was filled with so much love and so much spiritual support that I am now willing to share this with all who lack it. "

 We express our deep gratitude and recognition to Caritas Poland, especially to Ms. Marta Titaniec for the excellent organization of our trip, which strengthened our forces and gave a new impetus to our work!

We are also grateful to all people we have met for their support and goodwill, especially to Rev. Marian Subocz, director of Caritas Poland; Rev. Marcin Brzezinski, vice-director of Caritas Poland; Rev. Dariusz Kruczynski, director of the Diocese Caritas of Elk; Mrs. Anna Rudzinska, Mr. Marek Neviadomski, Mrs. Paulina Rozynek, Mrs. Dorota Haponik, Rev. Wojciech Lazewski, Mr. Sebastian Wisniewski and to all our friends with whom we had the honor to spend this wonderful time!