This diary is a collaboration submitted by Sara Hollett, Catherine Polvi, Terri Sutherland and their chaperone, Kamila Rybicka
Diary Entry – Wednesday & Thursday Aug. 20 and 21, 2008 London, England
Traveling to London, visiting the city
We all met at Halifax airport in the evening and first flew to London, England where we spent one day sightseeing all the famous sites, monuments and historical buildings. Whilst touring around London we admired the architecture and felt the history and cosmopolitan life of this wonderful city. Early the next day we flew to Warsaw, Poland. Everyone was in good spirits and very excited about the trip but nobody knew what to expect…
Diary Entry – Friday & Saturday Aug. 22 and 23, 2008 Warsaw, Poland
Packing presents for the sick children, meeting Lukasz and taking him to the ZOO, sightseeing around Warsaw and being immersed in a foreign language and culture
We arrived in Warsaw on time in the morning. A beautiful, sunny day welcomed us in the capital city of Poland. After collecting our luggage, picking up our car (which we called “Rennie”) and having a short break for lunch with Patrycja, the manager of Children’s Fantasies Fulfilled, we went to the office where we met some of the charity’s staff and for a few hours we packed the children’s presents for the whole trip. We were really happy – but just a little bit tired! It was fun to pack and wrap the children’s gifts, wishes and fantasies – there was a huge amount of wonderful toys – many of which we brought with us.
In the evening we met Lukasz, a 16 year old boy suffering from muscular atrophy. His dream was to visit Warsaw ZOO and see some famous sites of the Polish capital. We spent the whole day with this amazing boy. Meeting him was a very humbling experience for us. The visit in the ZOO was amazing – some of us had never seen these exotic animals before! We walked around the Old Town together and also visited the Museum of Warsaw Uprising and WWII which was incredible and very moving.
Apart from sightseeing Warsaw with Lukasz during our first two days in Warsaw, we also took a few tramway rides and visited Kamila’s old apartment where her parents prepared a special Polish lunch with soup, pierogis, meat, potatoes, salads and cakes. That was not a meal that was a feast! That was the first time any of us Canadian girls had experienced Polish hospitality and delicious food.
Diary Entry – Sunday & Monday Aug. 24 and 25, 2008 Rzeszow, Poland
Traveling to Rzeszow and visiting Patryk, Dominik and Ewa
On Sunday we traveled to Rzeszow. On the way we visited Patryk, who is 14 and fights against cancer. Patryk wanted to have a laptop and a soccer ball. It was our first visit to a child’s home and we were amazed that a family of 5 could live their whole life in such a small area - two tiny rooms and no kitchen!
On Monday we visited 6 year old Dominik who struggles against cancer. Dominik’s dream was to have a battery operated car that he could drive and a fish tank. We spent a lot of time with Dominik who was a very sweet boy – we helped put the car together, went to shop for fish and helped set up his new fish tank. It was a lot of fun. Dominik has a little brother, Karol, who was a great help too. The family offered us tea, cake and even lunch!
In the afternoon we visited 16 year old Ewa suffering from spinal cancer. She was a very nice, quiet girl who spoke a little English. Her fantasy was to have a computer, a printer and a big bag of sweets. It was a pleasure to meet Ewa who lives in the mountains with her mom in a little, old, wooden house that was built about 70 years ago. We helped set up the computer and… it worked! We exchanged emails and we hope to stay in touch with Ewa.
Diary Entry – Tuesday Aug. 26, 2008 Nowy Sacz, Poland
Visiting Gabrysia, Andzelika, Patryk and Kamil
On Tuesday we visited 15 year old Gabrysia who struggles against cancer and wanted to have a music system and an electric guitar. Then we drove to deliver a gift to 12 year old Andzelika suffering from cystic fibrosis. Her biggest dream was to have a music system.
Then we visited Patryk and Kamil - 10 year old twins suffering from cystic fibrosis. Their dream was to have a flat screen TV for their room. Both Patryk and Kamil loved us so much – they wanted to spend some time with us and so we stayed at their home for tea and cake and… a game of cards! The game was so much fun, the boys made us laugh and do things we would never dream of doing in different circumstances like barking and walking like dogs, singing from a balcony, dancing and making funny faces. It was really sad to leave them thinking that both Patryk and Kamil suffer from this terrible illness which will take their lives much too early….
Diary Entry – Wednesday Aug. 27, 2008 Nowy Sacz, Poland
Visiting the children’s hospital, delivering gifts to Marcin, Lukasz and Marcelina
On Wednesday we visited the children’s hospital in Rabka – the cystic fibrosis ward. The hospital looked completely different to what we know from Canada. It was old and poor and looked more like a house with metal beds. We delivered toys, sweets and Canadian items for the children and a TV set for the ward. And again we met the most incredible children who made us feel special, who made us feel wanted. We spent time talking, laughing and playing with these children, especially Oskar who was our favorite child.
Then we visited the brothers – 12 year old Marcin and 15 year old Lukasz both suffering from muscular dystrophy. Marcin’s fantasy was to have a home theater and Lukasz’s biggest dream was to have a digital camera. Meeting Marcin and Lukasz, who don’t have any friends and don’t speak a word of English and have limited access to education and the outside world, made us realize once again how good we have it in Canada. In our world it would have never happened – the Canadian school system would be proud to provide an equal education for these boys and make their lives better and happier.
At the end of the day we met another incredible young person – 16 year old Marcelina who suffers from cystic fibrosis. Her dream was to have a mobile phone and a tent. We delivered these gifts to Marcelina and spent some time with her. She spoke a little English and was a very warm, delicate and intelligent girl.
Diary Entry – Thursday & Friday Aug. 28 and 29, 2008 Krakow, Poland
Visiting Arek, Paulina, Krakow and the museum in Auschwitz-Birkenau
During our last two days we visited 12-year old Arek and 14-year old Paulina - siblings who suffer from cystic fibrosis. Arek’s dream was to have a movie camera and Paulina’s fantasy was to have new skis.
We walked around the old town of beautiful Krakow where we could buy some souvenirs and postcards – the city was buzzing – different activities, shows, horses and carriages, tourists from many parts of the world, incredible architecture… it was great to see and feel.
We also visited the museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau – the former concentration and extermination camp. It was a very humbling visit. It was overpowering for us to be in a place where 1.5 million people suffered, where they were tortured and murdered. We heard many amazing stories of courage and heroism and about pain and suffering – all this was intimidating and very hard to take in.
And the next day it was time to go home. It took us 3 days, because of ZOOM’s collapse but, thanks to the Coalition we finally got home – safe and sound. Some of us experienced mixed emotions – it was good to be home but we still felt as if we should travel more, go to one more place, and visit one more child…
During our incredible journey to Poland we experienced a lot of different things – hospitality, kindness, love, strength, laughter, happiness and humility. We also saw poverty and beautiful scenery - lovely towns and fantastic mountains - we drove on some really bad roads and we were on the go the whole time from 8am to 8pm.
We met amazing children whose happiness, courage and determination to live their lives to the fullest, despite their terrible circumstances, made us even stronger, better people. We will never forget this experiences, it was truly a “Journey for a Lifetime”.
