This diary is a collaboration submitted by Ben, Francis, James, Shawna, Tyler and their chaperone, Eliza Kopczynska. Please read the letter from the Canadian Ambassador to Poland at the foot of this page.

January 2010

Diary Entry - Days 1 & 2

Our three flights from Halifax to Berlin were all on time. We had a few hours to wait at Heathrow airport so there was enough time for a full English breakfast - it's amazing how much the boys can eat!

We sailed through Berlin customs and took the Express bus to the main station where we had a quick bowl of fantastic potato soup in a cafe inside the station but we still had to keep our coats on as it was so cold. The Italian owners of the cafe were wonderful people and we had a lot of fun -and we found out that their wish was to emigrate to Canada!

We took the double decker train to Brand - 55 minutes from Berlin - where we got out "in the middle of nowhere". We were glad to see that our bus was waiting for us and we took the 5 minute ride to the Tropical Islands resort. It's difficult to describe.. but from -25 degrees we were suddenly at +25 degrees inside the largest indoor structure in the world - the former home of the German airships. We quickly got to our tents on the beach and after supper in shorts and t-shirts we explored the whole of Tropical Islands and spent a lot of time in the water. It was a great way to get over our 24 hours of travelling and everyone felt relaxed. Sleeping on the beach in our tents was an amazing experience knowing that a few meters away it was arctic conditions.

Diary Entry – Day 3

On Wednesday morning we had an early start - breakfast next to the beach and then we had an hour to swim before we caught our bus to the station. It was quite bleak while we waited for our train but within the hour we were back in Berlin and checked into our hotel.

Despite to snow we were determined to walk this great city and so we went to the Reichstag, Brandenburg Gate, The Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie and saw many other sites. For lunch we all ate delicious Wiener Schnitzel.

The Holocaust Memorial was a very moving experience for us all - we spent a long time there - as it's somewhere that you feel you never want to leave.

Later in the evening we came across an "exhibition" of hundreds of snowmen - which was a protest again global warming! It was getting late and we have to be up at 5.30am tomorrow to catch the Warsaw express train and so we went to the supermarket and brought fresh bread, ham and cheese and made our own supper in the hotel. Day

Diary Entry – Day 4

We were up at 5.30am this morning and walked a kilometer in deep snow to the station where we boarded the train to Warsaw. It was a fun journey and we also caught up on our sleep as well.

Asia from the Foundation was there to meet us (the train was an hour late) and we went straight to the hotel to leave our bags and then to a vegetarian restaurant for a really nice lunch where Eliza, our second chaperone, joined us. In the afternoon we explored the Palace Of Culture and the Old Town of Warsaw before having a pasta dinner and then heading back to our hotel around 9pm to get a good night sleep as we have a very busy day tomorrow, including visits to the WWII Museum, packing all the presents, meeting the Canadian Ambassador and making our first wish come true for Pawel.

Diary Entry – Day 5

After breakfast we went straight to the Museum of WWII and the Warsaw Uprising which we enjoyed and learnt so much. We then went to the Foundation's office and packed the many children's presents that were waiting for us. After a quick and delicious lunch (food in Poland is so good) we went to the Canadian Embassy, through security, and were greeted by His Excellency, Dan Costello, the Canadian Ambassador to Poland, and his team. We spent an hour in their company and it was a tremendous experience.

We then rushed back to the office to load the van - there was just room for us as there was so many gifts - and then we headed off to meet our first wish-child, Pawel. After finding our way there, despite an incorrect GPS direction, we were met at the gate in the deep snow by Pawel's 90 year old grandmother.

We climbed the stairs to the living room and we were warmly greeted by Pawel's mom. Pawel then came to greet us and we could instantly see what he had recently been going through. Pawel is 14 with a brain tumor and after going through lengthy, difficult surgery, he had just come back from hospital after his latest chemotherapy session.

Pawel was so warm and friendly to us and we immediately connected. He told us his passion was drawing and then he amazed us. His drawings are currently being exhibited in Warsaw and he showed us the photos of his opening night show.

The only word to describe his work is "incredible" - he has an amazing talent. And then we noticed that his hands were shaking and found out that he draws the most amazing pictures whilst trying to control his hands. Pawel's mom told us all about his illness and his difficulties - up until a few years ago Pawel was playing soccer and loved running - his life now is very different.

We presented Pawel with his gift - a laptop with internet connection - and he said "I don't know what to say...I'm speechless". We all sat on the floor with Pawel, got his new laptop working, connected to the internet and even set up his e-mail account. We could have stayed all night - it was so hard to leave.

We said our goodbyes to Pawel, he and his mom shed a tear - but mainly from happiness. We felt good on the way back to the hotel - today had been a good day - and we ordered pizza and had an early night - tomorrow is a long day.

Diary Entry – Day 6

It didn't snow today - instead it was gale force winds blowing the snow on the ground everywhere which made driving very slow. So we arrived at Mateusz's house, 200km from Warsaw, later than planned with his gift - a motor car! 3 year old Mateusz, who has leukemia and is in the middle of his chemotherapy treatment, was eagerly waiting for us together with his 6 year old sister, mom, dad and gran. The huge box that contained his gift was placed in the living room and we were just about to present it to Mateusz when mom announced that dinner was served! We were invited to the dining room where a traditional full course Polish meal was waiting for us. We were amazed, it was wonderful Polish hospitality and superb food - we ate everything.

Then it was time for Mateusz... he quickly tore off the paper from his present and his eyes exploded when he saw the big red car inside. Then it was down to work. Shawna was directing operations and the 4 boys built the car - who says we can't build cars anymore in Canada! Within the hour Mateusz was at the wheel - crashing into everything and everybody - he loved it.

We said our goodbyes and headed to our next wish child, Dawid, in Poznan - 120 km away. 5 hours later we arrived in Poznan! As Dawid is in hospital we didn't want to go in this late and so we made arrangements to see him at 9am tomorrow morning before we head off to see two other children. We arrived at our hotel quite exhausted but had more delicious food and sat up and chatted about our trip so far. There's not so much driving tomorrow and the forecast is better so it should be an easier day.

Diary Entry – Day 7

A wonderful day today - sunshine all day, no wind, clear roads - and amazing children.

First we visited Dawid in hospital. Dawid is 15 and has heart failure. His wish was to have the latest Sony Ericsson mobile phone - 12 GB! We arrived at the hospital and Dawid came from his room to meet us. He was on his own because his mom couldn't make it in time this morning - it took her 4 hours last night to travel the 60km back to her home from the hospital.

Dawid was not shy and we all had a great conversation with him. He loved his phone and was very happy. Fortunately he goes home on Monday which he's so happy about as he really doesn't like being in hospital.

Then we headed towards Zielona Gora and on the way went to see Kacper, who is 16 and has muscular dystrophy. Kasper is immobile and he was very shy when we arrived. Soon we started talking about Canada, school and hobbies - mom served tea and Kacper became more relaxed. Then it was time for him to open his present - a laptop. He was thrilled and became completely immersed in it. We all then sang the Canadian anthem for him which he and his family loved. At the end of our visit Kacper was beaming widely.

We then met Dawid in Zielona Gora - a visit that we could not be prepared for. Dawid is 9, with cystic fibrosis, and he and his mom are the most beautiful and happy people your could ever meet. They live together, with his pet hamster, in 1 room - 30 sq.ft with a separate toilet and a "galley kitchen". Everything they have is in this one room. When we were in the room with Dawid his mom had to stand outside.

Dawid's wish was for a laptop so he can take it to the hospital and to his grans and play computer games which he loves. We made his dream come true and vowed to do more for this young family - with a life expectancy of 17 (the average in Poland) Dawid and his mom should not have to live like this. We spoke about this visit a lot together on the way to our hotel and during the evening as we walked around the beautiful old town.

Diary Entry – Day 8

We left our hotel in Zielona Gora and drove north 200 km to meet Patrycja who is 9 years of age and has cancer.

Patrycja was feeling good and she loved the gifts she received - bedding with her favourite High School Musical stars on it, clothes and accessories. She also got new bedroom furniture, including a big cupboard and a desk which the boys, supervised by Shawna, put together carefully over 2 hours! Patrycja was delighted.

Then we drove a further 100km north to Szczecin to meet a remarkable young boy - Piotr. We should have met Piotr at home but he needed to go to hospital and so we met him there. Piotr has a serious heart condition and genetic disorders - he is 9 years of age but looks like 5 and behaves as a 2 year old. He is the most wonderful young boy we have ever met. All he wanted was a slide, a trampoline and a sandpit - and that's what he got - and he was the happiest boy in the world.

We were in awe of Piotr and stayed with him for 2 hours - we could have stayed forever. As we were leaving he asked if we loved him and when we were coming back to see him... We told him how much we loved him and that when he went to sleep tonight we would be right there in his dreams.

Diary Entry – Day 9

At 8.30am this morning we were already at Gabriela's apartment. She was bouncing up and down in the hallway waiting for us - she was so excited. Gabriela, who is 8, has cancer and she has just come out of hospital from having another session of chemotherapy which was making her sick. But that didn't stop her from being so happy when she received her gift - a Nintendo DS. She was immediately immersed in another world - away from hospitals and treatments and she said that she will take it with her everywhere she goes.

Then we drove 200km to Karol who lived in an apartment block in the middle of nowhere! Karol has a brain tumor. He and his mom live in a very poor conditions and his mom just lost her job and has to take Karol to the hospital for his treatment 200km away!

Karol, who is 15, has to stay indoors all the time until the warmer weather comes but his wish was to be free when the sun shines and to do this he wanted a motor scooter to drive around and escape for hours on end. And so we made his dream come true...

We then drove another 3 hours to Bydgoszcz where we met the warmest family ever. Victoria, who is 9 with acute leukemia, wanted an MP3 player and some books which we happily gave her - but we received so much more in return. Her mom, older brother and younger sister treated us like royalty.

Plate after plate of hot and cold food came pouring out of the kitchen (we had already eaten dinner!) with cakes, chocolates and gallons of tea. And all this was washed down with unparalleled friendliness and love. We were truly humbled.

Diary Entry – Day 10

We arrived at the children's cancer ward in the hospital early in the morning after walking through streets of snow whilst carrying the gifts for the children and the hospital. The children who were well enough came down to see us in the hospital common room and chose their toys from the big box we brought. Then we went room by room to see the children in their beds and to give them their toys (we didn't take photos of these children). It was a special visit for us all.

We then drove to Sylvia's apartment. Sylvia is 16, with cystic fibrosis, and she's been very poorly lately. Our visit brightened her up though and, in addition to lots of new clothes, we also brought her the desk she wanted. The boys completed their construction task, under Shawna's watchful eye, in record time - 1 hour. Sylvia is a wonderful young girl. She's very frail but she still dreams of seeing New York one day even though she'd not allowed to fly and time is not on her side.

We all then went shopping to buy clothes for Roksana - yes, even the boys. We also met with Kasia from the Foundation who had driven up from Warsaw, after arriving the previous night from Malaysia, to meet us with the puppy that we would take to Roksana. She lives 30km out of town and we got lost! But a police car showed up and gave us a police escort all the way there! Roksana's home was very basic - one light bulb burning in each room - and there was a sad atmosphere in the home. Roksana, who is 15, has cancer and has already lost part of her leg. But she really brightened up when she saw her new puppy and then she opened her presents to find dozens of new clothes and a whole box of "doggie stuff".

Roksana's mom called us as we were driving back to our hotel to thank us for everything and to tell us that Roksana loved her puppy and her gifts and she really loved meeting the Canadians - especially Ben!

Diary Entry – Day 11

This morning we were in Bydgoszcz and took the English class for 50 teens in the local school. That was quite an experience! We also met the headmaster who warmly welcomed all of us.

Then we went to Lukasz's house for lunch. Lukasz is 17 and has spinal muscular atrophy. He only weighs 30lb and sits in a little buggy. It was an amazing visit. Lukasz speaks some English and so we were able to have a great conversation. We brought him some clothes but his real wish will happen soon - the foundation has arranged for his stories that he has been writing for many years to soon be published! Lukasz is a remarkable young man and we felt humbled to meet him.

We have achieved so much on our Journey for a Lifetime to Poland and it’s hard to believe that tomorrow we will be back in Canada.

Letter from the Canadian Ambassador to Poland

Dear Garry,

Thank you for your message and for forwarding along with it the Trip Diary and photograph of me with your remarkable group of young Canadian leaders from your recent Journey of a Lifetime trip to Poland. Please pardon my long delay in replying to you. It is not just that these have been hectic days, it's also that I found the Trip Diary made for difficult though very rewarding reading. I have returned to it now several times, and can tell you that each time I do so, I am ever more moved and impressed at this truly exceptional work.

Please share my fond best regards with Shawna, Tyler, Ben, James and Francis, and let them know that we here at the embassy admire them deeply for their dedication to others, and of course, for their commitment to make wishes come true. Theirs is inspiring work, as you well know, not just for the children with whom they meet, but for all of us fortunate enough to have been associated with them in the course of their travels.

I will be very pleased to see you again when your travels bring you back to Warsaw. Please do keep us all apprised of your plans, and of the ongoing good work of the Coalition for Kids International.

Best regards,

Dan Costello
Canadian Ambassador to the Republic of Poland

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