This diary is a collaboration submitted by Amanda White, Jimmy Atiol, Lauren Lydiard, Lloyd Tucker, Madonna Parris and their chaperone, Kamila Rybicka
Coalition for Kids International’sJourney of LOVE for Amanda, Jimmy, Lauren, Lloyd and Madonna -five young leaders from Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE), a leading not-for-profit youth violence prevention organization, began here…
Traveling to the LOVE office in Montreal and then to Paris for sightseeing
We all met at Halifax airport very early in the morning and first flew with Westjet to Montreal via Toronto. We arrived at the LOVE office in Montreal where we met Mrs. Twinkle Rudberg, the co-founder of LOVE, still not believing that our journey across the world had begun. It was great that we could all spend some time with this incredible person who wished us well and made us feel so proud. Time passed quickly and so after short walk around Montreal Old Town and a quick lunch it was soon time to depart for Paris with Air Transat.
Our first impressions were… noise, crowd, crazy traffic, wonderful architecture, a buzzing atmosphere and a very cosmopolitan feeling. After a short break in the hotel we went to visit the most famous sites of Paris.
We were very impressed with all we saw -the artistic Montmartre with amazing and incredible views, the beautifully illuminated Eiffel Tower -buzzing and sparking with thousands of stars, the decadent Latin Quarter with delicious crepes, the amazing Louvre with stunning architecture, the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral and the picturesque river Seine with many very old bridges. We spent many hours just walking, sensing the city, and traveling on the subway along with thousands of Parisians. It was really cool to see all the places and to get a real feel for this famous metropolis. It was so hard to believe that we were there!
In the morning it was time to travel to Poland. The brief time we spent in Paris was just for us, but we all knew that our time in Poland was for others … for us to give back -to terminally-ill children.
Traveling to Warsaw, packing presents for the sick children and granting the first fantasy of Adam…
We arrived in Warsaw on time in the afternoon. A grey day welcomed us in the capital city of Poland, but we were happy to begin our work. We were picked up by Aggie from our children’s Foundation who took us to our hotel. We left our luggage there and… went straight out to drive around the city and go for our “welcome to Poland” dinner. Kamila and Patrycja, from our Foundation, invited us to “Ale Goria” – one of the best and most exclusive Polish-style restaurants in Warsaw which served the most delicious food we have ever tasted. It was also very elegant and we were impressed even with washrooms!
The next morning we visited the Old Town and saw some famous sites of the Polish capital including the Palace of Culture and Science and the Museum of Warsaw Uprising and WWII.
Afterwards we visited the Foundation’s office to pack the presents for the sick kids. It was fun to pack and wrap the children’s wishes and fantasies – there was a huge amount of wonderful toys and gifts. After eating pizza in the office we left to grant the first fantasy to 5-year old Adam who suffers from cystic fibrosis. We brought him a quad and a trampoline. We worked very hard for many hours in the freezing cold outside his small house to put it together and finally… we succeeded! Adam was a very cute boy and he was really excited about his new “toys”.
Traveling to Wroclaw and visiting Ewa, Artur & Kamil and Grzegorz…
Early next day we were on our way to Wroclaw. Our van, a 9-seater Peugeot was very spacious and comfortable. After a few hours of driving we paid a visit to Mariusz – a 19-year old boy who suffers from muscular dystrophy whose fantasy was granted 3 years ago when he went to Madrid (Spain) with the Foundation to watch his favorite soccer team play. He wanted to meet the Canadian kids to show us his photos and tell us a few stories from his trip. It was cool.
After driving another couple of hours we were caught by a snow storm and so when we arrived in Jankowy to grant the wish of Ewa it was already dark. Ewa who is 14 suffers from muscular atrophy and cannot move and so her biggest fantasy was to have a very light cell phone that she can hold in her hand without any problems. Ewa loves talking on the phone with her friends (we were told this by Ewa’s older sister who also suffers from the same condition).
The next stop was Artur’s apartment. This 13-year old boy suffers from muscular dystrophy just like his older brother Kamil. Artur’s dream was to have a big flat screen TV so that he and his brother can watch their favorite sport – soccer. There is no elevator in Artur’s and Kamil’s block so their mom has to carry them up and downstairs on her own at least twice a day! It was hard to hear out about it….
In the evening we visited 17-year old Grzegorz who suffers from bone fragility and gave him his dream puppy – a beautiful 6 week old cream-colored Labrador. It was fantastic to see how happy Grzegorz was! Then we drove to our hotel in Wroclaw and we got there around 1am because the roads were very dangerous – it was snowing so hard and very slippery and we saw many nasty accidents on the way! Brrr….
Diary Entry – Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008, on the way to Opole, Poland
Granting the wishes of Patrycja and Rafal, visiting Karpacz and traveling to Opole
On Saturday we visited 10-year old Patrycja suffering from muscular dystrophy. Her biggest dream was to have a digital camera and so that’s what she got! We were really happy to see how pleased Patrycja was to have her final wish fulfilled. She cannot move and she is always connected to a respirator, but you could see happiness and joy in her eyes. Patrycja’s 6-year old brother also suffers from muscular dystrophy and so their parents cannot work because they both have to look after their sick children 24/7…Patrycja’s brother, Damian, got lots of sweets from us.
After spending some time with Patrycja we drove to Karpacz for dinner and because it is in the heart of the mountains it took us a couple of hours as we were driving in deep snow again! But it was worth going there… The restaurant staff was very friendly and when they found out what we are doing in Poland they decided to invite all of us for dinner and promised to organize a charity event for our Polish Foundation and our terminally-ill children early next year.
After a lovely meal we granted the fantasy of 15-year old Rafal, suffering from muscular dystrophy, who dreamt of having a laptop. Rafal spoke some English and we were really happy to spend some time with him just chatting and enjoying each others’ company.
Visiting two children’s hospitals, granting fantasies to Ola & Iza and visiting Auschwitz – the concentration and extermination camp
On Sunday morning we first visited Ola (13) who lives in Opole and fights a losing battle against malignant cancer. Ola’s fantasy was to have a movie camera… she was so happy to have her dream fulfilled!
It was a very emotional visit because Ola is in a very bad condition, the cancer is spreading very fast and she has already had a few surgeries on her lungs and other parts of her body. In Poland the physicians fight to the end which causes a lot of pain and suffering to the patients and there is no psychological help for them or their families. What’s more, their living conditions are also very difficult and in Ola’s case there were 8 people in her family living in a 2 room apartment!
Later we drove to the hospital & rehabilitation centre (mainly muscular dystrophy and related illnesses) in Rusinowice. It was a fantastic visit. The hospital is run by Catholic nuns and priests and we were greeted by the head nun Sister Olga. It is an amazing place – very friendly and well organized. Sister Olga showed us the hospital and told us all about the treatments and programs. We saw a salt cave, different therapy rooms and of course a chapel. Then we were treated to lunch and afterwards the kids and their parents were waiting for us in the lobby. We all had to stand on a "stage" and talk about what we do in Poland. The sick children sang a few songs for us and then ... we sang the Canadian anthem for them!!! We had a blast! We also sang a few other songs (like old McDonald had a farm) and afterwards everyone (EVERYONE) wanted to take photos with all the Canadian kids. It felt like Christmas - like an amazing party where all the people - the kids and adults - were laughing, smiling, and so happy and ... not shy at all. We felt so much love. We felt like rock stars… It was very hard to leave the kids…
Afterwards we visited the Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa – the spiritual capital of Poland and the country's centre of pilgrimage which was founded in 1382 by the Pauline monks. The monastery has been a pilgrimage destination for hundreds of years and it contains the most important icon of the Virgin Mary in this part of Europe. It was very impressive and we felt privileged to be there…
On Monday we had another wonderful day. In the morning we first visited the children’s hospital in Katowice. It was a very emotional visit. Even though we were only there for a couple of hours we got really attached to some of the sick children… and we were all very emotional afterwards. Polish television covered the event and Lloyd and Madonna gave an interview for Polish television and did a great job!
After visiting the children’s hospital in Katowice we were on our way to another emotionally draining place – the museum in Auschwitz-Birkenau – the former concentration and extermination camp from WWII. 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 visited the concentration camp where people lived, the crematorium and gas chambers where many of them died… 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 then we went to grant the fantasy of Iza (17) who suffers from bone fragility. She lives with her mom who is also in a wheelchair with the same condition. We gave Iza a laptop. Iza’s second wish is to have her poems published – and our Foundation is going to do this too. Kamila translated one of Iza’s poems – it was a very emotional piece! Iza also plays the guitar and piano and she played a few tunes for us. It was amazing to listen to and to see how much she loves life and how she wants to make so much out of it! She was so happy, positive and really nice. She gave us a great example of how to cherish life and how to make so much of it even if you have so little and are so sick. She is a very brave girl.
Visiting the Old Town in Krakow and the Wieliczka Salt Mines, granting fantasies to Ola, Andzelika and Przemek
We had a great day on Tuesday and we were able to relax a little bit. In the morning we visited the amazing Wieliczka Salt Mines near Krakow. We were so happy to be there. We had a private tour with a great English speaking guide and he was not only very informative but also very funny. The mines are so unbelievable and all of us loved being there. It is stunning and unbelievable – everything – the walls, floors, stairs, ceiling chandeliers, ornaments, chapels, sculptures -is carved out of salt!
After exploring the mines and after dinner we visited Ola (13) who suffers from cystic fibrosis to present her with a laptop and a TV. Ola is a very beautiful and intelligent girl. She met us with her parents at her grandma's apartment - they were so warm and welcoming. Ola was very happy to get her presents and she wasn't shy talking to us!
Then in the evening we finally got time to relax and walked the wonderful city of Krakow and went out to listen to some live music in a club located in the heart of the Krakow Old Town Square!
Wednesday was our last day in Poland. In the morning we went shopping and toured around the beautiful old town of Krakow and then after a meal we departed for Katowice to grant our last 2 wishes. First we went to meet Andzelika (17) who has cystic fibrosis and delivered a bike to her -that was a lovely visit. Next we went to see Przemek (11) who has muscular dystrophy to take him his laptop. Przemek didn’t know about our visit so we could see the big surprise in his face! He was so, so happy and couldn’t stop smiling. Przemek has a second fantasy, which is to watch Manchester United soccer team play, and our Foundation will try to arrange that for next year! Przemek's younger brother who is 6 also has muscular dystrophy, but he can still walk normally -and that was hard for us to see, knowing that soon he will be completely dependent on others...
Diary Entry – Thursday & Friday, Nov. 27/28, 2008, Poland, France and Canada
Traveling back….
On Thursday morning we started our journey back home. First we traveled from Katowice to Paris, where we stayed the night and then the next day we traveled to Montreal. We had our good-bye dinner in a Parisian – Italian style restaurant where we all had amazing pizza and some of us even tried famous French-style snails! It was our last night on the trip but despite the fact that we were in Paris, we were so tired and emotionally drained that we decided to stay in our hotel after dinner. Everything throughout our trip went perfectly, but… even after being here for 11 days we still couldn’t believe that we were in Europe and that now our adventure was about to end. The next day, early in the morning, together with thousands of other people, we went by RER train to Charles de Gaulle international airport in Paris to board the Air Transat plane to Montreal. We had to change twice more and flew by Westjet to Toronto and then finally to Halifax. We arrived home safely – tired but happy and in good spirits. We did a fantastic job! We visited 12 terminally-ill children and brought joy to many sick kids in the hospitals…
During our incredible Journey of LOVE to Poland we experienced many different things – hospitality, kindness, love, strength, laughter, happiness and humility. We also saw poverty and stunning scenery – incredible mountains, beautiful towns and magnificent architecture we met many simple, interesting, welcoming and warm people who always greeted us with cake and tea - we drove on some really bad roads and in the snow and we were on the go the whole time from 8am to sometimes well after midnight. 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 our Journey of LOVE – our Journey for a Lifetime with Coalition for Kids International.
We would like to say a “big thank you” to everyone who helped us make it all happen.
“(…) I was shocked and amazed at how the kids ran up to me with so much laughter. This is definitely a moment I would hold on to for the rest of my life… I’ve learned a lot from this trip, and it has definitely changed the way I look at my life and the lives around me. This has definitely been a journey for a lifetime, and it has not ended yet (…)”.
Jimmy Atiol
“(…) I thought this trip was absolutely amazing… It feels so good to see someone get so much joy out of the gifts… The kids were so happy we came and made us feel like rock stars… It was heartwarming to see so many people happy and smiling… this was definitely an amazing trip I will never forget (…)”.
Amanda White
“(…) Honestly, there are no words that can describe this amazing experience. I am truly grateful to have been on this trip. I now realize that something so small can change the life of someone truly grateful… no amount of money is worth more than a truly genuine smile (…)”
Lauren Lydiard
“(…) The Journey of LOVE was life changing… I was in absolute shock with what was around me. I’ve never travelled so far before, and as a result, I felt that my world around me had grown beyond my wildest dreams… Those kids are, perhaps, the most inspirational people in the world… by meeting those children in Poland, they have helped me in my life more than I have helped them (…)”
Lloyd Tucker
“(…) We met so many happy kids that were terminally-ill… we went in there with hope and I left with my soul back in my own hands… We were doing so little and we were treated like celebrities. This trip has given me another chance to be me again (…)”
