- When we saw what happened in Haiti in January, we all felt that we had to help – says Elżbieta Zacharska, elementary education teacher from Wierciny Elementary School in Nowy Dwór Gdański, the Pomorskie province. Usually it is her students who need help. The school where Elżbieta works is small and poor – it has only 7 teachers and 70 students who come from four former state collective farms places. Most parents have no job, making a living out of benefits or social welfare. Almost 50 students rely on state-sponsored meals. Still, touched by the sight of people who were even poorer than them, whom the earthquake took everything they had, the kids raised 2000 PLN. How did they manage to do it?
- We started from carnival parties – remembers Elżbieta. The earthquake hit Haiti on January 12th, when carnival time was starting, and parties were being organized at school. Together they decided that the money coming from the sale of tickets and their favoured lottery would be sent to Haiti. Where do they take prizes from? – We are looking for sponsors. We ask the shop owners for small presents: notebooks, rulers, sweets. Children bring mascots from their home – explains the teacher.
Their raised the first sum and started thinking: What about people who were not connected with school. Perhaps they would like to make their contribution to Haiti too, and they don’t know they can do it? The students decided that others could not be deprived of an opportunity to join their action, and they organised fund-raising at the church and visited houses in their neighbourhood. – Kids divided into groups and walked door-to-door, telling about our action, asking for support. What a great load of emotions and experiences it was! – says Elżbieta. They were sent away empty-handed from three houses only. Most people shared what they had: some gave 20 PLN, others – 1 PLN.
Then there came another action, during retreat before Easter Holidays. After classes with priest, school organised loose activities for students. This year they concerned the problems of poor countries children, like those from Haiti, - according to the scenario prepared by UNICEF. – We compared the cost of one notebook or two pens to the cost of two vaccines against malaria. Kids got 20 gr (0,2 PLN) each and had to decide what to do with it – says the teacher. Great mixing started: join us, when we make a group of five, we can afford a notebook! A group of three is enough to buy a vaccine! It turned out that even if everybody has got little money, when you join forces, you can buy something useful.
Next weeks brought a great saving action. Example: mum gives me 4 PLN for crisps. If I buy a chocolate bar for 1,50 PLN instead, I still have an equivalent of two notebooks and one pen! Kids founded money-boxes and were filling them with what they had raised. Finally there came the great day of counting.– Children brought their savings, and we brought special scales. Solemn weighing, counting and pouring has started. It took us six hours to count all the money! Then everybody got their diplomas, no matter if they raised the biggest or smallest amount of money. It was a prize for their toil and engagement. Together we raised 2000 PLN! In January nobody would expect the Haiti action to finish so successfully: for this sum you can buy 4000 vaccines, 4000 pens or 2000 notebooks!
During retreat children wrote Easter cards to their friends from Haiti. Cards arrived to the students of primary school in Port-au-Prince. – It was great joy for them that somebody remembers about them - says Zosia Pinchinat-Witucka, who handed the gifts over during her April journey to Haiti.
Translation Agnieszka Chmielnik
