Flood 2024 - Poland needs support

On June 18, 2024, our volunteer set out on what seemed like a simple mission: to help 71-year-old Aniela, a flood survivor from Nowy Swietów, buy a fridge. But this one-day trip turned into something much bigger — a story of resilience, persistence, and the quiet courage of starting over.

Aniela’s Story

Last September, the floods reached Aniela’s home, submerging it under 150 cm of water. Just before the disaster, she had completed a long-awaited renovation. In a matter of hours, everything was destroyed.

The first government inspection granted her too little compensation to even begin repairs. Determined, Aniela appealed. Months later, she finally secured a sum that allowed her to restart. By June, she had rebuilt one room, the kitchen, bathroom, and hallway — but one space was still waiting, unfinished.

“Sometimes I fear the money won’t last until the end,” she admitted. But she pressed forward. What she needed most that week was a refrigerator.

The Long Day’s Journey

At 7:15 a.m., our volunteer boarded a train in Konin, heading first to Wrocaw, then by bus to Nowy Swietów. Aniela was waiting with a driver, ready to continue the trip to nearby Gluchoazy.

Together, they found and purchased a fridge — a small but essential step in making her home feel like home again.

By 2 p.m., the return trip began: bus to Wrocaw, train to Poznan, and finally a late connection back to Konin, where he arrived at 9 p.m. Exhausted but fulfilled, he reflected: “It was just one fridge. But for Aniela, it meant stability, dignity, and comfort.”

Why This Matters

Recovery after a flood is not only about rebuilding walls and roofs. It’s about restoring the details that make daily life possible:

• A fridge to store food safely
• A bed to sleep in with comfort
• A door to close and feel secure

Every item delivered is a step toward independence and hope.

What’s Next

Aniela’s renovation is still not finished, and she worries about stretching her funds to complete the last room. But with the fridge humming in her kitchen, she can breathe a little easier.

Thanks to your support, stories like hers are possible. Each donation turns into practical help and long journeys that bring hope straight to the doors of flood survivors.

Together, we are proving that even after the deepest waters, life can be rebuilt — one fridge, one bed, one home at a time.

This summer, our volunteer Sebastian brought more than furniture to flood-affected families in Poland’s Klodzko Valley — he brought back the feeling of home. From a 74-year-old woman finally sitting in her own living room again, to children sleeping in freshly cleaned beds, each delivery was a step toward recovery. With your support, hope is returning, one home at a time.

Hope Returns to the Klodzko Valley

When the waters finally receded in the Klodzko Valley, they left behind more than damaged walls and muddy floors. They left months of uncertainty, exhaustion, and a quiet question in the hearts of those affected: Will life ever feel normal again?

For a 74-year-old woman in one of the villages, that question had no easy answer. Since September last year, she had been living away from her home while repairs were underway. The walls were patched, the floors renewed, but when she finally stepped back inside, she found herself in empty rooms. No sofa to rest on. No table for her morning tea. No cabinet to hold her papers and memories.

On July 19, Sebastian – one of our most dedicated volunteers – made the long journey by train to visit her. They spoke, they laughed, and together they chose a sofa, a coffee table, and a storage cabinet. “She picked everything herself,” Sebastian recalls with a smile. The next day, the furniture arrived, and for the first time in almost a year, she could sit in her own living room, sip tea, and feel at home again.

But there were many more homes waiting for comfort.

On August 2, Sebastian set off again – this time for a much bigger mission. He loaded his van with:

• 13 beds and mattresses (each mattress washed and cleaned by Sebastian himself),
• 24 interior doors,
• 3 shower cabins,
• bags of children’s and mothers’ clothing, washed and sorted with care.

The deliveries reached families in different corners of the valley:

• 5 beds went to a family struggling to make ends meet,
• 7 to an agrotourism business fighting to reopen,
• 1 to an elderly woman living alone.

Most of the doors found their new homes at the LUK center in Bystrzyca Klodzka, while one shower cabin brought comfort to a family still rebuilding.

By the time Sebastian returned home in the early hours of August 3, it was long past midnight. The journey had been exhausting, but he knew that in the morning, children would wake up in clean, comfortable beds. Families would close new doors in their homes. Someone would take their first hot shower in months.

And yet, the work is not done. Five more beds are still needed to meet the urgent requests from families in the area.

Recovery after a disaster is never just about rebuilding walls. It is about restoring dignity, comfort, and the feeling that life can be beautiful again. Thanks to your generosity, Sebastian has been able to bring these moments of hope to the Klodzko Valley.

From a sofa in a quiet living room to a clean bed in a child’s room, your support is turning donations into stories of resilience.

Thank you for being part of this journey – and for reminding these communities that they are not alone.