Rehabilitation center for 60 disabled in Poland

Learning, Practice, and a Few Laughs Along the Way 

We’ve just completed one of our most important volunteer trainings – Assistance Training! Since our Foundation works closely with people who use wheelchairs, it’s crucial that our volunteers know how to offer safe, effective, and respectful support.

To make the sessions accessible to everyone, we ran the training twice. Volunteers practiced real-life techniques such as guiding a wheelchair up and down stairs, helping during transfers, and responding safely in emergencies. They also explored how accessible vehicles work and learned methods for independent car transfers – a valuable insight into the daily challenges faced by wheelchair users.

One of the most powerful moments came when volunteers sat in wheelchairs themselves. Experiencing the world from this perspective changes everything – it turns empathy into understanding. And although there were a few harmless tumbles, everyone got up smiling! 

After this training, our volunteers are more confident, compassionate, and ready to provide thoughtful, professional support to those who need it most. 

On the other hand, our beneficiaries with disabilities who use wheelchairs can be sure that they are assisted by a professional, well-trained, and highly sensitive team that truly understands their needs

The Independence Park – Practicing Real-World Skills

At our Janaszkowo Settlement, we continue this learning through the Independence Park, created in 2021 as a unique outdoor training area designed to simulate real-world environments. Here, our beneficiaries practice moving over curbs, ramps, and uneven ground, building confidence and independence as they prepare to face everyday challenges. The park provides a safe and supportive space where participants can strengthen their mobility skills and experience the satisfaction of overcoming real-life obstacles.

Thanks to your support and our volunteers, the Beneficiaries continue to learn, grow, and create a more inclusive world together!

“17 Steps of Fear. Oliwier Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Them.”

"I'm afraid of being carried down the stairs. Because once I fell... and hurt myself badly.”
These are the words of 9-year-old Oliwier — a brave boy who, like many others, faces a challenge no one should have to endure: fear of the very path that leads to his rehabilitation.

Every day, children and adults with disabilities must be carried down a steep flight of 17 stairs to reach the rehabilitation center in Osada Janaszkowo. It’s a dangerous, humiliating, and in many cases, frightening process. What should be a simple moment — going down the stairs— becomes a source of anxiety, loss of dignity, and real physical risk.

We used to have a stairlift platform. It was giving our charges safety and independence. But it has been repaired so many times that now, specialists say: nothing can be done anymore. The stairlift platform has ended its service, for good.

You can see what it looks like today — how these children and adults are being carried down the stairs — in this short video: Watch the video HERE.

We need your help, and we need it now. The cost of a new platform is $14,030. So far, we have managed to raise $2,830. That leaves us with $11,200 to go.

Every donation brings us one step closer — not just to a new stairlift, but to giving back the freedom, safety, and peace of mind that Oliwier and so many others deserve.

Let’s turn those 17 steps of fear into 17 steps of strength.
Let’s show Oliwier he no longer needs to be afraid.

Please donate. Share. Support.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Links:

• Watch a short video with 17 steps