Orphanages in Poland

Hi all,

For a story in a Dutch magazine I am looking for Polish orphanages. Since I do not speak Polish it's difficult to find websites that are available in English. The story is about children who are left on their own when their parents leave for other European countries because of work. From what I have heard and read, many orphanages are filled with left-alone children, which is not good, of course. We want to see for ourselves how the situation is, but could therefore really use some information. So if anyone that speaks Polish could send me some names/e-mailadresses of Polish orphanages that would really help.

Erik (The Netherlands)

I know you want to do a good thing and help but good luck, it will be almost impossible working with Polish orphanages as they don't want foreigners adopting Polish kids and the best thing you could do is to Sponsor a kid. I don't know who could help you!!

Polish orphanages are also rather reluctant to provide info. I remember a couple years ago, my mom's church gathered tons of toys to send to an orphanage in Poland. When calling the orphanage, the lady in charge indicated they can't say how many children they have, or what ages, so the toys would match the recipients. Then when she found out that toys were to be sent, she said she can't accept them either. "Toys get dirty fast, there is no one here to clean or wash them". Maybe this lady had enough of kids, and wont allow them to have fun :(

As for children left behind, I would think most are left with family members, aunts or grandparents to be raised "temporarily" while the parent(s) go work abroad. I've heard that orphanages are mostly kids taken away from abusive parents, or alcoholic/drug users.

These kids need loving homes, the sad part is, that the adoption process in Poland is insanely long, and many families drop out somewhere down the line.

I used to come to Poland twice a year to bring truckloads of toys , books , computers , clothes , and money to a childrens home in Poland , wound up living here....if there is anything i can do to help you help the kids here just pm me.....i know lots of worthy causes here.....

Thanks for your reply. Too bad that the orphanages are not eager to get in touch with foreigners. However I'd like to point out that I do not want to adopt a child, but find out more about migrating Polish who supposedly leave their children.


Thanks for this useful information. I believe that many children are left with family members, but it seems many children are also left with orphanages. But to be sure of this I'd need more stories on that.

@wildrover: could you contact me by email? I tried to contact you but need four posts for that.

Awww, once again... you are such a good egg.

My mum used to make boxes for kids in "Eastern Europe" with her work colleagues... I think that she might be doing it again this year, though I have to admit that I was always sceptical that the boxes ended up up being given to needy kids and that they always ended up in the wrong hands / stuff being sold on the black market. Can you please prove me wrong?

stuff being sold on the black market is less of a problem in Poland than in Belarus where i began my aid trips , but you do need to moniter where stuff is going and make sure it does get into the right hands....There are people who will try to make a profit from goods sent , or even score political points , but its easy enough to keep an eye on things.....One problem i had with a certain organisation involved a truckload of wheelchairs that were refurbished by inmates of a prison in the UK and given to us to take to Poland...We delivered them no problem , but later we found out they were being hired to people who needed them for a fee....We had a few stern words to say , and got the money returned to people , not so much dishonesty , but more of a misunderstanding....Belarus was a different story , even the government tried to cash in on the aid we took , but after a brief fight we won the right to take the aid direct to the kids , rather than to the state wharehouse where the aid would have vanished out of the back door to the local market , and the charity we were helping would have been charged storage for the aid....

I know that I joke a lot on here, but really I am sitting here with my eyes welling up. The world needs moere people like you :)

eek....could the world cope with more than one of me...?

It would be great if you could pm me, wildrover. I'd like to get in touch with you on this matter.

How about helping thru warsaw Volunteer mission : wvm.org.pl (in Polish and in English)

Hi. We have done 25 trips to Ukraine and Poland and the Orphanage we have supported for the last 4 yrs no longer needs our help as they are on there feet now. Have you any idea of any run down Orphanages who need things as apose to money. Obviously i understand money is far better but we find it easy to get good quality clothes and over counter medical things and toiletries etc, where as money isn't as easy onece we have raised our capital to make the journey.

Simon

My husband and I are looking to adopt. Does anyone know of a reputable orphanage that isn't trying to 'extort' money from prospective parents? Waiting is not a problem. Visiting and attending hearings is no problem either. Thank you very much.

Julie and Simon

I am also very impressed of your admirable work.

Some of my friends actually arranged a fashion show in the Polish city where I live. From that event they managed to donate 10 000 zl to an orphanage here. It's always fun when people can contribute to a better life for poor and helpless children.

I suppose you are aware that the original poster has no interest in helping children in any way , but merely wants to run a shock horror story in their newspaper about Polish kids being abandoned by their parents in order to work abroad....After being cotacted by this person and finding out the facts i have no wish to help them sell trashy news stories....

I don't have any statistics, but I pretty sure it's not common that Polish parents leave their children to orphanages, or on the street, to work abroad. It sounds kind of ridiculous. That they leave them to their grandparents etc. for some time is something totally different.

My boyfriend was adopted from an orphanage in Poland when he was 4 and has had no luck trying to find any information about his birth mother, and his adopted parents here in Canada are not helping him with any information, but he did manage to get his adoption papers, I think. Its in polish and very hard to understand. I was wondering if anyone might be willing to help me with the papers and maybe I can help him track down some information.

Thanx

scan it and someone will translate it for yah...:).

Hope this worked....lol... thanx

Good luck Dutch with your research. I'm interested about learning more. Our friends returned from the Ukraine with two twin girls, age 12. Their background and reasons for being in an orphanage would break your heart. They didn't speak the language and every step was encountered with bribes. The grandfather let them go for $200? The orphanage was atrocious. Their very lucky to be safe and be provided with so much love. My husband speaks Russian and they have relayed what has happened to them. The girls are so beautiful. It makes you wonder about all the other children. I know I couldn't leave without adopting a child. Everyone can make a difference. Wildrover has proven that! Keep PF updated. It's not well known what the situation is in Poland.

Hello,
I am relocating to Poland in a few months after a nice 18 months in a Southern African Country. I have spent a lot of time with local children and orphanges and I'd really like to continue this in my off time while in Warsaw. Can anyone assist me with locating programs or orphanges that can use an extra pair of hands. Even if it's just helping with daily tasks.

Thank you
Michelle
babychipmunk AT gmail dot com

Get in touch with the International Women's Group in Warsaw [iwgwarsaw.com]

Thank you Harry!

For us in the US, sending toys and clothes is great. My mom has boxed up stuff and sent it to our relatives still in Poland. Unfortunately, other countries get more press.

I am sorry to hear about the orphanages. Being of Polish decent, I thought it would be great to adopt a Polish kid. At least that way they will still be exposed to some of the heritage.

We'd love to adopt while there but our time is short and as I experienced here. I feel I can do more and help more when I'm not focused on one child. I'm not sure how great the need may be in Poland compared to what I've experienced here, but I am looking forward to the opportunity to help out where ever I can.

A couple has just arrived here that came from Krakow and they adopted a sister sibling group. Such beautiful girls!

I am interested in volunteering for awhile at a Polish orphanage. Any advice as to whether they would need the help of a young Oklahoman who only speaks english? I am only beginning to look into this so any words of wisdom would be much appreciated. My degrees are in communication, political science, business, and law. Don't know how much that matters. Thanks in advance!

You should contact the orphanage before you go there, not everyone speaks english so you might have a hard time communicating so learn a few basic words. You might be able to take the children for walks because they don't always go outside to play in other areas besides the orphanage.

Wildrover,

I am working with a non-profit organization in New Hampshire (in the US) who has run international hosting programs in Russia and we would like to start up a hosting program with an orphanage in Poland. I live in Portland, Maine and the church that I attend is the only Polish Catholic Church in Maine. We have many first generation Poles, in addition to Russians, Ukraines and other Eastern European parishioners. There is a lot of interest from the parishioners to host Polish orphans for a cultural exchange and with the hope that the families hosting these children would be able to adopt them. My colleague at Open Hearts and Homes has adopted three children after hosting them through KidSave and New Horizens for Children. My husband and I adopted our daughter, Margarita at the age of 13, after we met her when she was in the US hosted by another family through KidSave.

Hosting programs are wonderful particularly for older children and sibling groups who have a smaller chance of being adopted.

In your work with Polish orphanages are there any orphanages that you think may be open minded/interested in hosting programs or perhaps are already involved in a hosting program with another country?

I look forward to your response.

Hi, I was wondering if you found out any info on this. I was wanting to do the same thing.

I would like to talk off line if your are truly going to Poland to help out. Another Oklahoman.
vamp.kisses AT hotmail dot com