Volunteering

Volunteering

I was born and raised in Mokotów, Warsaw, more precisely in Sadyba. It was a typical housing estate. All the children in the block were like family to each other, which is why I believe I had a great childhood and adolescence. From a young age, my parents taught me respect for others and selfless help. My dad was a real community man, and my mum... Apart from her job, she had a passion for sewing, embroidery and telling fairy tales. Thanks to this, everyone around received so-called tailoring services for free, and dozens of homes still have kilims embroidered by my mum.

Fairy tales... Mum invented a rabbit named Grey, whom she supposedly met on her way to work and who would tell her about his adventures. Then she would sit in the flat, surrounded by a ring of neighbourhood children, and tell them about Grey's new adventures. Of course, we all listened with our mouths agape...

My family has war stories... Grandad and his brother took part in the Warsaw Uprising. During family gatherings, there was always time for songs from those times. The memory of those difficult times was always cherished in our home. I was told stories about the Grey Ranks, which certainly instilled a Scout spirit in me. Dad was always organising something, helping someone solve problems. Mum also didn't shy away from people who needed some kind of help. And it was in these very conditions that I grew up, and as they jokingly say: „you can't dig out genes”...

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Portraits of Emigration No. 1 - paper version

This article was published in the quarterly Emigration Portraits No. 1 (1)

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