60 Windows of Life, and 20 Single Mother’s Homes, where 130 women with children currently reside, are run by Caritas Poland. A total of 1.400 mothers and 2.600 children have been in the Stanisława Leszczyńska Single Mother’s Home in Łódź during the 30 years of its existence. In addition, 700.000 nappies and 40.000 packets of baby wipes were donated by the Little Feet Foundation last year. The numerous and varied forms of assistance in Poland for pregnant women were discussed by the guests of the debate “I am pro-life = I help!”. The meeting took place on 22 June in Warsaw.
Maria Drąg, the coordinator of assistance to women of the Polish Federation of Pro-Life Movements, appealed to women at a turning point in their lives to seek help. She appealed to them to “remember that they are not alone because this is very important. Even if their relatives leave them to fend for themselves, there are organizations, good strangers who will rise to the challenge and be with these mothers”. Maria Drąg encouraged them to remember that even in the hardest situations there is a way out and that they should not think about the worst.
“Caritas does not divide people based on religion or nationality. We try to pass on support and help to everyone who comes to us”, Magdalena Antolik, coordinator of Caritas Poland’s children’s programs, stressed.
Among the many initiatives of Caritas Poland, which operates on behalf of the Catholic Church, is helping single mothers. The organization has prepared 60 Life Windows, i.e. places where a mother can leave her newborn child anonymously. Caritas has also set up 20 Single Mother’s Homes, where 130 women with children currently reside.
In Łódź, there is the Stanisława Leszczyńska Single Mother’s Home, which has been providing shelter for single mothers expecting a baby and having children for more than 30 years. Since 1992, 1,400 mothers and 2.600 children who could not find a safe place to live have passed through that home. “We get a lot of messages on instant messaging in the middle of the night: on Saturdays, on Sundays, women who don’t know what to do come forward,”pointed out Wioletta Jóźwiak-Majchrzak, deputy director of this institution in Łódź, presenting the actions taken towards women who do not find support in their loved ones.
The Little Feet Foundation has been helping mothers and their children in difficult life situations for more than a decade. It accompanies women at every stage of pregnancy and supports them during childbirth and the postpartum period until they can live independently and provide for themselves and their children. In one year, on average 700.000 nappies, 40.000 packets of baby wipes, 20.000 items of cosmetic chemicals for children, 500 cots, thousands of children’s clothes, bedding, towels, and several hundred prams are received by the approximately 700 persons we take care of.
Rev. Tomasz Kancelarczyk, vice-president of the Polish Federation of Pro-Life Movements, and president of the Foundation of the Little Feet, stressed that pro-life activities in Poland are very numerous but rarely mentioned in the media . In his opinion, it is important to “give witness, which is necessary to find the next defenders of life,” Fr. Kancelarczyk said and recalled the appeal of St. John Paul II for a universal mobilization of consciences and the implementation of strategies for the defense of life.
Participants in Thursday’s debate unanimously stressed the importance of the various assistance offered by institutions and individuals, supporting the work of pro-life organizations. “This conference today can be an opportunity to thank these people for being with us,” Sister Ewa Jędrzejak, a Borromean, president of the Evangelium Vitae Foundation in Wrocław said.
The Foundation of the Club of Friends of Human Life – Human Life International – Poland carries out charitable activities for pregnant women and post-partum women and families with young children in crises. It also supports the pro-life movement in Ukraine, where since the outbreak of the war, it has been helping women with young children fleeing war.
The Stanisława Leszczyńska Gaudium Vitae Association, based in Gdynia, has been defending the life of the conceived child since 1989, as well as the natural place for its emergence: marriage and family. The organization wants to continue defending the conceived life, accompanying pregnant women in need of support, single mothers, and poor families by solving their material and other problems.
The Polish Federation of Movements for the Defence of Life brings together numerous movements and organizations taking action in defense of life and family. These include informal movements and groups, including nationwide, parish pro-life groups, and other institutions. The Federation includes associations, foundations, and local agreements in defense of life, which work on three main levels: prayer, direct help for pregnant women, single mothers, and families with many children, and formation with an emphasis on education.
