The renovation of 6 roofs at the SOS Children’s Village in Biłgoraj is complete

In the 30 years of the SOS Children’s Village in Biłgoraj, it has provided a safe home to more than 300 abandoned and orphaned children. Most of them are now adults who are still fond of their family homes at the SOS Children’s Village.

Today, there are 95 children living at the 15 SOS homes. After 30 years, the homes are in need of extensive renovations, the most urgent of which include new windows, insulated foundations, and roof renovation. The last has just been completed thanks to Kulczyk Foundation.

Kulczyk Foundation donated PLN 300,000 for the renovation project, enough for six roofs. The new roofs will serve the SOS Families and successive generations of children that the Children’s Village in Biłgoraj takes under its wings.

“I always saw the Korczak concept of care for orphaned children as the best foundation for SOS Children’s Villages. The children get new families, love, care, and security. A home. I’m very happy that Kulczyk Foundation was able to help them out,” said Kulczyk Foundation founder and president Dominika Kulczyk.

One of the renovated houses is the home of the family of Ms. Danusia, an SOS mom who has been working at the Children’s Village for 30 years. She has raised 17 children and is currently taking care of six. Siblings Karol and Wiktoria joined her family last summer.

“We’re starting over once again: getting to know each other, being accepted, getting used to the changes introduced with a new member of the family. Looking back, things are different every time, even though it’s essentially the same process. The children need attention and a sense of security. When they first came here, they were afraid of different things: Tomek was scared to sit in the bathtub, Grześ only went to the bathroom when he was told to, Ewa got scared when I wasn’t around. They got anxious at the thought of going to the store; Grześ kept repeating ‘mommy come back, mommy come back.’ There was no way to assure them that I was only going to the store. They calmed down only when I started unpacking the groceries. The children had been abandoned so many times and the process of getting back to normal was a long one. I remember when we were moving to a different home because ours was supposed to be renovated. The children got anxious again and started asking ‘what will happen to us?’ Things are different now. The children are happy with the renovations; they know that it is all to make their lives better, to let them live and study in good conditions. It’s good that there was someone to give them a home full of love. The most important things are sense of security and love, but four walls and a roof are also crucial,” said Danuta Ulidowicz, an SOS mom from the Children’s Village in Biłgoraj.

There are 11 more homes awaiting renovation and new roofs in the oldest SOS Village in Poland. If you would like to help renovate them – as a company, individual, or volunteer, contact us.