Tenderness & Freedom

When she learned that her son had an intellectual disability, she decided to take matters into her own hands and, with the help of other parents, provide for his development and work. Today she is the head of the Warsaw Pożyteczna coffee bar club, which employs 16 people with disabilities. ‘Miracles happen here’, says Blanka Popowska.

‘My physics teachers did everything to discourage me from it. And then I heard that I wasn’t suitable’. A conversation with Professor Bożena Czerny„Moi nauczyciele fizyki robili wszystko, żeby mnie do niej zniechęcić. A potem słyszałam, że się nie nadaję”. Rozmowa z prof. Bożeną Czerny

If we are not bad at picking ourselves up after difficult moments or staying balanced despite what happens to us - we are mentally resilient. Krystyna Romanowska talks to Sylwia Rybak, a mental toughness trainer

‘The model of raising boys to be tough is doing well. Parents communicate to their sons that they should not show affection’. Interview with Dawid Mędrala, a doctoral student at the Pedagogical University of Kraków, who researches empathy and neurodidactics.

Little Rochan was virtually wiped off the face of the earth. Their apartment is the only one with windows. They sit on the couch in their jackets, they don't even go underground. "If we die, it's at home" - they say. Interview with photojournalist Agata Grzybowska