Documentaries

Though it is hard to believe, every 11 seconds, somewhere in the world, a girl undergoes a genital circumcision. It turns out that this is not just a problem among the few African tribes who follow traditional beliefs! This is a problem that affects women on our planet! It is estimated that over 200 million women and girls worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM). Dominika Kulczyk will discuss this problem in the first episode of the eighth series of "The Domino Effect". She will also present the activities of the Spanish organisation, Save a Girl Save a Generation, which fights against FGM and supports African migrant women in Madrid.

"I am not afraid of death. I am afraid that I will die before I find my son's remains," says Haira, one of the heroines of the documentary series "The Domino Effect". For 25 years Haira has been looking for her missing son, who was most likely killed during the greatest genocide in post-war history of Europe. The genocide took place in July 1995 in what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnian Serbs murdered over 8,000 men and boys, who were the Muslim inhabitants of Srebrenica. More than 1,500 victims of the massacre have still not been identified. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk meets the Bosnian women who faced painful memories and returned to the place where their loved ones died. She also supports the organization Snaga žene, whose activities focus on, among others, the problem of post-war trauma passed on from generation to generation.

Pregnancy and childbirth are among the major threats to the life and health of young women in Tanzania. They suffer due to the shortage of trained medical personnel that would be capable of delivering a child in case of labour complications, the lack of basic diagnostic tools to identify pregnancy abnormalities, as well as the lack of ambulances or incubators to save the lives of premature babies. As a result, the perinatal mortality is very high: on average, 160 out of 1,000 newborns die. A notable exception is the hospital in Nyangao, where Dominika Kulczyk meets Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart from the Polish Medical Mission, who introduces her to the problems of local mothers and the activities run the organisation. The president of the Kulczyk Foundation meets young mothers who, after several incomplete pregnancies, can finally enjoy looking after their happily born and healthy children.

Mothers, lovers, sportswomen - all with disabilities. We will not see them on a daily basis in TV programs, press, movies, or TV series. People with motor disabilities are still presented in the Polish media mainly in the context of their limitations, thus evoking pity and compassion. In this episode of the “Domino Effect", Dominika Kulczyk, together with the Avalon Foundation operating in Poland, will prove that it is high time to overthrow this stereotype and break mental patterns. Through the Sexon and Avalon Extreme projects, the foundation motivates people with disabilities to enjoy sex, motherhood, art and sports, and encourages them to enter the world on an equal basis. At the same time, it also encourages the world, that is all of us, to be more open and to reject the harmful taboos.

Slavery still exists in Europe in the 21st century! Over the past decade, trafficking in Nigerian women has developed into an extremely profitable and ruthless criminal industry, mostly controlled by Nigerian gangs that took root in Italy in the 1980s. The United Nations estimates that 80% of Nigerian women who come to Italy's shores are victims of human trafficking. Dominika Kulczyk presents the activities of the Italian organisation PIAM Onlus operating in and around Turin to support African migrant women who have fallen victim to human trafficking in Europe and have been forced into prostitution.

"Violence, drugs, prostitution, gangsters… Everything you see when watching various TV series is reality here,” says Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes, a charismatic Guatemalan educator, feminist and founder of a unique school and social movement called El Patojismo: Dreams & Ideas in Action. Juan Pablo, who as a young boy got to know street life and lost many friends there, not only perfectly understands the destructive mechanisms that govern the everyday life of kids from difficult environments, but also knows how to illuminate and enrich their world. He is also aware of how to provide them with the tools necessary to break the cycle of violence. In the next episode of "The Domino Effect", Dominika Kulczyk visits El Patojismo to better understand the philosophy and activities of this organisation, especially those aimed at supporting girls and women.

In some regions of Nepal, a cruel custom of ‘chhaupadi’ is practiced. It involves a set of strict orders and prohibitions that regulate women's lives during menstruation. Menstruation is perceived there as a curse, and menstruating women are dubbed ‘unclean’. They are excluded from the community and family life for several days every month. They must leave the house and sleep in a wicker basket in a cell with goats, or in huts located in a remote area, where they are in danger of assault, rape, and even death due to wild animal attacks or cold nights. ‘Days for Girls Nepal’ helps these women. Dominika Kulczyk meets its leader, local activist Maya Khaitu, who fights against the chhaupadi custom by organizing trainings for women and men. In addition to education opportunities, the organization provides Nepalis with sets of hygiene products for use during menstruation.

Children living in the slums of the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, often work beyond their strength, and many suffer from drug addictions. Yet, they have a chance for a better future thanks to the Tiny Toones center. The centre was created by KK, a former gang member, rapper and breakdance dancer born in a refugee camp in Thailand, and later deported to Cambodia from the USA. He decided to use his life experience and skills to teach children and give them a chance for a better future, creating the Tiny Toones center in 2005. Today it is thriving and attended by hundreds of children every day. Thanks to this organization, children and teenagers can not only learn English, Khmer, and computer skills, but also develop their passions. At the Tiny Toones center, they can forget about their hard life for a moment, focusing on what constitutes the pillars of hip-hop culture: rap, breakdance, or graffiti.

In 2018 there were 1,152 foster care institutions in Poland, including care and education centres for children and young people, regional care and therapy centres, and pre-adoptive intervention centres. At that time, there were over 16,600 people residing in such institutions, with the biggest age group being 14-17 year-olds (7,467 people). Children from orphanages who reach adulthood face the challenge of becoming independent. Many of them then encounter barriers to entry into adult life, which can negatively impact their ability to access education or the labour market. The ‘Fundacja One Day Foundation’ was established with the aim of supporting children from orphanages and care and education centres in Poland.

About 100,000 boys attending Quranic schools in Senegal (the Talibe) are doomed to terrible living conditions every day. They are forced to beg in the streets for meals for themselves and often money for their Quran teachers too. According to the International Labour Organization, such street begging reflects one of the worst forms of child labour. ‘Maison de la Gare’ is a non-governmental organization that was founded in 2007 and operates in the Senegalese city of Saint-Louis. It provides support to the Talibe, both to those who go out to the streets every day between their Quran lessons to beg, and those who have escaped from their schools and now live on the street. The mission of the organisation is to help children who are forced to beg and are abused by their teachers from illegal Quran schools.

According to some estimates, there are currently around two million Roma living in Romania – a country with a population of over 21 million. Although they are officially full Romanian citizens, on average one in three Roma experiences discrimination on grounds of their ethnicity. The Roma are particularly vulnerable to poverty, have problems finding legal advice, and often do not have access to education – nearly 60% of 16 to 24-year-olds do not attend school and do not work. ‘Policy Center for Roma and Minorities’ is a Romanian NGO founded in 2008. It promotes the social integration of Roma and other ethnic minorities. The aim of the organisation is to empower these groups so that their members become active citizens of the communities in which they live.

Not being able to make decisions about their own lives is the everyday reality of many women living in India. Usually they become wives long before they come of age. Almost immediately after getting married and their first menstruation, they become pregnant, which is a serious threat to their health. Underage wives also have no chance to continue their education. For the rest of their lives they remain completely dependent on their husbands and in-laws. Approximately 23 percent of Indian girls experience this fate every year, and one in three women subject to a child marriage is Indian. In this episode of "Domino Effect" Dominika Kulczyk meets Dr. Ashok Dyalchand. For over 40 years he has been fighting for the right of Indian girls to decide their own future. He manages the ‘Institute of Health Management Pachod’, which deals primarily with medical assistance for young wives and mothers.

In the first episode of the sixth season of the "Domino Effect", Dominika Kulczyk travels to Lake Volta in Ghana, where she helps rescue child slaves who are forced to live in terrible conditions and work as fishermen. Some of the children were forced into slave labor when they were only four years old. They work long hours a day and are severely punished for any disobedience. Many of them eat only once a day and some even lose their lives in the dangerous conditions. The support provided by the Kulczyk Foundation enables PACODEP - a local NGO fighting against slavery - to rescue more children and provide care for those who manage to free themselves from their masters. In the ‘Village of Life’ run by PACODEP, children find a safe home and an education. They regain their childhood and with it a chance for a better future.

Sumba is one of the poorest islands of Indonesia. A large percentage of children here are malnourished. Sumba is also one of the places in Southeast Asia that is hardest hit by malaria. There are areas on the island where every third mother has lost at least one child to malaria. That is why the work of the Sumba Foundation, whose main goal is to eliminate the disease from the island, is so important. Founded in 2001, the organization has been extremely successful. In this episode Dominika Kulczyk supports the Sumba Foundation’s malaria program.

The district of Kibera in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi is one of the largest slums in the world. This is a place where residents often fight a ruthless struggle for survival every day. Most families live here without access to water and sanitary facilities. Electricity is a luxury. After dark, the district becomes extremely dangerous, especially for girls and women. It was in these conditions that Mike Wamaya grew up. As a teenager, he worked as a car mechanic, but a great passion for dance allowed him to become a professional dancer and one of the best ballet teachers in the world. Today, Wamaya shares his skills with children living in Nairobi slums through his organization Project Elimu. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk, together with the Kulczyk Foundation, supports Project Elimu and Wamaya’s work.

Over half of Lesotho's population lives below the poverty line. Moreover, the country has the second highest HIV prevalence in the world. It is estimated that every fourth adult resident in the country is infected with the virus. Mass emigration and the HIV/AIDS epidemic have resulted in a high number of orphaned children who are forced to work instead of going to school. In Lesotho, Dominika Kulczyk supports ‘SOS Children’s Villages Lesotho’, which helps abandoned and orphaned children by providing them with shelter and care. In this episode, the Polish philanthropist meets the beneficiaries of the Family Strengthening Program in the Quthing district of Lesotho, which is supported by the Kulczyk Foundation. The program helps families take care of orphans or children that are at risk of abandonment.

Since the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela in 2018, thousands of people have been crossing the Simon Bolívar Bridge into neighboring Colombia every day to escape poverty, violence and hunger. In January 2019, Dominika Kulczyk traveled to Cúcuta, a Colombian border town, in order to tell the world about the fate of Venezuelans in this increasingly difficult situation. In this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation supports the activities of the ‘Comparte Por Una Vida’ organization, which implements child nutrition programs in Colombia. Thanks to these programs, Venezuelan children receive not only education at school, but also a meal.

The border between India and Nepal extends over the mountain slopes of the Himalayas and is over 1,700 km long. The trail crossing the border is unfortunately an excellent route for brokers involved in human trafficking. Most victims of traffickers are women and children. Providing people with false promises of a better life, traffickers entice these women and children to India. Others are taken by force. 3Angels Nepal's employees and volunteers patrol the border to save trafficking victims and help them return to their normal life. They also carry out activities aimed at building public awareness in Nepal, a country where, due to poverty and lack of access to education, people are often fooled by the promises of traffickers. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk travels to Nepal to support the rescue of the trafficking victims and their rehabilitation together with 3Angels Nepal.

Namibia is a country full of economic and social contrasts. Although it is one of the richest African countries, almost 30% of its inhabitants still live below the poverty line. Many of these people cannot afford to travel to work or to distant schools and hospitals. In response to this problem, local NGO BEN Namibia, supported by the Kulczyk Foundation, provides access to bicycles. The organization has created a network of dozens of stores and service centers where people can buy a bike at an affordable price. Profits from sales are allocated to maintaining the network of stores and service points, thanks to which BEN Namibia can reach thousands of people across the country. Bicycles are also provided free of charge to people who need them most, including medics and medical volunteers.

Iquitos, in Peru, is the largest city in the world which can’t be reached by road: you can get there only by plane or by boat. Belén, the poorest district of the city, is often flooded with water from the Amazon for up to six months at a time. This results in many problems for the local community, including incidents of drowning and diseases related to water pollution. When the river level is raised, most of the district’s waste is discharged directly into the river and it is in this water that people must also wash their clothes and dishes. Children from Belén also have problems getting to school or finding a safe place to play. The local INFANT organization runs activities including the ‘Children to the rescue’ project, which involves patrolling places where there are children who cannot swim and organizing swimming lessons for the youngest. The organization also runs activities supporting children who experience or witness domestic violence.

Papua New Guinea is a place of breath-taking nature and ancient culture. Dominika Kulczyk, together with the Kulczyk Foundation, visits Papua New Guinea to meet people who murder members of other communities in order to meet their customs. The victims are those who have been accused of witchcraft, and these accusations are usually cast on women and children. The network of Human Rights Defenders in Simbu, founded by Monika Paulus, helps victims of witch-hunts. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk supports the network to help save the lives of people accused of witchcraft, and educate people on witchcraft and the danger of these accusations. The network has several hundred members and continues to grow.

In Swaziland (since 2018 called Eswatini), Dominika Kulczyk visits the women who work to better support other women. This is not an easy task, because in Eswatini it is considered an honor to be one of multiple wives of the same man. The state is ruled by an absolute ruler, and a woman becomes the property of her husband at the time of marriage. In this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation supports an amazing social enterprise, aptly named ‘Spice Girls’, where women produce hot pepper sauce. The social enterprise helps women to survive in a community where domestic violence and HIV are ever-present.

What is it like to live on a landfill site? In the Philippines, thousands of people know the answer. Dominika Kulczyk visits a gigantic garbage dump in the Philippines, which has become the home and workplace for numerous children. There, she supports an amazing initiative: a children's football club, which includes a girls' football team. ‘Fairplay For All’ is an educational initiative, social enterprise and nutrition program for children from poor families. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk and the Kulczyk Foundation support a group of football talents who want to change their own lives.

‘El machismo’ – male domination – is like an axe hanging over the hundreds of women who, fleeing armed conflict in Colombia, came to slums where they were greeted by humiliation. Is there any escape from el machismo? Thankfully there can be. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk supports the Colombian women who have decided to say no to humiliation through the ‘City of Women’ organization. The organisation was founded by lawyer Patricia Guerrero, and allows victims of forced relocation, rape, physical and psychological violence to find shelter.

In Rwanda, people will never forget that there was a time when human life was frequently taken with a single gunshot or blow by a machete. Rwanda is a country with genocide in its past and a country where today some groups are still treated very poorly. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk visits the country to help deaf children hear their parents' voices for the first time, thanks to new hearing aids. In 2013, Louis founded his own school for deaf and hearing-impaired children. This is a place where children not only learn sign language but can also gain a school education and acquire other useful life skills. The Kulczyk Foundation supports Louis to help more children live their dreams.

Cox’s Bazar was once the largest tourist center in Bangladesh and the longest continuous beach strip in the world at over 120 km. Now, it is home to the largest refugee camp in the world. Here, 880,000 Rohingya people have found refuge from genocide. Dominika Kulczyk visits Cox’s Bazar to support a women's field hospital, and to uncover the dramatic stories of families escaping death. In this episode of the "Domino Effect", Dominika Kulczyk visits the HOPE Foundation, which runs one of the largest medical assistance systems for refugees, as well as numerous medical points and 24/7 medical transport, all supported by the Kulczyk Foundation.

In India, an age-old tradition divides people into castes, with the ‘Dalits’ at the bottom of this social hierarchy. The Dalits have been condemned to perform the worst jobs – the so-called ‘unclean’ professions. It is hard to imagine people being able to break free from such a stigma. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk visits Calcutta to support a project helping the children of prostitutes and of Dalits. The Kulczyk Foundation supports the ‘New Light’ organization, led by Urmi Basu, which provides such children with shelter, a warm meal and the opportunity to receive an education.

We may know stories about the rich Mayan culture from history lessons. But what is happening in this region now? This is explored by Dominika Kulczyk in this episode of the "Domino Effect". The episode tells the story of members of a once powerful community that is now fighting poverty and malnutrition, and the aid project delivered by the Kulczyk Foundation in a magical place called ‘Casa Guatemala’. This is a boarding school located on the Dulce River. Mayan Kekchi children, who were born in villages surrounded by jungle, can go to school here and cultivate indigenous traditions. In Casa Guatemala, in addition to the Kekchi language, they also learn Spanish and English.

Nyarugusu is one of the largest refugee camps in the world. It was created in 1996 by the Tanzanian government to shelter Congolese people fleeing a bloody civil war. Some of them are afraid to go home to this day. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk and the Kulczyk Foundation visit Nyarugusu to help provide access to clean water. The Kulczyk Foundation supports the TWESA organization, which manages the refugee camp. The water project supported by the foundation will help up to 130,000 people.

Rio de Janeiro is a city of social inequalities, a city divided into poverty and wealth. Every fifth inhabitant of this metropolis lives in poor neighborhoods called favelas. Some of the favelas are under gang control and violence is part of everyday life. One of the most dangerous favelas is Maré, located in the northern part of the city. It is in this favela that Yvonne Bezerra de Mello has been running her school, Projeto Uerê, since 1998. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk supports the school, which is helping tackle social exclusion.

The problem of child malnutrition exists not only in developing economies, but also in Poland. In many Polish schools, teachers and educators have noticed that their students don’t have access to nutritious food. This is often the result of not only poverty, but also neglect on the part of parents. For this reason, the Kulczyk Foundation launched the Yellow Plate program, which provides food for the youngest children in several hundred schools and care facilities throughout Poland, reaching up to 15,000 children.

In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk visits one of the poorest countries in the world – Malawi. Malawi is haunted by drought and floods has some of the poorest access to medical care in the world, and over 6.5 Malawians need food assistance. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk visits the Neno district, where one of the best NGOs in the world, Partners In Health, runs a hospital and which since 2007 has helped provide health care for over 150,000 residents.

Becoming pregnant at the age of 13 or a grandmother at the age of 26 is not unusual in Colombian slums. In the poorest sections of Colombia society, violence against women takes especially brutal forms: rape, sexual abuse or the sex trafficking of minors. Colombia is a country that has suffered over 50 years of civil war and ruthless drug cartels. Colombian women are additionally often subject to domestic violence and discrimination due to a culture of “el machismo”. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk, president of the Kulczyk Foundation, meets Catalina Escobar. Catalina is a wise, strong, and beautiful woman who fights to free teenage mothers from violence and poverty. For over 10 years, the Juanfe Foundation, which she runs, has been helping 350 teenage mothers each year, offering them a chance to change their fate.

East Timor is one of the youngest countries in the world and after many years of foreign occupation, there are wounds that are still wide open. This is a country where domestic violence against women, and consequently against children, is commonplace. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk meets Bella Galhos, a heroic woman who once fought for independence, and now fights against the poverty and violence that debases people. Drawing on her own experience, Bella helps women in East Timor understand that they do not have to give in to violence at home. In the town of Maubisse, she runs a social enterprise and the ‘Leublora Green School’ which teaches organic farming, giving local communities a chance to overcome poverty.

In many African countries, thousands of children are considered sorcerers and abandoned, tortured or even murdered. For instance, some members of the Bariba ethnic group, who live in the northern part of Benin, believe that ‘wrongly born’ children – for example, those born in the breech position, with their head down or with tooth buds – are witches who possess evil magic powers. Bariba people do not believe that such a child can be ‘healed’. The tradition is merciless: they must die. One such child was Djamila, now a grown woman, who was miraculously saved by her aunt and a Catholic priest. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk meets Djamila and her rescuers, and also visits the ‘SOS Children's Village’, where Djamila and other children who managed to escape their death sentences spent their childhood. The Kulczyk Foundation supports nutrition programs for children in Benin.

Vietnam is one of the fastest developing countries in Southeast Asia, but not everyone benefits from this. Every year, thousands of families from poor Vietnamese villages migrate to cities in the hope of a better future. Most of them end up in the cities’ slums, joining the ranks of the urban poor. In this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation supports the ‘Christina Noble Children's Foundation’, financing child nutrition and access to healthcare in Vietnamese cities.

Malawi is one of ten countries with the highest AIDS mortality rates. In this small country, people often don't know they are infected, meaning they unknowingly pass on the virus to others. Parents dying of AIDS leave defenseless children orphaned having also passed on the virus to their children. In this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation supports an incredible venture: the Jacaranda Vocational School, run by the Jacaranda Foundation. It's a social enterprise that produces great things - from bread to furniture – to help local communities.

It is terrible to have no one believe in you, cares about you or consider you important, especially when you are only a child. That is why the activities run by SOS Children's Villages are so valuable and require support. In this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation supports the Villages around Siedlce. The Foundation funded renovations including providing the Villages with modern audio-visual equipment.

In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk and her team travel to Nepal. In Nepal an orphaned child is usually condemned to fight for their lives on the street if there isn’t a relative who can care for them. Even worse is the fate of a child whose parents have been sent to prison. Then, the child is left with no opportunities at all. That is why in this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation supports the organizations ‘Early Childhood Development Center’ (ECDC) and ‘Prisoners Assistance Nepal’ (PA Nepal). In prison, the help that allows a child to survive has the power to change lives.

What is it like when you have to fight for your life whilst you are expecting a child? Every year, about 300 Polish women who are pregnant find out that they have cancer. In this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation, run by Dominika Kulczyk, helps renovate a clinic for people fighting cancer. It supports the Rak’n'Roll Foundation, which does everything to help future mothers enjoy their lives despite their illness.

This episode of the "Domino Effect" uncovers the dark side of Thailand, where children are exploited by adults. In this episode the Kulczyk Foundation helps these children by supporting the ‘Development and Education Program for Daughters and Communities’ in the Mekong Delta. It is run by the charismatic Sompop Jantraka, who as a child was forced to work at a very young age, and is now a social activist providing shelter and education to abused and exploited children.

Thousands of refugees escaping the armed conflict in the Middle East have reached the Greek island of Lesbos. In this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation supports the volunteers who work on the island by financing the purchase of 32,000 emergency blankets for refugees. Each blanket weighs less than 100 grams but can help people regain their strength. A blanket costs very little and yet can make a real difference.

Panama is a country divided. A quarter of the population lives below the poverty line, unable to meet their basic needs, with a visit to a doctor unattainable for them. The ‘Floating Doctors’ organization tries right this wrong by reaching those most in need. In this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation supports Floating Doctors by financing the renovation and purchase of water ambulances enabling doctors to reach more patients.

The recent conflict in Ukraine has resulted in thousands of deaths, tens of thousands people wounded and about two million people who have had to leave their homes. Now people are returning, but after the nightmare of war they are struggling to shape their future lives. People need help in many different ways. In this episode, help is provided by organizations supported by the Kulczyk Foundation in both Ukraine and Poland. Pizza Vetarano is a place of work that enables war veterans to return to their normal lives, and the Archdiocesan Charity Center Caritas of the Archdiocese of Warmia in Rybaki shelters about 400 Ukrainians of Polish descent.

This first episode of the second series of Domino Effect is devoted to Bangladesh. Here, the Kulczyk Foundation supports the Spanish NGO Educo. Educo has been involved with the education of children for many years, including working children. Dominika Kulczyk, together with the TVN team, shows us these everyday heroes and the realities of their lives. She highlights the issue of human rights violations and shows how a project financed by her family foundation is being implemented for the benefit of young and exploited factory workers.

For over a dozen years, the Gajusz Foundation has been helping terminally ill children to survive in the most comfortable conditions possible for the tragically short time they have left to live. The organization has been running home hospices for many years where doctors and volunteers can look after their patients. It has also opened a stationary hospice called the Palace - a unique place unfortunately situated next to a busy intersection. The old mesh surrounding the area did not give the beneficiaries of the Gajusz Foundation and their families the sense of intimacy and peace they so need. It was therefore necessary to not only isolate the building from the hustle and bustle, but also to create a friendly environment for the children. This task was undertaken by volunteers with the financial support of the Kulczyk Foundation.

In Laos, there are only two doctors for every 10,000 people, and in many areas, especially those that are mountainous and difficult to access, professional medical assistance is practically unheard of. In one such place, the Kulczyk Foundation financially supports a project enabling several thousand people to access essential medical care. During a mission to the province of Phongsali, doctors and nurses provided assistance to over 3,500 people within only a few days. The mission was led by the American organization, Lao Rehabilitation Foundation, who were accompanied by Dominika Kulczyk and the TVN team.

In 1966, Nicolae Ceaușescu’s infamous Decree 770 came into forcewhich saw women and doctors imprisoned for the termination of a pregnancy. The aim of this draconian law was to rapidly increase the birth rate, but its side effect was the birth of tens of thousands of unwanted children every year who ended up in orphanages. Violence, hunger and poverty are the memories of the nearly two million people who grew up in these orphanages. Today, their childhood experiences still impact their normal lives. The Kulczyk Foundation has supported the renovation of a Casa Pinocchio children's home in Romania, inhabited by 32 children to ensure their childhoods are better than those who were there before them.

The lives of the Badjao people living on the coast of Borneo and the nearby Philippines islands are changing rapidly, drastically and irreversibly. In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk and the TVN team present the story of Mahlinan and Sofina’s 12-member family who live on a boat. The episode shows life in the slums where the last ‘sea nomads’ are being forced to move as they can no longer lead a traditional life on the water. The Kulczyk Foundation supported the activities of the Malaysian organization PKPKM, financing the construction of floating educational units and the construction of a new school building in Kampung Halo.

This episode is devoted to presenting the Communities Program - the first and basic project of the Fundacja Pomocy Wzajemnej Barka, which is supported by the Kulczyk Foundation. Community homes gather people, regardless of age and gender, who come to them in various stages of life crisis: evicted families, single mothers, people from orphanages, psychiatric hospitals, people leaving prisons, and many others affected by homelessness. Community Houses operate on the foundations of long held traditions that emphasize personal development, local community development, alcohol abstinence, respect for private property, and non-violence.

In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk and the TVN team are in Ethiopia where the Kulczyk Foundation supports the organization Yenege Tesfa. This organization helps homeless and orphaned children. The main issue discussed in this episode are the forced marriages imposed upon many young girls, which each year impact 14 million people worldwide. There are currently around 700 million women who were forced into marriage as children. In Ethiopia, child marriages have been illegal for several yearsbut tradition and economic factors still often prevail over the law. Girls often run away from their villages to avoid getting married. Following their escape they have nowhere to go and so end up on the streets of major cities around the country. However, in the cities, there are many threats that await them.

The construction of beehives in Zambia is an unusual social undertaking, but one through which the local population gets a chance for a better life. In this episode, the Kulczyk Foundation supports Community Markets for Conservation which runs a program establishing farms and beehives that can give families a stable everyday life. Honey produced in these social enterprises, consisting of many farms, allow funds to be raised for further investments. In this episode of the Domino Effect, we present the stories of these projects that are being used by people to help them out of poverty.

The first episode of the Domino Effect presents the story of volunteers from the Visayans organization, an organization that built a shelter in the village of Cangumbang with the help of people like Elsa Thomasma (a volunteer from the USA). Thanks to the building, village residents managed to shelter from the destructive typhoon Haiyan which killed 6,100 people across the central Philippines in 2013. The Kulczyk Foundation then helped to reconstruct the building that saved lives.

In this episode, Dominika Kulczyk visits the African island of Madagascar. On the island, the municipality of Mahatalaky is expansive and local communities are isolated from each other. Students who attend lessons in neighboring villages have to walk up to 20 km per day, which is still a fortunate position considering the insufficient number of places in schools for children. Here, the Kulczyk Foundation supports the British organization Azafada which builds and renovates primary schools in this region of Madagascar.

In this episode, we learn about the Mekong Big Build project and how the Kulczyk Foundation helps to build houses in Cambodia. The project focuses on the Smile Village and aims to build a new city that would shelter homeless families in Phnom Penh who currently make a living by gathering rubbish. The goal of the project is to create 50 residential properties to rent and own.

This episode is devoted to the street children of Georgia. They are socially excluded, lack proper adult care, and suffer from extreme poverty. They are helped by Caritas Georgia, an organization supported by the Kulczyk Foundation. Caritas Georgia runs a day care center offering the children hot meals, the opportunity to use a shower and to wash their clothes. It also offers training for street children which gives them the opportunity to acquire useful skills to help them in the future.

In September 2010, the pedestrian bridge in Paso Real was almost completely destroyed when cyclone Matthew struck Nicaragua. A new bridge was necessary as the destruction of the previous one had prevented thousands of people from 24 surrounding towns moving around the region. They had no access to essential services like schools, hospitals, or shops. This episode of the Domino Effect presents the activities of the American organization Bridges to Prosperity, which is supported by the Kulczyk Foundation, and specializes in building and repairing pedestrian bridges as well as training the local communities in proper maintenance.

In Togo, Dominika Kulczyk supports the activities of the Belgian organization VZW BISZ which builds ‘solar kiosks’. In these facilities, people can rent solar lamps and recharge them whenever they need. The use of these devices gives many more people access to electricity in Togo, a country where 75% of the population do not have any access at all.

In this episode, we learn about the plight of children in Domiz - the largest refugee camp in Iraqi Kurdistan with a population of over 59,000. The ACTED organization, supported by the Kulczyk Foundation, helps Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq. In the Domiz refugee camp, the organization implements a range of childcare programs, including a Child Friendly Space.