Our staff

I am an optimist – I enjoy the simple pleasures of daily life, of meeting someone and hearing all about their life. Their stories flow through me like a river of colours, leaving their hues in my heart: mistakes made, endless problems, family dramas, tragedies sometimes. What room is left for optimism? Well – I like answering difficult questions! I’m optimistic because I always have hope – a hope which gives me a new dose of energy each day, to act and to unpick even the most tangled Gordian knots.

Thanks to this hope I am sure of this: whenever you fall, you can get back up. The evils in life are not just to be overcome – they can make you tougher and stronger. I am here at SOS Polonia, working to find the silver linings.

To wander is to experience life, to learn how to live. One day you can feel strong enough to move a mountain, the next day you’re not so sure. But step by step, you go learn to enjoy the horizon in front of you and to value the miles behind you.

My travels have taught me that obstacles exist so that you can overcome them, so you can learn to take them on boldly, with hope. My desire now is to share my experiences, to help people with their problems, to rebuild hope when hope is lost.

As a seasoned traveller, I know that finding SOS Polonia was no mere accident. It was meant to be – love at first sight. After all that I’ve seen in my wandering, I am privileged to be working for such an excellent organisation.

When I’m dancing, I’m in my element – it gives me a feeling of freedom and joy. But dance also requires discipline. The steps must match the music. That’s the dancer’s duty – never lose the rhythm, never forget a step.

And what is life if not a dance? To live, to dance – with a good partner, with a good band, rhythmically, responsibly. How simple it seems…

I know that’s not how it works. An event, a situation, or a person comes along who throws our timing off – perhaps for years at a time. Then what? Well, isn’t it good if there is someone who can take our us hand, show us the steps, count the rhythm, take the lead? This art is no stranger to me.

Would you like to dance ….?

My happiness gives me so much energy that I can’t keep locked it all up inside of me. So I don’t lock it up! But there have been times when I was missing happiness, hope, and energy. That is why I understand very well that for many people, hope is a distant light. I meet these people every day. They’re surrounded by a thick fog of problems, often because they can’t speak English. In such a fog it is difficult to find the right path. This fog is no stranger to me – I’ve been in there, I’ve known how hard it is to move through it, but I’ve also learned useful a helping hand can be.

So I teach English at SOS Polonia – this is my way to clear the fog. I try to keep my pupils from treating these lessons as something to endure with gritted teeth. I’m not content to just hand them a set of vocabulary and grammar rules. I really want them to have the courage to listen and to talk, when they meet their British colleagues and neighbours. I want to equip my students so they are not afraid to show kindness anywhere, even if they’re just smiling to people in a shop or on a street, they’ll be able to do this “in English”. This will be the key to understanding the places they have chosen for themselves and their families.

Because it is cool with people. Absolutely!… these words were written by the brilliant Wojciech Młynarski …
To confirm that I adhere to this motto, I belong to a place where there is always a human heart.
I first came to SOS two years ago. Two years later, I am extremely lucky to be part of this special place. A harbour that is a safe port for many – mine too.
I am extremely proud that together with others I can co-create and continue this work with such a rich, 15-year history. Participation in this unique undertaking is a great distinction and a great responsibility.
People and their stories are always close to my heart. And I also like songs full of imagination and intelligent punch, books that don’t let me sleep at night, my supervisor, and people who can make me laugh to tears.
I missed a lot, but I believe that there is even more to come.
Anyway, just carry on, just forward. Absolutely!

Our team was enriched by Sylwia, the owner of seemingly extreme talents of economics and tailoring. Having a strict mind, operating with facts, she is not afraid to use her imagination, creating wonderful designs of fabulously colourful dresses and dreaming of a Fashion House with a global brand. In our opinion, Sylwia already has a brand – it is her precision, grace, ingenuity, intuition and, as the saying goes, a good hand for human affairs.
Creativity and practical sense help her solve problems, especially difficult ones, when you need to sew a solution from a piece of information, especially when the matter is delicate.

The only man in our group, like a raisin in a cake. Piotr joined us last year. Knowledge, experience, professional approach, personification of empatism and peace – he brought so much good to our team. Piotr runs the only Polish Internet Club in Southampton – in SOS Polonia called KLIK. He says Internet is for everyone, regardless of age; and challenges anyone who thinks otherwise. To prove it,
on Thursdays he takes his clubbers on virtual journeys. He patiently explains how a computer is built. Thanks to its features it is able to reach even people resistant to IT knowledge. As he says, sometimes the adventure begins with just one click. So, welcome adventure!