“On March 7th we are flying to Abidjan, and then we plan to follow Kinga’s and Malaika’s footsteps to Accra, to the place where Kinga started her never-ending journey... We are going to Ghana, to the village of Moree, the place where Malaika currently lives. (...) I am so happy that I can finally go to Ghana to see all those places that are so distant, but at the same time so close to me...”
And now, having so many new friends and being so full of African experience derived from this trip I want to share my thoughts with you and invite you to join us to face the new challanges.
7 March 2007 Warsaw – Paris – Abidjan So it is not a dream, even if I am over the clouds now. Here is a place for special dreams. The sunshine’s always here. I am flying to meet people, who were destined to stand on Kinga’s way, to see these special for me places already well known from pictures seen so many times. I am so happy! (...)
8th March - Abidjan (...) After breakfast we take a taxi to Trashville – the district where Kinga lived. Finding a street from the picture is not a problem. It looks almost identically, even the same old collapsed table still lies under the wall.
We are not sure if Rasta lives somewhere here, but he is so characteristic: besides long dread hair he rides a bicycle, so I hope finding him will not take long. And I am right. Rasta is well known all over the place. The narrow gate… I recognize the courtyard at once. It looks exactly as I imagined – a few families, most of them with a bunch of children, on a tiny space. Much staff scattered around, somebody is hanging laundry, somebody else repairing a bike, in the other corner a woman is washing… All of them do remember Kinga. They are full of excitement with our appearance and eagerly show us places: – Kinga lived here with us – Here she used to eat, there she would wash herself, on this chair she would sit… – Here, at Rasta’s she slept – they point to the door. Not difficult to recognize, a bicycle is hanging just by. (...)
14th March, Moree – meeting with Malaika (...) We arrive in Moree. I recognize the first school of Malaika. The asphalt surface of the road finishes, the streets are uneven, stony, bumpy, in the middle or at sides sewage waters flow in narrow or wide streams. In the middle of streets, closer to houses in various groups there are standing clay constructions for fish smoking, some goats, chickens, and children running here and there… I look around trying to spot Malaika somewhere. We enter the courtyard. It looks they are waiting for us. The blue shirt and light trousers known already from pictures, short cut hair and smiling face – so here she is! Hugs, hugs… (...)
25th March – Accra ( ... ) Every day Malaika surprises me with new words or short sentences in English, and when she is not able to say something in English, she does it in other creative ways. Going with us to Accra was the best school for her.
This time she asks me to buy her a skirt and a swimming suit. There are a few stalls offering such stuff at the beach so we look for something suitable. Finally instead of a skirt she decides for jeans shorts. I pay 5$ for all. Malaika changes in new clothes and runs to the water. Smiling, playing and dancing she splashed me with water ( ... )
1st April – Accra With my mind full of memories, plans, dreams as well as with so many new friends in my heart I come back to Poland. I am very glad that it was here, in Accra, Ghana, where the “I’m free” song came into being. It is my gift – our gift to you all from my “Following Kinga’s Footsteps in Africa” trip.
Our beautiful dreams They give us wings Then we fly... We fly
And now I’m free I’m free Now I’m free to love
All my dreams are real I love the way I feel I’m so free...
I hope you will like the song too and soon it will be associated with the Freespirit Foundation by everybody. I hope it will give us energy and power as well as courage to face various challanges.
Krystyna – Kinga's mum
P.S. The entire text about the “Following Kinga’s Footsteps in Africa” trip can be found on the Freespirit Foundation website: www.fundacjafreespirit.pl
Freespirit Foundation opening ceremony will be held in Gdansk on Feb. 16th. For more information please visit Polish version of the site http://www.kingafreespirit.pl/kingapl/ or write an e-mail to
All standard procedures have finally been followed and from now on we can act within the law. The formal inauguration is scheduled for 16 February 2007 and will take place in Dworek Artura, 9 Dworcowa Str., Gdańsk-Orunia.
The official part will start at 6 pm with a multimedia presentation of Kinga's photos from Africa accompanied by a reading of fragments of her diary.
This special evening will be supplemented with an artistic life performance,
a photo exhibition followed by a charity concert at 8 pm.
The concert is open to any solo artist or a band that would like to participate! (Please apply by the end of January.)
Help us compose a foundation song or just write the lyrics!
We will be grateful for any suggestions.
Since we are working on many different projects, everyone is warmly welcome to share their time, heart and skills with us!
We need volunteers willing to:
- take part in drawing up projects,
- work with the youth and conduct workshops,
- do Polish-English translations,
- contribute their own ideas!
Thank you all for showing such great interest and support!
It really feels good to act together for the benefit of those in need.
While in Africa, Kinga kept a very thorough diary, fragments of which you will hear during the February inauguration. Handwritten notebooks have already been typed up by a few volunteers and Kinga's mom who did a great job that felt like following Kinga's paths through African villages, discovering places she visited and getting to know people she met. Editorial work and the selection of the photographs are still to be done, but as preparations are in full swing, each week we are getting closer to the publication of this book.
It's been months now since Kinga's mom found a wooden butterfly on her grave. She immediately went to buy another one and placed it on the tree planted by the grave. Today, when the surrounding trees are still leafless, there are dozens of butterflies instead. They come from each corner of the world: England, Germany, the USA, Canada, and even from as far as New Zealand. Obviously, there are plenty from Poland, too. Thank you all for sending them and making Kinga's resting place as exceptional as she was.
A Lithuanian hitch-hiker, Dainius Kinderis, started his African trip in memory of Kinga exactly a year after she set off. In December, he visited the village of Moree and met Akua, the girl Kinga set free. These are his impressions of the place:
"....there is so much to be done. The biggest problem for them is lack of teachers. They have 475 children and just several teachers, lack of money stops from hiring more teachers. Secondly, school is private and children must pay (very little, 9 dollars for first years and more for end of primary school) and still children have problems paying this fee. School, neither all Moree village have no library, the nearest is in Cape Coast. I'm not talking about the empty, equipmentless classes. There is a kitchen in school, children eat there. I have never seen other school set in more beautiful location - on the hill, facing the ocean (could be school of the dreams, the real school of hope)."
You can find more on www.africa4corners.com.
And finally, the students of Junior High School nr 11 in Gdańsk, the one that Kinga had once attended, sent their letters and a parcel full of surprises for Akua-Malaika and her school friends in Ghana. It is a fantastic beginning of the future cooperation of both schools.
If you cannot get involved personally but would like to help financially,
you can make a donation to the Foundation's accounts:
WBK S.A. 46 1090 1098 0000 0001 0630 2890 (PLN)
WBK S.A. 40 1090 1098 0000 0001 0630 2998 (USD)
Fundacja Freespirit
ul. Cebertowicza 11/23
80-809 Gdańsk
Poland
We are working on our webside www.fundacjafreespirit.pl
You will find me in the whisper of thousands winds
Monday, 30 October 2006
Souvenirs….objects…keys to my memories…. I agreed to the interview in one magazine. They asked to bring some souvenirs and want to write about what is left after Kinga. I am angry and feeling miserable. I don’t want to talk about it. Keys to my memories? Nevertheless, I will be passing Warsaw anyway, so I will go and tell, or better cry out, that it is totally different to what they might think. Objects are myths to the immortality? They could not be more mistaken!
9th of May… 9th of June…. Exactly a month earlier my mother died. So much it is said about dreams recently. My mother had goals and objectives which she pursued with great tenacity. After the war, she settled on the retrieved land. A farm, which functioned as village’s school where we lived, three daughters and hard work to realize the dream of going back to her homeland. My parents built a house in Siedlce, they went back, years passed by, one walking stick and another in the last few years… mum was alone….. Didn’t sell flowers on the market so often anymore, but the garden got more and more beautiful…. She was full of energy, making new plans, renovating the roof and heat insulation….. she was dreaming about heirs to take over the land. This thought had been accompanying her since she had the house built. But everyone has their own dreams and their own path.
The day I was going to the meeting with the journalist we sold the house of my parents. This was the last time I was coming back from Siedlce to Gdansk and was feeling very sad. Lots of thoughts and memories, moments of our lives that just drill into your mind as if each one of them was the most important one at that very moment. Key to my memories? Yes, a key is needed, just to cope with the chaos and shut out some of those memories. Objects the key to my memories? No, rather to the horrible pain. Along the road, beautiful autumn trees, in my mind just storm. Not so long ago, everything was green; we had the harvest, now the world is so colourful. How everything in nature is changing constantly! Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts…. Tears are coming again and I hear the voice of my mum: “Don’t let Kinga go to Africa because she will never come back!” And then I hear church bells and the memory of the incredible atmosphere of the day when we bid farewell to Kinga comes back. I felt then her presence so much, unaware whether she was actually present or not… The sound of music and the poem “You can’t keep the soap bubble on the straw, even though so beautiful it is, shining in the sun…” so….. is it true Kinga is no longer with us? Only memories and photos are left? The photos from Siedlce are coming back to Gdansk with me. I turn the radio on, look for some music to escape the thoughts. How nice it is to drive through the shining golden autumn world. The music in the radio is gone and once again I hear the sound and the words of the day that touched me that much “you will find me in the whisper of the thousands winds”…. Watching the orange leaves on the trees I am looking for some signs. It’s Kinga’s maculated dress! The autumn wind, colourful leaves falling down in the shadow of the golden sun. I see Kinga again with her scarf blowing on the wind. So subtle, so light and female….
Kinga Jowita & Asia
I am stopping at the light. Waiting. A Chestnut tree! I love chestnuts! Well, who doesn’t? Kids all over the world love chestnuts. In my mind I am reading the comments on Kinga’s website. They are like seeds spread all over the universe…
And than the idea comes to my mind to collect all those seeds initiated by Kinga and put them together as a book. You will find me in the whisper of the thousands winds that blow thought the world.
I will not be able to do so without your help. Therefore I invite you to share the moments of your life that were inspired by Kinga, her journey, her book, her story narrated in one of her numerous presentations throughout Europe. In this book I would like to collect my own thoughts and those of all the other people who were influenced by Kinga. Please write them in the form you would like them to be published. I am waiting till spring. In the spring, new fruits are born...
It has been more than three months since Kinga left on her never-ending journey. Even though physically she is no longer with us, her stories, ideas, dreams inspired and touched so many. She inspired us to start a foundation that aims to help children in Africa - Freespirit Foundation. In July and August, we were busy trying to find a place for our foundation.
On the remote, picturesque village, Marszewska Gora, situated 25 km from Gdansk, we found an old, little school that was no longer in use. It seemed at first a perfect place for our meetings and activities.
The destiny ( or Kinga…) however, had other plans and the school in Marszewska Gora was not given to us. Maybe it was meant that Freespirit foundation is not limited to a one place.
The good thing about Marszewska Gora however is that we managed to organize a meeting there for all friends and those who wanted to join and help with the foundation. About 30 people from all over Poland came. There were different reasons why they came to Marszewska Gora. Many of them said they felt a need to continue what Kinga initiated – helping children in Africa. We really appreciated those declarations. The enthusiasm, positive energy, sharing the stories and being together, have strengthened our believe that, together we can realize the aims of the Freespirit foundation. In the last comment on the Polish side, we used this metaphor….our train is about to departure. The long and exciting journey is ahead of us. There will be many stops in interesting places. Sometimes, there will be those will us, who know where they want to go, sometimes those who are just curious where the train will take them. Sometimes the stops will take longer; sometimes we will go fast.
Life is waiting for no one …
Now, we are working on the official status of the foundation and hope we can officially register it next week. And we still wonder where to locate our foundation. If not the school than where…... ? For the time being it will be at our home… nice, isn’t it?
It also will take some time before we can really start functioning as an official foundation, so now we are gathering information and making contacts. If you have any ideas regarding cooperation and works that the foundation could undertake to help African children please let us know:
We do feel the urge to be active and start helping and we will be happy to know your ideas and what you think.
Krystyna's project with Polish and Tanzanian school kids
How does the most African schools look like? Just empty spaces, with empty walls, or no walls at all… the school in the open space. Some shabby desks, blackboard, and a chock – that is all what most school have, some have even less.
At the beginning of this year, I went to Tanzania with two students of mine. We visited a few schools. In one of them, there were 63 children sitting in threes at one small desk.
There were no books, no maps, no visual aids…. Not to mention, that there are children who cannot go to school at all because their parents cannot afford buying them some paper, pencil and a compulsory, school uniform.
In Arusha we spent one day in an orphanage. My students turned out to be such wonderful volunteers that they insisted on staying there until the end of our stay in Tanzania. I have been working as a teacher for more than twenty years that is why, everything connected to education is familiar to me. In my classroom, we had anything we needed, there, in Arusha , they have nothing…. That’s what makes me think how could we help whose children in Arusha, with whom we spend unforgettable time.
Our train is a magic train. First class seats only!
Our passengers are welcome to take the wheel in their hands and steer al well. For sure, we get to the place we want to. You are most welcome to join us anytime you want to. It is the journey that matters at the end.
Foundation
While in Africa, Kinga kept a very thorough diary, fragments of which you will hear during the February inauguration. Handwritten notebooks have already been typed up by a few volunteers and Kinga's mom who did a great job that felt like following Kinga's paths through African villages, discovering places she visited and getting to know people she met. Editorial work and the selection of the photographs are still to be done, but as preparations are in full swing, each week we are getting closer to the publication of this book.
It's been months now since Kinga's mom found a wooden butterfly on her grave. She immediately went to buy another one and placed it on the tree planted by the grave. Today, when the surrounding trees are still leafless, there are dozens of butterflies instead. They come from each corner of the world: England, Germany, the USA, Canada, and even from as far as New Zealand. Obviously, there are plenty from Poland, too. Thank you all for sending them and making Kinga's resting place as exceptional as she was.
"....there is so much to be done. The biggest problem for them is lack of teachers. They have 475 children and just several teachers, lack of money stops from hiring more teachers. Secondly, school is private and children must pay (very little, 9 dollars for first years and more for end of primary school) and still children have problems paying this fee. School, neither all Moree village have no library, the nearest is in Cape Coast. I'm not talking about the empty, equipmentless classes. There is a kitchen in school, children eat there. I have never seen other school set in more beautiful location - on the hill, facing the ocean (could be school of the dreams, the real school of hope)." 
