Gliwice, Poland
September 5th - 18th, 2010
About Poland:
Nearly one in four apartments in Poland should be condemned according to research done by The Economic Housing Institute. Almost one in ten share a toilet with an entire floor of apartments or have no indoor facility at all, and approximately one in eight do not have a kitchen. These sad statistics highlight Poland's need for more than 1.5 million affordable apartments just to meet current demand. With a severe affordable housing shortage, low-income families often have no choice but to live in sub-standard housing that threatens their health and safety.
Poland joined the European Union in 2004 but, as a former member of the Eastern Bloc, Poland has to deal with the legacy left by communist economic and social policies. Despite tremendous reforms, overcrowded and damp housing without proper sanitation is still the reality for too many of Poland's low-income working families. These families are often forgotten behind the walls of aging Soviet-style apartment building blocks.
Join the third Canadian Global Village team to Poland and make a difference in the lives of Polish families in need of a simple, decent place to live. You might just find your own life changed as well.
No experience or special skills are required, just a willing heart and a cooperative spirit!
Itinerary:
- Saturday September 4: Travel Day
- Sunday September 5: Arrive in Poland; Travel to Gliwice; Welcome & Orientation; Welcome dinner
- Monday September 6 to Wednesday September 8: Work Days: breakfast served before traveling to work site; lunch on site; free time after work;
- Thursday September 9: R&R Day; (Tour Auschwitz and Birkenbau; plus mountain trip)
- Friday September 10 to Saturday September 11: Work days - breakfast served before traveling to work site; lunch on site, free time after work
- Sunday September 12: R&R Day: Church and Family visits
- Monday September 13 to Wednesday September 15: Work days: Breakfast served before traveling to work site; lunch on site.; free time after work; Gilwice radio tower and city tour after work
- Thursday September 16: Work ½ day; transfer to Krakow; evening in Krakow
- Friday September 17: Wieliczcka Salt Mine Tour in AM; Team tour Krakow on own in afternoon; Closing Dinner
- Saturday September 18: Team free to depart for home
** Please note that itinerary may change as details are confirmed
Accommodations:
The team will stay at a modest, comfortable hotel within walking distance of the build site (double rooms with private bath). Meals will be taken at local restaurants with lunches delivered to the work site.
The Habitat build site is located in Gliwice, a historic city of about 200,000 people, located on the old salt route about 100 km from Krakow.
R&R activities will be day trips to local attractions and possibilities include a visit to Auschwitz and a tour of a salt mine.
Costs:
This trip to Poland will cost approximately $1775 + round-trip airfare + $320 for R&R*. The cost includes lodging, food, ground transportation, traveler's medical insurance, orientation materials, and a donation to HFH Poland and the Global Village program. Participants will need to arrange and pay for air transportation from their point of departure to Krakow, Poland. These arrangements should be done in consultation with the team leader.
*Habitat for Humanity Canada will issue a charitable donation tax receipt for the trip cost and the airfare. The costs for R&R portion of the trip are not eligible for a tax receipt and this money must not be sent to HFH Canada. Your team leader will let you know how to pay this.
Team Leader:
Hello my name is Murray Coates and I'm very excited to be leading my next Global Village trip to Poland. Previously I've participated in builds in Jordan and Hungary and led my first HFH trip to Armenia in 2008.
I live on Salt Spring Island, BC and work as a consulting Agrologist. I have lots of hobbies including woodworking, kayaking, cycle touring, fishing , backpacking and motorcycling but travel to other countries is a major passion. My long term goal is to visit 100 countries. Habitat for Humanity provides the opportunity to travel to interesting parts of the world while meeting likeminded people and helping those less fortunate. Information on past HFH trips can be found on my travel blog http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/cornerduck/
Please feel free to contact me at m.coates@shaw.ca or call me at 1 250 537 8527 if you would like to learn more about this trip or apply now using our on-line application.
