More than 38% of Poles fear illness among their loved ones, while 33.7% fear illness and the loss of their own health. What many Poles currently only fear is already a painful everyday reality for thousands of others. According to forecasts, the number of Poles living in extreme poverty in 2022 may have increased by as much as 54%. That means 859,000 new people balancing on the brink of survival. Szlachetna Paczka is reaching out to them with help.
“Szlachetna Paczka has prepared an analysis of what Poles are afraid of. We are worried about the loss of the value of money, endless increases in food prices and rising bills. We fear loneliness, illness and disability. This keeps us worried. Us Poles. At Szlachetna Paczka, we are troubled by the fact that our beneficiaries are struggling with precisely these problems,” says Joanna Sadzik, President of Stowarzyszenie WIOSNA, which organizes Szlachetna Paczka.
Inflation Is Pushing Us into Poverty
Poles are most afraid of rising inflation and the loss of the value of money (50.8%), as well as endless increases in food prices (33.9%). Inflation is pushing us into poverty. In 2021, as many as 1.6 million Poles lived in extreme poverty, meaning on less than PLN 672, including 333,000 children and 246,000 seniors. PLN 22.40 per day—that is the budget that has to cover all needs. Meanwhile, the prices of basic products continue to rise. Sugar became more expensive than any other product, increasing by 81.5%, followed by milk (37.5%), eggs (37.2%) and pork (26%).
According to EAPN forecasts, extreme poverty rose dramatically in 2022, from 4.2% to 6.5%. This means that the number of Poles living in extreme poverty increased by as much as 54% (859,000).
If child extreme poverty increased in 2022 at the same rate as poverty overall—that is, by two percentage points—it would mean that nearly half a million children (474,000) are already living in extreme poverty. This is the highest figure since 2016 and an increase of as much as 42% (according to EAPN).
Szlachetna Paczka is troubled by the fact that inflation hits the poorest the hardest. In families receiving assistance from Szlachetna Paczka, average income per person is PLN 15.18 per day. Mrs. Natalia worked in construction. She earned enough to raise three children on her own. Her peace was shattered by cancer and the need to give up work. The four-person family lives on benefits and state assistance, receiving PLN 2,315 per month. After housing and medical costs are deducted, just over PLN 16 per person per day remains. Paczka helps people like this.
Support Szlachetna Paczka with 1.5% of your tax. Together, let’s reduce poverty in Poland and bring peace to thousands of families in need. Visit: szlachetnapaczka.pl
Fear of Losing Health and the Cost of Treatment
Illness is also among Poles’ most common fears. We fear illness among our loved ones or the loss of our own health. Eighty percent worry that they will not have enough money to treat a serious illness. Nearly 70% of us fear a lack of access to medical care. In 2020, one in three residents of
Poland struggled with long-term health problems or chronic illnesses lasting six months or longer. Nearly 3 million working-age Poles do not work because of illness or disability, according to Szlachetna Paczka’s analysis.
“In 74% of the families reached by Paczka, someone is ill. It troubles us that in many of these families there is no question of buying even the most essential medicines. Rehabilitation equipment is out of reach, as is even having a taste of normal life,” says
Joanna Sadzik, President of Stowarzyszenie WIOSNA, which organizes Szlachetna Paczka.
This is the case with a couple raising three children, two of whom have disabilities. Despite the father’s hard work, after deducting the very high costs associated with treatment and rehabilitation, PLN 169 per person remains to survive the month. Support from Szlachetna Paczka gave the family a moment to breathe. The donated equipment improved safety at home and significantly eased the strain on the budget.
The Crisis and Energy Poverty
The rising cost of electricity and heating worries 33.9% of Poles. In March 2023, electricity cost 22.4% more than in March 2022. Gas rose by 15.9%, heating fuel by 32.4% and heat energy by 40.7%. Nearly 2.5 million people in Poland live in buildings with leaking roofs, without airtight windows and doors, and with dampness on the walls and ceilings. Many of these homes require
immediate renovation, but unfortunately there is no money for it. Their residents live in cold and chill.
This is the situation of 17-year-old Martyna, who suffers from muscle atrophy. Her mother needs four tonnes of coal to heat the house, but since prices rose, she cannot afford such a luxury. In the previous edition of Szlachetna Paczka, 59% of families reported warm winter clothing as a need, while 49% needed warm shoes so they would not be cold...
Poland Is Aging—and Quickly
In 2021, one in four Poles was at least 60 years old, while people aged 65 and over accounted for 18.9% of Poland’s population. One in four households in Poland is a one-person household without children (26%). In 2005, one-person households without children accounted for 18.3%, while in 2021 they already made up 26.1% of all households in Poland.
Poland is aging, and quickly. In 1950, the median age was nearly 26, meaning that half of Poles were under 26 and half were over 26. Today, this figure is 38.2. In 2050, it will already be 51. According to GUS, in 2050 people aged 60 and over will account for approximately 40%
of society.
Old age very often goes hand in hand with loneliness. One in three Poles and one in three Polish women over the age of 75 already live alone. One in three families included in Szlachetna Paczka consists of just one person, and 27% are single seniors who, when they see Paczka volunteers, are happy to finally have an opportunity to talk to someone.
One such person is Mrs. Maria, a lonely senior whose life is sustained by raising two cows. Thanks to them, Mrs. Maria receives an additional income from selling milk: PLN 200 plus a PLN 900 pension. After deducting essential household and medication costs, PLN 420 remains for her to live on for the month. To save money, she stopped turning on the television and uses less lighting. From a Szlachetna Paczka donor, she received, among other things, energy-saving light bulbs and a new television. From volunteers, she received their attention and conversation.
This Is What Troubles Szlachetna Paczka
For more than twenty years, Szlachetna Paczka has sought to solve the problems of poverty and exclusion, bringing peace and relief from everyday difficulties to those affected by them most severely. It helps people who fear they will freeze in winter in their unheated homes. It helps those who must choose each day between a hot meal and medicine. It helps people engaged in a difficult, often lonely and unequal struggle with their own illnesses or those of their loved ones. It makes one person help another, notice them and bring something more into their life than objects... it gives them peace and hope.
Support Szlachetna Paczka with 1.5% of your tax. Together, let’s reduce poverty in Poland and bring peace to thousands of families in need.
Visit szlachetnapaczka.pl/aktualnosci/to-nie-daje-nam-spokoju/
* All analyzed data, together with sources, are available at:
szlachetnapaczka.pl/aktualnosci/to-nie-daje-nam-spokoju/