Between July 16 and 21, the Bolesławiec branch of the Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich carried out activities in Moldova as part of the project “Caring for the Memory and Preservation of Polish Cultural Heritage in Moldova,” funded by the Narodowy Instytut Polskiego Dziedzictwa Kulturowego za Granicą POLONIKA.
The head of the Bolesławiec organization Barbara Smoleńska:
Nineteen people took part in the project, including 13 members of the Bolesławiec branch of the Towarzystwo Miłośników Lwowa i Kresów Południowo-Wschodnich. Drivers and fellow volunteers from the “Save Your Great-Grandfather’s Grave from Oblivion” campaign from Góra, Wrocław and Chocianów also joined the volunteer group (four people).
The project’s aim? “Increasing the knowledge, skills and involvement of young people and adults in protecting tangible elements of Polish cultural heritage in Moldova.”
Barbara Smoleńska reports:
After a long and exhausting journey, we arrived in the village of Styrcza, where we were scheduled to stay overnight at the Polish House. The director, Ludmiła Jabłońska, was waiting for us outside. We received a very warm welcome.
Moldova is the poorest country in Europe, so at first some volunteers were frightened by the poverty they saw. It soon turned out, however, that the difficult housing conditions bothered no one. On the contrary, the volunteers were delighted with this way of spending their free time—because doing good brings happiness.
In Styrcza, we cleaned and inventoried the cemetery where former and current residents of Styrcza are buried. Styrcza is the most Polish village in Moldova, known as “Little Warsaw.” It was founded by Poles at the end of the 19th century, after they bought land from Jelizaweta Kukurianowa and settled there. Today, most of the people living here are elderly. The young have left for Poland or for cities such as Bălți.
At the Polish House in Bălți, we were welcomed by the director, Olesia Górska, together with young people and seniors—Poles who were able to come to the meeting on their own. To convey greetings and deliver food parcels brought from Poland for those who were ill, we went to their homes. Meetings with the oldest Poles, both in Styrcza and in Bălți, were full of emotion, tears and moving moments. We felt that our presence was important to these people. They said: “The gift itself is not the most important thing, but your presence.” One of the women began singing the Polish national anthem, and we sang it together.