– The Integration Wafer Gathering, which has been a longstanding tradition in Bolesławiec County, is a spiritual spring in the middle of winter. Today we open our hearts and minds to difference; we become more humble and tolerant. The belief that we can unite and support one another in solving even the most difficult problems lay at the foundation of creating this beautiful and moving celebration, which is the annual gathering of more than 1,000 people – this is how starosta Cezary Przybylski welcomed those gathered at the 13th wafer gathering, held on Saturday, January 26, in the hall of I LO. One of the program items was Holy Mass, celebrated under the direction of Rev. Marek Mendyk, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Legnica.
This year, for the first time, preparations for the wafer gathering were undertaken by the Association of Parents of Children and Young People Requiring Special Care in Bolesławiec. For years, this organization has run Bolesławiec’s Occupational Therapy Workshops, whose participants also make themselves known during the wafer gatherings: they present artworks in an exhibition and help create the artistic program.
– I will never forget how moved I was when, many years ago, I watched the brilliant film “My Left Foot,” with Daniel Day-Lewis in an outstanding role. Today it is a cult film, as is the famous “Children of a Lesser God,” – Cezary Przybylski said during the gathering. – A moving story about Christy Brown, a painter with a disability who was born into a poor, large Irish family. From childhood, his mother saw the talent within this physically disabled boy. After years of humiliation and fighting for his dignity, Christy became famous as an artist: a world-class painter and writer who created his works with his left foot. This film and its message surely saved many lives. It inspired many people who doubted their own abilities and gave them hope that persistence, determination and faith can overcome all physical limitations.
Bolesławiec County, together with various organizations, carries out many tasks related to the vocational and social rehabilitation of people with disabilities. It is worth adding that the local government obtained funds to remove architectural barriers, thanks to which the new premises of the Psychological and Pedagogical Counseling Center were adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, while an anti-slip floor will be installed in the county hospital.
That day, the starosta also thanked Jadwiga Bobek, head of the Bolesławiec branch of the Society of Friends of Children, for many years of work organizing the County Integration Wafer Gathering.
(information: Bolesławiec County/ii)