Polish charity helps those suffering with energy bills

WARSAW, Poland

Jerzy Owsiak, founder of Poland's Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation (WOSP) annual fundraising event, is a man not easily deterred.

The ebullient 70-year-old has dedicated his life to raising funds for charity -- his latest efforts providing food, heat, and support amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

"Difficult times are coming when it comes to heating, because the system has failed all the way," said Owsiak.

He was referring to a statement by ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who said Poles could burn wood to survive the winter.

"In recent years, your government has scandalously moved public money to sectors remote from health care. Your government is wasting public money despite the requests of Poles. You personally decide that billions of expenditures should not be spent on oncology, but should be spent on public media," said Owsiak.

In 2016, 24 years after the first televised WOSP event, when the new nationalist government pulled the plug on public television's participation, Owsiak decided to carry on.

With 16% inflation, rising interest rates, and fiscal and current account deficits, the EU member's €650 billion ($655 billion) economy is facing headwinds unseen since its transformation to capitalism in the early 1990s.

The Central Bank expects more price growth, fueled by three- to four-fold rises in energy bills, until a peak at around 20% year-on-year in February.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki unveiled a government plan to cap rising energy prices in September, though many people still rely on WOSP to fill shortages in the health system.

In 2022, the WOSP spent nearly 20 million Polish zlotys ($4.8 million) to help Ukraine. The organization bought 1,076 devices for more than 13.2 million zlotys for hospitals in Ukraine and 520 devices for over 5.3 million zlotys for facilities in Poland.

WOSP fills in gaps

WOSP has taken place every year since 1992 and until 2015, Owsiak was the announcer of a television program of the same title, aired on public broadcaster TVP2.

Owsiak set up WOSP after an appeal by cardiac surgeons from the Children's Memorial Health Institute for financial support for the purchase of medical equipment for dying children.

The goal of the 31st WOSP fundraising event on Jan. 29 is to purchase equipment to quickly identify bacteria that can lead to sepsis.

Since its first event 30 years ago, WOSP has collected more than 1.7 billion zlotys. In 2020, it was estimated that every fifth piece of equipment in hospitals had come from the charity.

Another initiative undertaken by WOSP was an aid campaign and information activities related to the coronavirus pandemic in Poland. It donated equipment worth 70 million zlotys and supported 467 hospitals, 417 nursing homes and private retirement homes, 60 care and treatment facilities, and 23 hospices.

The foundation has the greatest trust among third-sector organizations and state and church institutions in Poland.

Phenomenal

The film Phenomenon is a documentary about WOSP. It was released in Polish cinemas Jan. 20 and is due on Netflix in February.

Phenomenon was directed by Malgorzata Kowalczyk and was produced by Dominika Kulczyk and her company, dFlights.

"This is a necessary document to the amazing phenomenon that is WOSP," said Kowalczyk.

The film shows Owsiak's transformation from a carefree reporter into the leader of an enormous civic movement and one of the most important symbols of free Poland.

It also tells the story of how the Woodstock Festival was brought to Poland by Owsiak, becoming one of the largest music events in Europe.

"I decided to produce this film because, in my opinion, Poland still lacks documentaries about important figures whose attitude and life show great power to change our reality. This is what Jurek Owsiak is like. The energy that drives it (WOSP) has changed the face of Polish hospitals, saving tens of thousands of lives," said Kulczyk.

The film was made with financial support from the Polish Film Institute using funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.