MY HISTORY

SFranciscan sisters from Laski, who work with blind children, established a small centre for blind children from very poor families in Bangalore, India. There is also many children from orphanages by Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

In 1994, I went to Bangalore for 3 months and during this time I decided I want to come back there for longer. Just after I returned to Poland I applied for a visitor’s visa but I had to wait months as we are not welcome there. I received my visa on 23 August, 1995 and a last I went abroad. At first I planned to stay there for a year two.

After a year India I met an eight-month child Schola who came together with six other children from Calcutta. She was in a very bad state. Her weight was only 4 kilos.She had pneumonia and ear inflammation so great that the pus and  blood was dripping on her neck.  She also had a very intensive constipations based on, as it turned out later, allergic background. We took her to hospital but the doctor said it was just like a matter of a week for her.  He also suggested somebody should take care of her on the individual basis. I decided I want to be with her.

He also suggested somebody should take care of her on the individual basis. I decided I want to be with her. She was sleeping two hours a day at most, and the rest of the time there were constant: crying, vomiting and diarrhoeas. After a week I was so exhausted I begun to vomit myself but I was sure I want to adopt her and it was the first time I shared such thoughts with other people. Others responded like:  „she’s just to tired to know what she’s talking about”. But I knew I was sure.  That was the time when we began our journey.

As time went by, I was discovering more of her indispositions. When she was one, it turned out that continuous ear inflammations caused complete deafness. At the age of two I noticed she was not only allergic to milk but also to gluten. To her cost, they do not recognize this illnesses in India. The only thing left was to feed her with rise, corn and vegetables only. As she managed to survive the first moments of her life I believed she is eventually going to live.  Every day brings something new but Schola is strong and even when she was 3, she didn’t give up and survived pneumonia and typhus which came simultaneously. She said: „now it’s just a pity”. There is also this saying: „If it’s not going to hurt you, It will make you stronger”.

In the meantime I was looking for a possibility to adopt Schola. No one would talked with me as they claimed there is not a single convention between India and Poland.  I refused this claims.  I was visiting more and more adoption agencies. To no avail. After Shola’s third birthday I found a woman who gave me a glimmer of hope.  It turned out that Aloma Lobo is a boss of one of the agencies. She adopted three children by herself.  When we met she told me there is not much she can do but she recommended me her lawyer.  The lawyer figured out that because I am in India for more than three years on visitor’s visa, I can as a regular citizen of India be granted lawful custody and on this basis I would then receive a visa and go to Poland. I raised to the bait and begun collecting all the necessary documents. Polish consul refused to grant Schola a visa but fortunately the ambassador, and I do not have an idea how he made it possible, managed to arrange the temporal stay card despite of the fact that Schola to be granted such card is required to spend in Poland at least a year on the visitor’s visa.

After this, when Schola had 4 years and 3 month, we arrived in Poland on April 15, 2000. Here, it turned out that I have nothing as Polish courts refused to acknowledge verdicts made in India.  We struggle to survive for next 2 years. When I managed to arrange the citizenship I was sure the hard times are gone despite the adoption process lasted for the following year. Family courts suggested that sick child should rather have foster family. I replied with one sentence only: „I want to be with her for good or for ill, not for money”. This fight lasted actually for 5 years but was worth it as we are together 13 years already. I do not regret this experience but all this unnecessary energy I wasted may have been spent on the child.
At the moment, Schola is a child with complete blindness, hearing impairment, undeveloped speech and autistic features.  She is constantly harassed by various allergies.

She is attending sixth grade classes at Special Elementary School located at Karolkowa Street in Warsaw, Poland. She manages to communicate by means of using simple sign language and to some extent with Lorm’s alphabet for deaf and blind children. She is a very cheerful child and struggles to establish new relationships. She really enjoys playing with her dog.  The dog, named Rumba, is an assistant dog for the disabled. Schola loves playgrounds and especially all kinds of swings.  She is well developed motorically and needs a lot of exercise. She likes to stroll. She loves water, thus spending time at the sea is a great pleasure for her. She likes horse-ridding. Sensory integration is in her eyes a reward and fascination.


However, Schola is a disabled child and requires continuous medical treatment and most of all rehabilitation, that is: speech therapy, sensory integration, therapeutic horseback riding, swimming pool. Her only chance is a constant stimulation. Thanks to hearing exercises based on Tomathis’ method, Schola is improving both at school and in everyday life.

 

 

 

 

IF YOU WANT TO HELP SCHOLA

There are many possibilities for treatment and rehabilitation that could help. It would be wonderful if Schola had a chance to make use of some of them.   The only obstacle is my low financial capabilities.

I would thus like to ask you a favour:   any help from you will contribute to the better life of my daughter.

Schola belongs to Fundacja Anny Dymnej „Mimo Wszystko” charity foundation (KRS No. 0000174486).  The foundation is listed in the register of Public benefit organizations (The Ministry of Justice – National Court Register (KRS))

Any payments should be made on the following foundation’s account:

Fundacja Anny Dymnej „Mimo Wszystko”
(Nr KRS Fundacji 0000174486)
ul. Profesora Stefana Myczkowskiego 4, 30-198 Kraków
account:
65 1090 1665 0000 0001 0373 7343
annotation:
Anna Scholastyka Wajda

Sincere thanks for all the donations.