Support for migrants in Poland

Who we are

The Spoko Polish foundation is a team of 10 passionate activists striving to make learning Polish as an additional language more achievable and accessible for people with migration experiences residing in Poland. Since 2016, we have been developing our own, innovative teaching methods based on state-of-the-art knowledge in linguistics, neuroscience and psychology of language acquisition. We organise various integrational, language and cultural events and run free-of-charge courses for refugees living in Poland. Our curricula are designed in a way that makes learning Polish easier for people from diverse language backgrounds or those who feel they have no ‘talent’ for learning languages. Backed by an inclusive atmosphere and anti-discriminatory content (our materials are based on feminist, anti-racist and queer ideas) providing safe space for people from groups vulnerable to exclusion, it allows us to co-create a modern, better integrated, multicultural society in Poland.

Currently, due to a significant decline in interest in commercial Polish language classes after the full-scale Russian invasion against Ukraine, we are at risk of closing due to lack of liquidity and we need your support.

What are we raising money for?

1. Ensuring the financial stability of the foundation

The main purpose of the collection is to enable continued support for people with migration experience, which is possible only if we provide our team with the payment of arrears and it is for them (the only expenditure of the Foundation) that the funds from this collection will be allocated. Each USD 10,000 will allow us to survive another month while waiting for our submitted grant applications to be processed.

We have a lot of ideas and projects aimed at supporting migrants in Poland, but we will not be able to implement any of them if we do not ensure financial liquidity, which we do not currently have. From the beginning, we have successfully financed our non-for-profit activity from paid activities consisting in the sale of paid Polish language courses. Since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine, due to inflation and the decreasing number of ‘expats’ in Poland, our revenues from commercial activities have significantly decreased. If our financial situation does not change, we will have to suspend non-for-profit activities and possibly close the foundation at a later date. We believe that now our work matters more than ever before.

2. Open Language meetings in Cracow, Wroclaw and Torun

Since 2016, we have organized almost 100 inclusive open language meetings for people with migration background to practice Polish and support their integration in the local community in 3 Polish cities: Wrocław, Kraków and Toruń. In 2022, we received a grant from the Alight Foundation and resumed meetings after the pandemic break. At the moment, we have finished the project, but we still run meetings on a voluntary basis.

We want to continue our activities because there are very few opportunities to practice Polish in a safe space as a learner and we see how important meetings are for their participants.

Participants come from all over the world, including from Belarus, the United States, China, Argentina, Italy, Indonesia, Guatemala and others. Nevertheless, most of the participants were women from Ukraine who moved to Poland after the start of the full-scale Russian aggression in Ukraine. Meetings are held every 2 or 3 weeks and last 2 hours or more. They are free-of-charge, inclusive and open to everyone able to co-create the safe space we strive to create. The aim of the meetings is to help migrants practice their Polish language skills by giving them confidence in using the Polish language and supporting their integration with the local community, as well as creating a support network.

3. Courses for LGBT+ people from Ukraine

Since May 2022, in cooperation with the Kultura Równości Association, we have been running free Polish language courses for LGBTQ+ refugees from Ukraine. The third and final grant to run these courses is about to expire. Participants are very keen to continue their education, because it allows them not only to integrate better and be more competitive on the labor market, but also to continue their volunteer work, creating cultural projects for children, etc. We constantly receive applications from new people who would like to start such courses, but we don't have funding for it.

4. Creating modern teaching materials

For 7 years, we have been creating modern teaching materials based on the latest knowledge in such fields as learning psychology, neurolinguistics, etc. We have developed curricula for levels A1-A2 based on a direct interpretation of the definitions of CEFR language levels. They are based on an innovative approach, ensuring effective learning of our complex language in a practical approach and teach practical language, ensuring the ability to use acquired skills in everyday life. They are created taking into account feminist, anti-racist and queer ideas.

We want to create new materials, publish them and make them available to people with migration experience living in Poland. We are also planning other activities, such as social campaigns encouraging foreigners to learn Polish and dispelling false stereotypes about how difficult it is to learn Polish.

https://spokopolish.pl/ 
https://www.facebook.com/SpokoPolish 
https://instagram.com/spokopolish
https://www.youtube.com/@spokopolish3756
https://pl.pinterest.com/SpokoPolish/