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World Parkinson’s Disease Day

James Parkinson’s birthday, April 11, is World Parkinson’s Day. In Poland about 80 thousand people suffer from this disease. people. It is the second most common, after Alzheimer’s disease, degenerative disease of the nervous system. On the occasion of the World Parkinson’s Disease Day, as part of the project “Colors of Life” – 2021-1-PL01-ESC30-SOL-000036535 at Technical School No. 4 Transport in Sosnowiec, students prepared a school newsletter and participated in classes devoted to this disease. Photos and the report from that day will be available in later entries.

Body and breath training

On April 4, 2022 at the Transport Technical School No. 4, there was a body and breathing training with a trainer – Agnieszka Rędzia. These classes were held under the project “Colors of Life” – 2021-1-PL01-ESC30-SOL-000036535. Their aim was to make young people aware that physical activity is very important for people suffering from Parkinson’s. Moderate physical activity:

  • has a positive effect on the entire body,
  • prevents the development of other chronic diseases (including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis),
  • allows you to stay fit for longer,
  • prevents stiffening of muscles and joints,
  • prevents bone loss,
  • reduces constipation,
  • has a positive effect on the psyche.

Therefore, people with Parkinson’s disease should not give up their current physical activity, but should adapt it to their own abilities and needs.

DEDAC training

On March 27, 2022 – March 30, 2022, training on the DEDAC- 2020-1-IT03-KA105-018168 project was organized by the Akira organization. The training took place in Naples. Seven organizations from seven different countries participated in the meeting, including: Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Sweden, Italy, Poland and Lithuania. During four days we got to know what the “Digital advocacy campaign” is. Then we were divided into three project groups, so that each group had one member from each organization. Thanks to this procedure, three intercultural groups were created, which were tasked with creating a campaign on any subject, e.g. ecology, health, social life, etc. After choosing the topic of their campaign, the groups had to create a detailed action plan for their campaign. create simple keywords that will also serve as the slogan of the campaign. The project groups had two days for the entire process. After this time, each of the groups presented the results of their work – and this is how 3 different and unique campaigns were created:

  • The first group chose the search for medical volunteers for their campaign to help in the difficult times of the pandemic.
  • The second group created campaigns on conducting social dialogue on issues related to racism.
  • The third group created campaigns on the right of women to decide about their bodies.

We will provide more information on each of the campaigns in separate entries to present the detailed results of the group’s work. At the end of our trip, we summarized together what skills we have gained and which we have developed more thanks to participation in the training. This trip allowed us, as a Foundation, to deepen our knowledge of the “Digital advocacy campaign”, as well as to meet extraordinary people from various organizations.

Easter handicrafts

Preparations for Easter are gaining momentum. On April 1, 2022. Seniors participated in handicraft workshops. These workshops were held as part of the project “Never too late for science” – 2021-1-PL01-KA122-ADU-000021044 under the supervision of Mrs. Kasia, they made beautiful Easter eggs. The polystyrene eggs are decorated using the dry felting technique. During the workshops, seniors recalled old customs related to Lent and Easter. As usual, the classes were very popular among seniors. Participation in them was free of charge.

Orange reigns supreme in April! Parkinson’s disease?

April is … spring! In the project “Colors of Life” – 2021-1-PL01-ESC30-SOL-000036535, April is the month to which Parkinson’s disease is assigned. The main color is orange! Here are some important information about the disease:

Parkinson’s disease is characterized by the degeneration of structures in the brain of unknown cause. Its essence is the disappearance of the so-called dopaminergic cells in the brain, which causes symptoms such as:

  • slowness of movement,
  • muscle stiffness
  • resting tremor
  • gait and posture disorders.

What are the causes of the disease? They are still unknown, probably environmental factors that damage the nervous system in a genetically susceptible person play a role in its development. For this reason, there are no known effective treatments for Parkinson’s disease, and all treatments focus on alleviating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease or slowing the progression of degeneration of cells in the nervous system.

More information

Zdrowie zdjęcie utworzone przez freepik – pl.freepik.com

 

Polish language course for Ukrainian citizens

On Tuesday, March 22, 2022, a free Polish language course for Ukrainian citizens began at the Technical Secondary School No. 4 in Sosnowiec, organized as part of the project “Learning foreign languages ​​is fun”- 2021-2-PL01-ESC30-SOL-000040177. Classes are held in a group of 10 people. The course program is 60 hours long. The course is conducted by a qualified and experienced teacher of Polish as a foreign language. Classes will be held regularly, every week on Tuesdays for 60 minutes. Parents with children can come to the course. While the guardians take part in the activities, the children are looked after by volunteers.
The Polish language course for Ukrainian citizens will be held in various parts of Poland. The place of implementation depends on the demand and the number of applications. Thanks to these activities, we want people who came to our country to find themselves in this new, yet difficult reality, more easily.

Week of colorful socks

March 21 is not only the first day of spring, it is also a day of colorful socks – a symbol of solidarity with people with Down’s syndrome. This holiday was established in 2005 on the initiative of the European Down Syndrome Association.

The aim of the day is to raise awareness about the life and needs of sick people, therefore to show support to the sick and their families, Technical school no. 4 Transport has joined the action. Not only on that day, the students wore colorful socks throughout the week as a sign of solidarity with the sick. We have captured the effects of the initiative in photos and posted them on the website.
The action was carried out under the patronage of the Smart Foundation and the European Solidarity Corps as part of the “Colors of Life” project – 2021-1-PL01-ESC30-SOL-000036535. As always – it was worth it!

March 21 World Down Syndrome Day

As we well know in the project “Colors of Life” – 2021-1-PL01-ESC30-SOL-000036535, the month of March is devoted to Down’s Syndrome. Colorful socks are the hallmark of the disease. On March 21, we celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. On this occasion, the students of the Technical School No. 4 in Transport in Sosnowiec prepared a school newsletter with the most important information about the disease. As a sign of solidarity, students will come to school all week wearing colorful socks.

Catering aprons for seniors

During the Friday (18/03/2022) culinary workshops organized as part of the “World on a plate”- 2021-2-PL01-ESC30-SOL-000040182 project, all participants of the training received their own special designed gastronomic aprons with embroidered logos: the European Solidarity Corps, the Foundation for SMART education.
Seniors presented themselves beautifully in new cotton aprons, which were sewn in the spirit of zero waste.

The project “Learning foreign languages is fun” is starting!

The project “Learning foreign languages ​​is fun”- 2021-2-PL01-ESC30-SOL-000040177 is a response to the needs of people of different age groups (including seniors) participating in previous projects carried out by the Foundation for SMART Education.
As part of the above-mentioned project from March 2022. we organize language workshops, i.e .:

  • English for preschoolers at the “Child’s World” Non-Public Nursery and Kindergarten in Siewierz;
  • English for seniors (beginner group);
  • English for seniors (intermediate group);
  • German for seniors (beginners);
  • English for the recipients of the SMART Foundation’s offer – members of the local community.

Classes are conducted stationary. They are held in small groups, 90 minutes each, once a week, and 60 minutes in the case of a kindergarten group. The level of education is adjusted to age, level of proficiency or preferences. All activities are free.
We guarantee a friendly atmosphere and motivating types of exercises that will reassure listeners that their decisions about the learning foreign language are righ.