Oct 19, 2005 Podkowa Lensa, Poland

A. Kosowka/A. Pietka/ANN Staff

In a one-story house on Parkowa Street a group of children are attending a first-ever day care center run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Poland. The center opened Sept. 2 in Podkowa Lesna, making it the second Adventist educational institution in the country.

This long-planned project was realized thanks to the efforts of Dawn Grant-Skiba and Agnieszka Kosowska, who wanted to ensure their children’s development in a Christian atmosphere. Joe Smoczynski, president of Nadzieja.pl (“Nadzieja” means “hope”), a Christian online company affiliated with the Adventist Church, donated the house that is being used for the day care center. The center is under the auspices of Nadzieja.pl Limited, which is where it gets its name, “Nadzieja.pl Day Care Centre.”

The house includes a large playroom, a dining room, sleeping room, kitchen and bathroom. There is a playground in the yard. Local church members donated some items for the center.
 
“We did not want this [project] to be only our work,” day care center director Kosowska says. “We wanted to encourage the church to participate in this endeavor. This is the reason why we made a list of the things that were necessary and placed it on the notice board. ... God has blessed us immeasurably.”

“This idea can be fulfilled not only in Podkowa Lesna. There are several places in Poland where there is a lack of this kind of service,” Smoczynski says. “All over the world there are numerous Adventist schools, universities and pre-schools. So why not finally start the same here?”

The idea is appreciated by those using the day care center’s services. One child’s father said: “For me, it is important that [my] children are growing up in a truly Christian atmosphere where God and prayer are not taboo.”

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