Every child deserves a childhood free from hunger

In Poland, almost 400 000 children live in extreme poverty.

Read about Hania's story:
Hania is a quiet and reserved girl. She’s not an outstanding student – she misses a lot of classes at school, making it difficult for her to catch up. When her classmates take out their lunchboxes, she closes her eyes and clenches her fists until her nails cut into her rough skin. For the past three weeks, the meals she’s been getting are either bread from a baker who was kind enough to give it for free or expired food her mom managed to find in the stores’ dumpsters. However, it’s not getting any easier since most dumpsters are now locked…

Hania’s mom is desperate because she can’t find work and also has a one-year-old sick child at home. This three-person family spends most of their income on rent and utilities for their rented apartment. They are left with 400 PLN per month, which the mom needs to spend on trips to the doctors and medication for Hania (she’s been diagnosed with epilepsy for a year now) and her brother (he’s under constant care of a neurologist and a pneumonologist).

There are more and more families like this one turning to the Polish Red Cross for help. According to data published by GUS (Central Statistical Office of Poland), the financial situation of Polish households has worsened despite an increase in the average monthly income. In fact, in 2022, rising prices have led to a 2.6% decrease in household income per person compared to the previous year. The rate of extreme poverty in 2022 reached 4.7%. Extreme poverty means that the level of meeting the needs is so low that a person’s health and life are at risk.

Support Hania and other children suffering from hunger.

Every child deserves a childhood free from hunger.