Spring in Poznan

Spring in Poznan. Itcame suddenly and though it had been was awaited, itsurprised many people.

On the streets you can still see some people  in winter clothing, and by the Warta river there are many people lying on barely green grass.

And the walkers are in crowds. Parks are full of families on the first truly spring walk, and café gardens are full of guests.

In the interesting ŚRÓDKA district, we watch charming murals and wall installations that add to the charm of this district. There is a huge potential here for cafeteria meetings away from the hustle and bustle of the Old Town Market Square.

For us Śródka was a pleasant surprise after a walk around the cathedral.

"Śródka - a part of Poznań, incorporated into the city in 1800. It covers a small area, lying east of Ostrów Tumski, on the other side of Cybina (the Ulga Canal, a branch of the Warta River). It belongs to the Ostrów Tumski-Śródka-Zawady-Komandoria local government."

In the evening we had dinner at the restaurant "Umberto", which is picturesquely located in the middle of the Citadel Park.

"Cytadela Park - the largest park in Poznań, covering an area of ​​100 ha, built in 1963-1970 on the site of the former Winiary Fort. He was given the name: Park-Monument of the Brotherhood of Arms and Polish-Soviet Friendship. In 1992, the name was changed to Park Cytadela. In 2008, he was recognized by the President of the Republic of Poland as part of the historical team of the city of Poznań as a historical monument."

The"Umberto" hosts  are Jagoda and Grzegorz - our friends from Cambodia!

Jagoda had spent 4 months there as a volunteer and sponsor (!) of an English school in the village near Takeo. It is impossible to describe the enormity of work and energy that she put in to make this school able to start functioning and act on principles and levels even close to those that can provide effective education to this cluster of children (over 200 !!).

The school, whose owner and director is Sophea, works on the basis of employing local English teachers, whose knowledge of this language is very limited, and volunteers from all over the world, and now, thanks to Jagoda, mainly from Poland.

Jagoda continues the work begun by Paweł (a resident of Cambodia, about whom I had written a lot) a few years ago. We supported this activity by supplying the school with desktop computers, laptops (offered by participants of tourist groups organized by us), a printer, books for learning English, school and office materials.

Sophea (director and owner of the school) is Paweł's and our friend from the time we first came to this part of Cambodia.

As a reminder, Takeo lies halfway between Phnom Penh and Kampot.

Currently, Jagoda is back in Poland, at work at"Umberto". And note: she still coordinates the work of the school more than 10,000 kilometers awa, by phone and computer !!

She has got far-reaching plans to ensure continuity of education and maintain the effects of teaching at the planned level.
We are very impressed with her commitment and incredible consistency in accomplishing her charitable goals with her private financial resources.