We support the KALYNA Polish-Ukrainian-Canadian Foundation
KALYNA Foundation
War destroys and devours. It takes away life and all hope, leaving behind misery, despair and deep wounds, both physical and generational. And it also creates many severely traumatised, orphaned young people who have to face adulthood all too soon.
That is why the KALYNA Foundation cares first and foremost for those whose parents have been taken away by the war, and with them the chance of a happy, peaceful life and a good education. And for those who have the courage, strength and determination to uncover a common, not easy history, to clarify problems and to face the painful truth.
And that is why we care about KALYNA.
Our commitment
The KALYNA Polish-Ukrainian-Canadian Scholarship Foundation was established only 4 years ago by Ms Grażyna Staniszewska, Mr Adam Stec and Ms Janina Kuźma, Poles and Ukrainians who are also citizens of Poland and Canada. The foundation is united by sensitive hearts, and a common dream of Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation. The Foundation was set up to support scholars who, through research into our shared history, are uncovering the past, analysing and explaining current phenomena and helping shape future relations. And also to fulfil the dreams of fallen or severely injured Ukrainian soldiers who longed for their children to have the chance to grow up in peace and be educated in the European Union.
In the words of the founders of the Foundation: “We were inspired, on the one hand, by the desire to help Dr Eugeniusz Misiło, a Polish historian who hasn’t been able to find a permanent job in Poland since the publication of his book ‘Operation Vistula’ in the 1990s, and, on the other, by the need to support the children of soldiers killed in Donbass, such as Natalia Buslaeva, daughter of Oleksiy, alias ‘Tatar’, who dreamed of his children studying in the European Union. It is to them that we have been paying the first scholarships since November 2019”.
KALYNA currently funds:
- Scholarships (for researchers and artists) to conduct specific research and publish the results, to write or publish a book, and to prepare a significant artistic, cultural or social event that will contribute to Polish-Ukrainian understanding
- Scholarships for students to cover the costs of studying at Polish universities – the condition for being awarded a scholarship is to pass the semester without failing any exams and to prepare an event or an article on Ukrainian issues for Polish youth once a semester
All scholarships awarded by KALYNA are contractual and linked to the fulfilment of specific tasks in the field of Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation.
2022 – Summary of the year by the Foundation Council
2023 – Summary of the year by the Foundation Council
2024 – Summary of the year by the Foundation Council
This initiative is important to me for many reasons.
First of all, I feel a kind of obligation to help. But like everything else, I want to do it wisely, systematically and according to a plan. And what better plan can there be than to educate young people and show them good examples that they can pass on to others as adults and leaders. I myself went to the USA as a young person. It was a unique experience that allowed me to mature. As a lawyer, as a manager and as a person. What I saw and experienced there, I wanted to and did transfer to my home country. Now the KALYNA fellows are facing the same task. I believe in this project and know that they will succeed. And that Ukraine will soon become a valuable member of the European community. And that the young Ukrainians will thrive and pass on what we are doing here today.
Piotr Kochański, Managing Partner
Changing the world for the better is central to our vision for the future. Hence our motto: