Volunteers visited Tychy, explored sewing workshop, learned about integration projects. They returned to Krakow with new knowledge and a memorable experience.

On July 13th, our volunteers went on a little trip to Tychy, a city quite close to Krakow, where they had the chance to see the Internationaler Bund Polska office from this city, to discover how bags are sewn, even to learn how to sew bags and also learn more about our projects developed in Tychy.

Our volunteers left together in the morning with the bus to Tychy, and once they got there they were greeted with several snacks, including a cake, cooked by one of the people who were part of the sewing team, which everyone enjoyed. After this moment of relaxation, they went directly to the place where the magic happens, specifically the sewing workshop to see where bags, satchels and other products for our organization are sewn.

At the beginning, they were presented with more information about our Social integration center in Tychy, which since the beginning of 2023 has implemented the project “Together with us – support for citizens of Ukraine using the potential of social reintegration entities”, the purpose of which is social and professional integration of people fleeing Ukraine. They learned more about everything this project means, about the two professional workshops that take place here, one about tailoring and one about care and assistance, but also about the women who are part of this project.

Going inside the workshop

After this introductory moment, our volunteers had the chance to see and learn the entire process of creating the bags that will be prepared for our future volunteers. They started by seeing how the material used for the backpacks is measured and cut, with some of our volunteers even trying to cut the material. There followed a small demonstration at the sewing machine where our volunteers also had the chance to show their sewing talent or to try for the first time to use a sewing machine. Following the explanation of each step in creating a backpack from scratch, the volunteers had the chance to talk more with the women from the tailor’s workshop, to see the place in detail, and at the end they received gifts made in that tailor shop .

After they tasted to the fullest the experience of a sewing workshop, they went to see and learn more about the second workshop within this project, the one about care and assistance, where they had the chance to learn more details from the coordinator the project and from the women involved, what they learn in this workshop, where they will have the chance to work after finishing it and see a demonstration of how to change sheets with patients, in a specially organized environment with a mannequin for the learning process.

After this day full of new information and experiences, our volunteers returned together to Krakow, shared opinions about what they saw and heard and left behind with new knowledge and a beautiful experience.

Written by Ioana