We appeared on TVP during prime time on the most-watched Catholic programme, “Między Ziemią a Niebem” (Between Earth and Heaven)! We had the opportunity to talk about the most urgent missionary needs, the ZbieramTO project, and jewellery with a mission, Coriss. For those who did not have the opportunity to watch, we invite you to read the entire interview.
Monika Woźniak: Between us and the inhabitants of countries that need our help stand representatives of the Dehonian Missions. This year marks the second edition of the Advent campaign Empty Seat at the Table, which supports missionary stations in Bolivia, Chad and Congo, but the ZbieramTO campaign is also continuously ongoing. Our guests will tell us more. We are joined in the studio by Ms Anna Bronisz-Wójcik, coordinator of the ZbieramTO w Szkole project, Mr Piotr Jopek, director of the ZbieramTO project, and Father Piotr Chmielecki, Vice-Mission Secretary of the Priests of the Sacred Heart. God bless you, and a warm welcome to all our guests.
Guests: God bless you.
Monika Woźniak: Father, this symbolic empty plate can become a gift for a poor person who desperately needs our help. Who does this help actually go to?
Fr. Piotr Chmielecki, SCJ: Yes, exactly. We want to both spiritually and very specifically invite a specific someone to the empty place at the table that we leave and prepare during Christmas Eve. Specifically, I want to talk about our beneficiaries who live in Bolivia, for whom we are raising money this year. In Cochabamba, at an altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level – which is like living in the Tatra Mountains above Rysy – there is an orphanage run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. I was there a few months ago, and winter was just starting, which means that during the day the temperature can reach up to 20°C above zero, while at night it drops to zero. I slept under three blankets, waking up several times during the night, probably due to high atmospheric pressure, and I kept thinking that in a week I'd be leaving for Poland, and these girls would be living there forever. They have no choice. When I looked at the very old, 30 years old, single-pane windows, I thought we needed to replace them, and that's one of the causes we're raising funds for through the Empty Seat at the Table campaign.
Monika Woźniak: Returning to our guests in the studio. Father has already mentioned the Empty Seat at the Table campaign, which relies on donations, but the ZbieramTO campaign is also constantly ongoing. It's worth noting that this is not only a charitable cause, but also an environmental initiative. What does it involve?
Piotr Jopek: The idea behind the ZbieramTO project is to raise funds to support missions by organizing collections drives of various types of recyclable materials.
Monika Woźniak: For example?
Piotr Jopek: We collect e-waste, we collect waste paper, we collect Good Coins – this is a term we use for all money from around the world – both that currently in circulation and that already withdrawn. We also collect smaller electronics, such as old, broken cell phones, tablets, laptops, smartphones. We collect watches, LEGO bricks.
Monika Woźniak: And interestingly, you also collect old, worn-down – perhaps in fragments or in its entirety – gold and silver jewellery. That's why we're showing our viewers today what has been produced. Right, because after all, all these raw materials have to be converted into money somehow.
Anna Bronisz-Wójcik: Yes. Both ZbieramTO and ZbieramTO w Szkole are based on the principle that collected raw materials are donated to recycling companies, and the funds thus obtained go directly to aid missions. And all the raw materials we collect – we also collect them at schools. Here, this project, ZbieramTO w Szkole, is both ecological and charitable. This means we combine charity and ecology – by saving the planet, we also directly help others. So we're not only giving second life to things, but also giving second life to the people who benefit from this help.
Monika Woźniak: I'm coming back to this jewelry because it's so interesting that you transform old jewelry into such beautiful, new pieces.
Piotr Jopek: This is probably the only brand of Catholic jewelry in Poland that is made from recycled silver and gold, because all the products on the table are made from the silver and gold that we collected during our campaigns.
Monika Woźniak: Let me get back to you now. If someone watching us now thought: "I would like to join in on this action" – what can they do? How can they contact you?
Fr. Piotr Chmielecki, SCJ: The first and easiest way is, of course, to visit our website at www.misjesercanow.pl, where you'll find all the contact information you need to meet us: our address, email, and phone number. And of course, we encourage you to join us in our efforts to help missionaries and the poor. You can do this in several ways. First, make a donation, for example, to the Empty Seat at the Table campaign. Secondly, you can help us, as we say, "without money", that is, get involved in ZbieramTO, so simply send old, damaged, unwanted gold or silver jewelry , or a dial watch – it doesn't have to be working, it can be broken – by parcel or registered mail to our office in Olsztyn (at ul. Rakowa 11). The same goes for a cell phone, tablet, laptop, or the Good Coins that Piotr mentioned – all the money in the world, whether currently in circulation or not. And thirdly, you can buy our jewelry on the website www.coriss.pl, because that is the name of our jewelry brand – Coriss.
Monika Woźniak: It's worth noting that you can contribute individually, but you can also do so as a school, as Ms. Anna already mentioned, or as a parish. Thank you very much for the conversation and for visiting our studio.
Guests: Thank you very much.
