5 December 2013 - The Polish Humanitarian Action (Polska Akcja Humanitarna or PAH) has, to date, raised US$ 366,000 for the relief and rehabilitation efforts in the central Philippines in the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). This was disclosed on December 4 by its president Ms. Janina “Janka” Ochojska during her meeting with Philippine Ambassador to Poland Patricia Ann V. Paez at the Philippine Embassy.
She also informed Ambassador Paez that PAH’s two staffers are already in Cebu to look into the situation in the typhoon-devastated areas.
They also discussed other possible forms of raising more funds since the scale and magnitude of the devastation was enormous and that it will take years for the communities to be rehabilitated.
Upon Ms. Ochojska’s request, Ambassador Paez gave a presentation on Filipino traditions during the Christmas season which can be harnessed for PAH’s future fundraising activities.
Ambassador Paez gave the PAH’s president a Philippine parol, as a token of the Philippines’ appreciation for PAH’s assistance which Ms. Ochojska said will be put up in their office. PAH is a non-government organization which Ms. Ochojska established 20 years ago. It now conducts humanitarian work in 44 countries.
“Ms. Ochojska is the laureate of many prestigious awards, among which the following deserve particular attention: a distinction awarded by the POLCUL Foundation from Australia (1993); the title “Woman of Europe 1994” awarded by the European Community in Brussels; St. George Medal awarded by the weekly magazine “Tygodnik Powszechny” (1994); Pax Christi International Peace Award (1995); Atsushi Nakata Memorial from Japan (1996); Jan Karski Award for Valor and Compassion awarded by the American Centre of Polish Culture and Freedom House in Washington (2002); Order of the Legion of Honour- awarded by the President of the Republic of France (2003); Jozef Tschner award in the category of pastoral and social initiatives co-forming the “Polish shape of dialogue” between the Catholic Church and the world (2006); the Jermanowski Award (2009) or Lech Walesa Award (2010), which constitute the recognition of her humanitarian activity.”
She was born on March 12, 1955 in Gdansk. She was always an active community worker- connected with the University Chaplaincy of the Jesuit Order, an oppositionist from 1976 and an activist of the Torun Solidarity movement from 1980. She discovered her aim in life in France, where she went to have an operation in 1984.
She organized the first Polish aid mission in Kosovo, then in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, the Philippines, and in many other countries. END
