About our club

Although the official Charter took place on the 27th of May 2000 Pro Arte from Gdańskhas beenin existence since 1999 and, at present, has 19 members. The Club's inception wasat the initiative of Wanda Kobylińska who invited Jacek Sobociński to establish the club and become its first President. The name of the clubis derived from the fact that the first members were a group of people who had come togetherthrough their mutualappreciation ofclassical music, ballet and all the fine arts. As a result the clubwas conceived with the aim of helping children and young people who are artistically talented.

Reality, however, was the forge from which our first plans sprang.During discussionsabout ourprimary activities we were introduced to a school in Pomlewo near Przywidz, Although situated a mere 25 km. from the centre of the prosperous city of Gdansk it may as well haveexisted on another planet.The shock of what we found there still leaves us numb with disbelief.

The building itself was a travesty of age and disrepair. The roof leaked, the wooden window frames warped beyond closing. The children had to use the school hall with its broken,uneven floor as a makeshift gym. In winter the old, tiled stoves were barely able to raise the temperature more than a few degrees above that of the bleak outside leaving the pupils to study still in their heavy overcoats. As fora computeryou may as well have talked about a spaceship.

The building aside our real shock came with the condition of children. Half ( totally 57)of the pupils were in actual need of feeding. The majority of the children had never been as far as Gdansk, been to a cinema or even seen the sea. Teachers had a problem trying to explain the function of street and traffic lights and the control of trafficas the children's only concept was what they had gleaned from watching TV.

Our choice had been made for us. The absolute first priority had to bethe feeding program. Then came the subsidizing of text-books, collecting serviceable clothes andpresents for Christmas..... We also organized the school library andsummer vacations as well as elocutiont eaching assistance. When the Local Administration of Commune Council of Przywidz saw the improvements that were being made, they kindly allocated some funds for redecoration.

The honeymoon was now well and truly over and the time for real work had come. I cannot over emphasize the support we received from our then partner club K.I. Club Ostholstein of Eutin in Germany. Not only did they provide new windows and finance the roof repairs but also a new heating stove and delivered the first computers for the school's new IT workshop.Whatfiner way to seethe trueface of Kiwanis International upholding its motto.

Of coursewe organized and financed excursions to Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia. We arranged visitsto the Theatre "Miniatura" and "Wybrzeżak". and took the children around the Museum of Gdańsk History. With the customary appreciation of culture common to children the world over, the visit to McDonald's was the real hit. Today we continue our workwith the Primary School in Pomlewo near Przywidz. Fortunately times have changed and both the school and its pupils are in a much better physical and financial situation than they were 8 years ago.

Our club decided to change thebasis ofits cooperation with the school in 2007 to a more educational form. The pathetic lack of culturaleducation in the area diminishes both its people and the society as a whole, after all "man cannot live by bread alone".This is why the idea todemonstrateFine Art in the school in Pomlewo was created. Since November 2007a program consistingof a number of musical meetings has beenprepared by Mrs. Barbara Sutt - a famous propagator of classical music.

Between November 2007and June 2008 there have been 7 concertsgiven bymusicians, instrumentalists, ballet and musicstudents with such themes as: "We sing the Moniuszko`s theatre", " The land of legend and fairy tales". "Under the ballet sky", "The children's corner of great composers". This year, 2008-2010, we are having the next 10 concerts in addition to ournormal activities.
Recently we also sponsoreda musical scholarship for an artisticallytalented student, Magda,from the Art School in Gdynia Orłowo.

The circle has now been closed and we can move back from Pro Viding to our original name of Pro Arte.