Owsiak's celebrates opening and uniqueness of 11th WOSP

The Wielka Orkiestra Swiatecznej Pomocy (WOSP) played for the eleventh time. Kamil, a five-year-old boy was one of the youngest out of the 120,000 volunteers collecting money in a nationwide annual charity event to raise funds to help needy children. This year's donations will be designated to buy equipment for baby and infant hospital wards. By 7 p.m. over zl. 6 million was collected, but this sums is still set to rise much higher. Last year it amounted to zl. 26 million. Jerzy Owsiak, the organizer and founder of one of the biggest charity events in Europe, claims that there is no society quite like that found in Poland anywhere in the world which is able to unite and devote its whole self to those in need. "On many occasions foreign visitors are interested to know how I stage this event. Where do the people holding up signs with "applaud"', "dance", "show joy" stand, they ask. I reply that all this is natural and spontaneous. And their jaws drop in awe," said Owsiak. (Gazeta Wyborcza, pp. 1, 4) A.C.