Krysia Paszko from the Warsaw Mokotów ZHP Corps became the winner of the EESC Civil Solidarity Prize awarded by the European Economic and Social Committee (ESEC). During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, in the spring of 2020, the scout girl founded an online cosmetics store through which victims of domestic violence, imprisoned during quarantine, could obtain help.

The Camomile and Pansies initiative is a safe way for people at risk of domestic violence to seek help remotely. During the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the scout girl Krysia initiated the creation of a fictional cosmetics store where, thanks to "purchases", victims of violence could call for help, obtain psychological support and obtain legal consultations.

“I would like to ask everyone to react when they see violence, be it at neighbors, on the street, at a party, or in a shop. This is what each of us can do to really help victims of violence,” Krysia appealed.

Krysia emphasizes that it was thanks to scouting that she learned to help others.

“I cannot imagine my life without service. My whole life is service and it was the scouting that taught me this attitude,” she added.

“Every day, the Polish Scouting Association (ZHP) supports the education of the next generations of young generations into righteous, active, and responsible citizens. People who actively take responsibility for themselves and others, who are not afraid of challenges and difficult decisions, from which they are often avoided in today's reality,” hm. Karol Gzyl, the deputy head of the ZHP, said.

The EESC Civil Solidarity Prize 2020 was awarded to people and organizations that, thanks to creative and effective initiatives, took part in the fight against the COVID-19 crisis and its serious and multiple consequences, and thus contributed to strengthening European solidarity and helped to create a European identity.

(WBJ)