Read about us:

Klika is an association of young volunteers, mostly students, who bring relief and joy to people with disabilities. The association was founded in 1972 near the Dominican monastery in Krakow when members of the ‘Beczka’ Academic Ministry started participating in activities designed to help people with disabilities. The purpose of those activities was to involve the disabled in society. The students helped disabled people with daily activities, such as: going for walks, to the cinema, shopping, cleaning their houses and spending time with them during holiday camps and retreats. Due to the specific kinds of activities the group was involved in, it was given the nickname "Klika” (Eng.”Clique”) and its slogan became "Take people out of their homes".

The Association's active focus is on supporting the disabled who require the help of another individual to function in society. Disabled members of the association suffer primarily motor function disorders, including but not limited to: cerebral palsy, arthrogryposis and muscle atrophy. Some of them live with family members, while others are fairly independent. Our assistance consists mainly of transporting and supporting people with disabilities in daily activities in the absence of loved ones. The other people live in Residential Home (ul. Nowaczyńskiego 1). Here, our help is more general – taking care of people with disabilities while walking, organizing parties and cultural events, help with bathing and shopping.

Friendship is the fundamental unifier in our Association. We strive to help not only when it is necessary, but also when spontaneous ideas for evenings, weekends or holidays arise. Our relations are based on a mutual exchange of experience, which allows every individual to be equal, valuable, and needed.     Klika's developmental direction is defined the current needs of the disabled. As such, we support the progress of people with disabilities in the most important spheres of life - physical, social and professional. With our assistance under the “Assist” program, many of its students have graduated from high school and gone on to continue further education. As a result of many years of experience, we established the "Cetrum Aktywizacji Zawodowej" (Eng.” Integration and Professional Activation Center" ) in 2007 followed the "Warsztat Terapii Zajęciowej" (Eng, "Occupational Therapy Workshops" ) a year later.

The most important event of all is in the first half of July. We organize ourselves into two groups. The division is due to technical reasons relating to accommodation and meals. Colloquially they are named: the family and the student group because of their dynamic. The first one is dominated by families. The second group is characterized by young people mostly students who make internship. We recommend taking a trip with each of them to get to know everyone and each groups individual characteristics. Due to its' specific nature Klika does not take disabled children or parents-guardians. We strive to be self-reliant and shape our autonomy and independence among disabled people. There are usually about 30 disabled individuals in each group, in which volunteers help with their basic needs. Some of the disabled in “Clique” are very active young people who are studying, pursuing their passions, working and providing to socially. Most, however, live day to day in Nursing Home and traveling with us is their only way of spending holidays away from home. They anxiously wait for our trip during the year. We usually travel to a lake in the North of Poland, live in the school and spend our time on outdoor activities such as sailing, kayaks swimming. Every year we organize a scavenger hunt, artistic competition and musical talent show. In the evenings we sit around the campfire, strumming our guitars while singing along. The initiatives described above are only possible thanks to the financial support received from people. The Association provide assistance for people with disabilities by the help of students. Unfortunately government programs are not sufficient to cover all of our needs and implement all of the projects we run. Because of this, we need your support. Even a small regular donation would be immensely supportive! Together we can break down barriers!

We are open to new friendships and cooperation, please contact us!

If you have any questions or suggestions please contact us.