Information about the Malwa Foundation
We, the parents of children with intellectual disabilities, have set up a Foundation whose goal is to build a rehabilitation and care center in Warsaw, in the Bielany district where we have received a plot of land from the local authorities. The Malwa (Hollyhock) Foundation is a public benefit organization registered under the KRS number of 0000046916.
The idea was to construct a Center that could provide handicapped persons with a place where they:
— can have a safe and friendly home environment to live in when their parents are gone,
— can have their rehabilitation needs met,
— can get specialized medical advice and guidance,
— can share and enjoy the company of others like themselves.
People with intellectual disabilities require special forms of help and care throughout their lives – they will never be fully independent. The parents of these special-needs individuals will never have the luxury of quietly aging, as they face escalating concerns and stress about what will happen to their child after they pass on and leave their child behind.
That is why a group of concerned parents have taken the initiative to establish the Malwa Foundation, the main goal of which is to create a home-setting adjusted to the needs of those with mental disabilities offering full social facilities, medical and educational care, with the simultaneous possibility sheltered workshops and other therapeutically-oriented initiatives, helping creating a environment of dignity and fitness for the residents.
The house has been built in part by parents of mentally disabled children relying on their own financial contributions and determination to get the project off the ground. Parents involved in the board of the Malwa Foundation receive no wages or compensation. They contribute their own funds to cover the costs of energy, telephone and travel. We are building this house having our children in mind but the scope of the project is broader, and we hope that this house will function for many years and provide much-needed services for countless other mentally-challenged
people in Warsaw.
We have received a 2000 square meter building plot from local authorities in Warsaw, specifically in the Bielany district at 2 Stanislawa Kasznicy street where the projected size of the proposed building was 541 square meters. The housing unit, including a total area of 1,648 square meters and comprising about 7,385 cubic meters of space, includes three floors and a functional basement. It is projected to serve as a permanent place of residence for 30 mentally disabled persons. In addition, the facility will also have rooms allowing for disabled individuals to temporarily reside in situations of family emergency, for example, when there is an illness affecting parents or caregivers.
Apart from the household members, occupational therapy workshops will be also available to people from outside the facility, who happen to be living nearby.
The functional layout of the building includes the following resident-oriented spaces:
— Basement: cabinets for physiotherapy and rehabilitation as well as warehouses and premises of the foundation,
— First (ground) floor: medical rooms and counseling service rooms for disabled persons,administration rooms, kitchen, canteen and rooms for occupational therapy workshops;
— Second floor: residential area for disabled people,
— Third floor: residential area for disabled people.