A Brief Historical Overview

The Malwa Foundation was established in 1992, as an initiative of a group of parents caring for children with intellectual disabilities. The Foundation’s main goal was to build and then operate a social care home for people with intellectual disabilities. The house was designed to address the vital needs of residents, providing continuous medical care and support, occupational therapy, and access to work whenever possible. Also among the services to be available were educational initiatives and suitable recreation for the residents, as well as integration with non-disabled people
living in the neighborhood.

Thanks to the heroic persistence of the founding parents, the Malwa Foundation received a building plot at 2 Balcerzaka Str. (at present 2 Stanislawa Kasznicy Str.) from the local authorities of the Warsaw-Bielany district. Construction began at the end of the 1990s under the direction of Mrs. Wanda Woyniewicz, one of the founders and the first president of the Foundation, and was based on the project documentation which at that time did not take into account some of the requirements of the European Union for this type of building because Poland had not yet become a member of the EU. When Mrs.Wanda Woyniewicz had to leave the Management Board because of health-related issues, the building was already plastered inside and outside and included all windows and external doors; moreover, the whole plot of land had been successfully fenced in.

The current Management Board of the Foundation took over construction in 2007 under the leadership of Mr. Jan Olizar, the second and current president, and changed the architectural and technical design documentation in order to comply with EU requirements regarding the functioning of homes for people with disabilities. Since then, a number of modernizing and rebuilding initiatives were undertaken. The most difficult, expensive, and time-consuming was the construction of 16 additional bathrooms on the first and second floor, which resulted in the loss of 8 rooms originally designated as living quarters. Having a separate bathroom for each room is an essential condition for registering such a facility as a social care home for disabled individuals. Thankfully, we are now in full compliance with this requirement.

At present, internal and external walls in the house are complete, along with the insulation of the building. We have also completed the full water and sewage infrastructure. The electrical infrastructure has been completed throughout the building, as well as an smoke detectors, and a smoke removal system that is part of the ventilation system. The building was recently connected to the municipal gas network. Previously, the building had been heated for 2 years thanks to the construction of a professional boiler room and the installation of radiators on all floors. We also installed a water detection and fire protection system. All floor surfaces have been properly completed and insulated.

There is also an elevator in the building from the basement to the third floor. There are driveways, parking lots and a garden with various footpaths around the house.

We want to create for our residents a sense of security during everyday life and at the same time to enable them to pursue their passions and interests.