Teresa Tomaka

Teresa Tomaka is creating a system of advocates to protect the rights of the disabled in Poland's most deprived areas. Youth leaders are taught to use issues as a rallying point for strengthening community awareness while changing attitudes and policies surrounding disability.

Teresa is establishing rural associations where the disabled and abled work together to address issues of common concern. To prepare young people to become advocates in the rural areas that need it most, Teresa has developed a professional educational program where students spread awareness of disability issues and solve community problems. Carefully selected groups of young people advocate for disabled citizens' rights, including proper medical treatment, organized employment, rehabilitation, and access to medical equipment. The program provides immediate assistance to the disabled in their neighborhoods and spreads the results to areas where program alumni will continue their education or work. Young participants become engaged with local municipalities as policymakers while local authorities realize they must pay attention to the citizen voice. Annual programs ensure continuity, spread awareness, and change the attitudes and actions of young people and their communities.

In the post-communist transition, there has been no consciousness or awareness on how to deal with people with disabilities, particularly in rural areas. Twelve years after the transition, little has been done to address the issues. A number of specialized organizations have been established in the cities, but they are addressing particular issues of disability or disease. At the same time, about 40 percent of the disabled live in the countryside where no support is provided. Even now, one can find mentally or physically disabled people kept in a locked room, away from neighbors' sight. They come from families that do not have money, or enough knowledge on how to best serve their relatives in different mental or physical conditions. Poverty and everyday worries veil the family's anxiety about the disabled relative. Deeply entrenched attitudes fuel the social stigma.

Although Polish society has been open and receptive to Western culture and mentality, dealing with the needs of disabled people has not been adopted as readily. Consumerism became a problem not only in urban, but also in rural areas. There is a need for reflection on current issues and reaction to superficial stories and media. Young people are an ideal audience to gather support and participation in this area of concern.

Little research has been done to question people's feelings as to what they would do should a car accident or any other accidental event disable them. Most young people responded that they would commit suicide, pity themselves, and be at a complete loss. Most have never encountered a disabled person and are unfamiliar with their problems and needs, while those who have had the chance to meet disabled people notice everyday barriers and struggles like inaccessible buses or buildings. The same questionnaire was directed to municipal representatives. The research proves how little is being done to spread awareness on disability issues and needs, both in terms of medical services, architectural planning, and in other areas. There is a need for creating dialogue and openness between local authorities and local citizens. Teresa believes in early intervention and creates space for such interventions.

In 1995 the Association for Supporting Children and Youth Differently was created. While developing activities and a complex approach to assist the disabled, Teresa started promoting the idea of the association in other municipalities. The association organized various services and activities to integrate the local community. Teresa supervised these activities and organized funds from the municipality and other sources. In 1998 Teresa was accepted as a member of the regional municipality and went on to spread the idea of the Association Helping Disabled to 12 municipalities. More and more young people got engaged in the program that embraced more then 90 villages, four towns, and about 160,000 citizens. Teresa came up with an idea of conducting research in schools to learn about the feelings and attitudes among young people toward disabilities. The results of the research made her focus on building awareness among young people on disability issues and preparing them to lobby for their rights in their local environment.

In 1999 Teresa became one of the five women on the 55-person municipality board elected by local citizens. Being part of this administrative body was a critical moment for Teresa in that she had the opportunity to link more directly with other municipalities and spread her idea to more people in need of services. To increase the engagement and motivation necessary to spread her work, Teresa introduced awards for the most-active municipal representatives. On a broader base, the decision-making process shifted to the municipality level and associations became structures for organizing local communities. With that movement, Teresa turned her association into advocacy groups and developed community leaders. She envisioned that educated young people could become advocates for the disabled.

To encourage young people to stay in the community and engage them in various activities, Teresa developed the school for Young Leaders. The aim of the School is to enable young people to solve the problems of disabled people in their communities by mobilizing the community to become active participants. The school is used as a tool for motivating people, entering new communities, and supporting entrepreneurial ideas.

The first school, opened in December 2000, included 26 young people. Students studied administrative regulations, law with regards to services, and facilities ensured by legal bodies, in addition to the psychological aspects of disabilities–changes and emotional problems that can accompany disability. Since the pilot program, Teresa has refined the initiative and changed its curriculum from a one- to two-year-long program. The program of the School goes beyond regular training and workshops to engage students in practical activities like organizing help for the disabled and planning and executing youth ventures like competition and social gatherings. At the final stage, students organize and participate in the rehabilitation camp where they try out their new skills. The alumni of the program return to their municipalities and either enter existing associations or create their own. A rigid selection process assures the highest quality and commitment of students.

In addition, the professional and interesting nature of the education program is a warranty for the proper care and quality services for the disabled. With the idea of the "tracking-and-identifying-disabled" system, school alumni reach hospitals and social care centers to collect up-to-date information on the disabled population. Noting the specific car accidents and births that bring a new disability to a community enables them to provide the earliest aid, including medical assistance, equipment, and even job placement to those who need it most.

Teresa has successfully spread the network of associations to cause significant changes in awareness in one of the counties in her region and has continued the spread to other counties. To support that process, in 2000, Teresa created a regional Podkarpacka Board for the Benefit of Disabled People. The approach provides understanding and commitment of the local governors to support various activities and decisions for the benefit of the disabled. Unlike other organizations, which cooperate with local municipalities on a more formal level, Teresa has engaged public institutions and local administrative bodies in the program of the school and activities of the Federation of the Associations. Alumni participate in municipality gatherings to advocate for the rights of the disabled and in every county, one alumnus or alumna of the school becomes a member of the local municipality board.

In 2002 Teresa started designing the regional education strategy for disabled children and youth (aged 1 to 25) that will provide "in-home" orthopedic examinations, rehabilitation, and decent conditions for education, and development of skills for the most disadvantaged. Teresa is preparing next editions for the School of Young Leaders and expects to have an average of 30 alumni each year. She is also spreading the association model in other counties in the region. Teresa expects that in the next four years she will be able to spread associations into 13 counties in the region with the school programs following closely thereafter. Teresa also plans to design and build a place where disabled children can stay after their parents or relatives are gone.

In 1992 Teresa attended a flower exhibition where she saw a few women with children in wheelchairs. Although disabled, they appeared happy, as did their families. Teresa was amazed that they were so happy, not depressed with their dramatic experiences, as she expected them to be. Inspired, Teresa went back to her village and gathered teachers and children to determine how disabled children in the area could be helped. It was a difficult process, but after collecting a great deal of information, Teresa and her network of parents and teachers began organizing events and meetings to foster support for the area's disabled children.

Teresa is the 10th child in her family and spent her childhood in the poor rural area. She was lucky enough to pursue higher education and graduated with a construction degree, starting a successful career as a real estate evaluator. Teresa has managed her own real estate business for years and was the first female president in the Association of Engineers and Constructors. Passionate about her profession, Teresa has also shared her knowledge and experience with students in Construction High School, where she designed a course in real estate management (1991 - 1995).