Poland Host Community

Our host partner in Poland is the county government of Siedlce, which is somewhat akin to a state government in the United States or a provicial government in Canada. The teaching programs are formally administered through a variety of schools, while the childcare and tutoring projects are directed through our community service partners. Our primary host contact is Marek Blaszczyk, director of Reymontowka, who has hosted our teams since 1990.

In a country of about 39.5 million citizens, Poland today is ethnically almost homogeneous - some 98 percent are ethnic Poles. The largest minority groups are Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Germans. By contrast, in the pre-World War II period, there were significant ethnic minorities - 4.5 million Ukrainians, 3 million Jews, 1 million Belorussians, and 800,000 Germans. The majority of the Jews were murdered during the German occupation in World War II, and many others emigrated in the succeeding years. Most Germans left Poland at the end of the war, while many Ukrainians and Belorussians lived in territories incorporated into the U.S.S.R. Small Ukrainian, Belorussian, Slovakian, and Lithuanian minorities reside along the borders, and a German minority is concentrated near the southwest city of Opole. Read on for more information about host country culture and people.