Sii Power Volunteers support chronically ill, young patients from Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz branch of Sii Poland, as part of Sii Power Volunteers Program, started cooperation with the School Complex No. 33 for Chronically Ill Children and Youth, conducting educational activities at Józef Brudziński Provincial Children’s Hospital and University Hospital No. 1 in Bydgoszcz. The company will provide the facility with 18 new tablets for remote learning, while volunteers from Sii Poland will conduct online workshops for students on a career in IT in November and December.
The School Complex No. 33 in Bydgoszcz is a unique institution – in this case, it is not students who come to school, but school to students. Classes are held in hospitals in Bydgoszcz, in designated rooms or in patient rooms if students are immobilized. The work of teachers is carried out in accordance with the child’s treatment process, in cooperation with the medical staff. This approach gives sick children the opportunity to continue their education during a longer stay in hospital and a less stressful return to their own school.
Today, the situation of young patients has become even more complicated due to the pandemic. – The possibility for teachers to move between hospital wards is very limited, and due to covid restrictions, children have much less classes and additional attractions to relieve the tensions caused by hospitalization – says Izabela Maciejewska, Director of School Complex No. 33 in Bydgoszcz. – The student, his education and often the treatment process suffer from it. That is why we are looking for new forms of supporting the development of our pupils – she adds.
Help was offered by Sii Poland and volunteers from the local branch, which has been operating in Bydgoszcz for 2 years and employs over 70 people. As part of the Sii Power Volunteers Program, the Bydgoszcz branch received a grant for the implementation of the “Siiła Wiedzy” project for the School Complex No. 33.
– After consultations with the school, we purchased 18 tablets that will support the implementation of remote learning – reports Anna Boruszkowska-Becmer, Regional Director of Sii Bydgoszcz, initiator and leader of the project. – The new tablets given to the school have appropriate technical parameters to serve students online for a long time, even in senior classes. In addition, we have gathered volunteers in our Bydgoszcz branch of Sii who will share their knowledge and experience about a career in IT with younger colleagues from hospitals. School, especially high school, is the best time to think about choosing your univeristy course and your future career path. We decided to introduce students to the possibilities offered by the IT sector, because the spectrum here is really very wide – says Anna Boruszkowska-Becmer.
Together with the school, the company has planned 5 online workshop meetings with various IT specializations: the profession of a tester, Java and .NET programmer, IT administrator and recruiter. Each of the volunteers will talk about a different position, scope of duties and what a career path in a given profession may look like.
– I hope that the workshops will inspire both children and teachers to look for new paths of development. They will also encourage caregivers and teachers to use this method of teaching our pupils in a difficult time of treatment and to look for new ideas for online classes – adds Izabela Maciejewska.
Taking pro-social activities is very important for the company itself and for employees. Within the framework of Sii Power Volunteers Program, we already have planned more projects in Poland over the next 6 months with a total value of over PLN 220,000 PLN.
