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April 13, 2006
All of Poland Reads to Children
 Collaboration among former and current ambassadors' wives from the same country is unusual. First of all, they are
usually not in one place together, their husbands are often from different political parties or very different eras, and
sometimes they are in competition with each other.
But there are two ambassadors' wives from Poland who are thinking as one: current wife Hanna Reiter and Irena Kozminska,
wife of the former Polish ambassador to the United States from 1994 to 2000. On March 30, Reiter held a luncheon at the
chancery and an evening party at her residence to support Kozminska's "All of Poland Reads to Children" program, which
has become incredibly popular in her homeland.
"All those years with the autocratic way of life, Polish parents really lost their way," said Kozminska. "Now we teach
not only parents and teachers but psychiatrists, psychologists that you need to touch your child, have eye contact,
read aloud together." Kozminska thinks this is not just a necessity in Poland, but in the other post-communist
countries, and she is hoping to coordinate her efforts in Poland with other ambassadors' wives in Washington.
A mother herself, Kozminska first had her own self-discovery when she started reading modern books about parenting.
"I had no patience with my daughter and I knew something was wrong. These books gave me insights. It was me, not my
daughter who needed help.
"Now we have 1,500 volunteer leaders in 1,300 Polish cities involved in our program," she said proudly. "All we ask is
that Polish parents, grandparents and teachers read aloud to their children 20 minutes a day. Now all over Poland, you
see our symbol, the book butterfly, and see our funny cartoons."
This incredibly simple but successful campaign is being organized by the Foundation ABCXXI Emotional Health Program,
which was started by Kozminska, who works closely with its American counterpart started here in 1998.
"Children love it when someone reads aloud to them," Kozminska explained. "They feel important, loved and wiser... This
is a vaccination against many of the undesirable influences and dangers the modern world poses for a child's mental
health."
From left, Polish ambassadors' wives Irena Kozminska, Wanda Spasowska (widow of Polish Ambassador Romuald Spasowski)
and Hanna Reiter attend a reception for the "All of Poland Reads to Children" program.
Photos courtesy of Marcin Krawczyk, Embassy of Poland
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ABCXXI - All of Poland Reads to Kids Foundation was granted Public Benefit Organization (OPP in Polish) status in 2004
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