Return Visit by Jaroslaw Rotary Club to Abergavenny

Polish Rotary Club visits Abergavenny

Last weekend saw a return visit by five members of Jaroslaw Rotary Club to Abergavenny following the visit of three Abergavenny Rotarians to the Polish town near the Ukraine border in June 2022.

Rotary Clubs from all over the world have been working together to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine affected by the war. Abergavenny Rotary Club has raised over £4,000 from the public in Abergavenny via street collections which has been sent directly to Jaroslaw Rotary Club to be spent on humanitarian aid for displaced Ukrainian people in Poland and Ukraine.

On Saturday morning we took our Polish visitors to the Abergavenny Community Centre in Park Street to meet some of the Ukrainian guests and their hosts living in our town, so they could share stories first hand of their experiences of the impact of the war and ways in which they have been helping Ukrainian people. This was a very moving experience for those concerned.

In the afternoon, our Polish visitors went underground at Big Pit, Blaenavon in the safe hands of their good humoured Welsh guides and came back above ground beaming from their experience.

In the true spirit of Rotary fellowship and friendship, hospitality was provided by members of Abergavenny Rotary Club thoughout the weekend. On Sunday morning our Polish visitors were treated to a walking tour of Abergavenny conducted by one of our Club members which ended with a visit to the Abergavenny Museum. There was an exchange of greetings and gifts in the Monmouthshire Golf Club at a special party at Sunday lunch time.

We waved farewell to our Polich guests on Sunday evening in Wetherspoons after a fish and chip supper at the Codfather, which they loved. We are planning another trip to Poland to see our new Rotary friends in Jaroslaw in the Spring of 2023.