About Me

My name is Zofia Kierner. I was born in Poland and lived there for 5 years. Honestly, I was really little and what I remember is mostly based off of photographs. One winter, I moved to Finland. In Finland, I attended an International School and that is how I first came in contact with the English language. My first few months were so hard! I couldn't speak a word! Well, not counting "dog", "cat", and "apple". But its not like these words would be much help. Luckily, the school was prepared for students like me and had a special class once a day to help you learn English and assimilate into the school community. 

​

While I was learning English at school, I was maintaining proficiency in polish. I also stayed in touch with my home school in Poland and during the summer of 4th grade I even attended it for a few weeks. It was a life changing experience! When I walked into the English classroom it was so empty. At my school the walls were filled with colorful posters and bookshelves were overflowing with books. Here it was quite the opposite. All I could see were old desks, a teachers work table and a nearly empty bookshelf. The children were reading from black and white copies of textbooks. I couldn't fit this into my 9 year old mind!

​

After returning to Finland, I considered different ways to help I decided to organize a charity action in the International School of Helsinki that I attended. The action was warmly welcomed by the head of school and it was a great success. Through it, I collected over 500 children books in English. All books have been donated it a public school in Lodz [a town in Poland where my parents were born]. Now the children there can get to know the English language from original and colorful books that motivate them to explore the foreign language and culture in a more interesting way.

​

I moved to the US almost 3 years ago and I am still continuing my project. I had many doors shut in my face along the way but thanks to my persistence and inability to give up I have collected over 5,000 books that were all donated to children in Poland. 

​

I believe I am making an impact. An impact that will benefit these kids in the future. The smiles on the faces of children are what make me keep going and because of my own experiences I understand the position they are in.