“Attention!” TVN and the TVN Foundation started a joint campaign to help sick children. The hero of the first reportage in the pre-Christmas series is 7-year-old Rafał, who dreams of learning to walk and becoming a policeman – just like his dad. The boy suffers from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The disease makes it difficult for him to perform the simplest activities. It used to mean a death sentence, but today there are drugs that inhibit its development. However, they are very expensive. In the following weeks, we will get to know other students and their needs.
A 7-year-old boy, who initially developed like any other child, is now able to stand up using equipment only thanks to long-term, tiring rehabilitation. When he was about two years old, he was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy – SMA.
His only dream is to learn to walk. Thanks to this, he could, among other things, play with peers and your sister as equals.
Rafał, a mentee of the TVN Foundation“Attention!” TVN
The story of Rafał, a boy with SMA
Rafał works on his progress every day with a rehabilitator. His parents go with him to centers all over Poland – they regularly travel from their hometown of Olkusz in Lesser Poland to the Children's Health Center in Warsaw, where once every four months the boy receives a drug that stops the disease. They even go to Gdańsk, to the other end of Poland, to get medicine to strengthen their muscles.
– I can't imagine life without Rafał. I'm proud of him. From his strength to fight, his willingness to fight. From his optimism and smile – say the boy's father, Mr. Tomasz.
The problem is that medications and rehabilitation are extremely expensive. The physiotherapist's services alone cost approximately PLN 2,000 per month. As Rafał ages, he needs to replace his orthosis, corset or wheelchair – the cost of these basic items is approximately PLN 50,000. In addition, there are medications and visits to doctors.
Rafałek's dream is to learn to walk.“Attention!” TVN
Pre-Christmas campaign “Attention!” and the TVN Foundation
With people like Rafał in mind, “Attention!” TVN and the TVN Foundation organize it every year before Christmas campaign to help sick children. Last year, viewers were supportive among others 8-year-old Maja, sisters 4.5-year-old Michalina and 3-year-old Magda, twins Adrian and Kacper, and 10-year-old Staszek. The campaign, in which the stories of people in need of help can be learned through television reports, has been organized for over 20 years.
7-year-old Rafał is one of the TVN Foundation's beneficiaries, for whom the proceeds from the pre-Christmas campaign will be allocated this year. His story was presented in the reportage “Uwagi!” that inaugurated this edition of the campaign. TVN.
The series of reports will end with the finale on December 17.
Rafał's story is an example of how real support can change the lives of people in difficult situations. – He is a great boy, he has great energy – emphasized Zuzanna Lewandowska, president of the TVN Foundation. – Rafałek's dream is to learn to walk and become a policeman like his dad – she added.
– It's not easy to ask for help, but we don't do it for ourselves. We must do everything we can to help him. We can't do it ourselves, even though we work, says Mrs. Anna, the boy's mother.
READ ALSO: The hospital in Nysa resumes operations after the flood. TVN viewers and the TVN Foundation helped
How to help?
Details on how to help can be found on the websites TVN Foundation and in the program “Attention!” TVN. Getting involved is easy – just send an SMS (message to number 7356 with the text HELP – PLN 3.69 including VAT). Other forms of support are indicated on the Foundation's website. All “Attention!” reports TVN will be available after the premiere on official website of the program.
TVN Foundation. Over 20 years of support
The TVN Foundation was established in 2001 on the initiative of TVN Warner Bros. Discovery, which supports the organization every year by covering its administrative costs. Thanks to this 100% of donations go directly to charity. For over two decades, the TVN Foundation has implemented countless projects for children, the elderly and the sick, as well as to support hospitals and medical facilities.
– Every zloty of the Foundation is looked at from several sides and spent very carefully – emphasized the president of the TVN Foundation. – We have a team that has specialized in providing help for twenty years – she noted.
In the fall of this year, the TVN Foundation allocated: over PLN 8.5 million to support the hospital in Nysa after the flood. The funds helped the facility get back on its feet. In previous years, thanks to the support of viewers, the foundation allocated PLN 7.4 million for the renovation of the Internal Medicine Clinic in Banacha Street and over PLN 3 million for improving hospital equipment. In turn, in 2023, the Psychiatry and Oncology Center being built in Warsaw reached the shell state – the value of this project is as much as PLN 34 million.
The TVN Foundation supports the district hospital in Nysa destroyed by the floodTVN24
It is worth recalling that Bożena Walter, the founder of the TVN Foundation, was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2011 for outstanding contributions to social activities.
The grand finale of the campaign of the TVN Foundation and “Uwaga”, “DDTVN”The grand finale of the campaign of the TVN Foundation and “Uwaga”, “DDTVN”x-news
“Uwaga” TVN, TVN Foundation, Dzień Dobry TVN
Main photo source: “Attention!” TVN