There are many reasons why people migrate to Australia, for Bozena Iwanowski her reason was her sister.
Migrated in 1989 from Poland Ms Iwanowski came to help her sister who was a single mother of an autistic son.
From then on she spent her life volunteering in the Polish community and little did she know she’ll be recognised for her works with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2023 Australia Day Honours List.
Ms Iwanowski has been teaching at the Polish Community Council of Victoria and is now chief executive officer at Polish Community Care Services.
“I’ve been working for more than 30 years in the Polish Community. Thirty years ago we had a lot of students learn Polish in our ethnic school, now we’re teaching second and third generations,” Ms Iwanowski said.
According to the 2016 Census, Victoria has the largest Polish population, 14,706, followed by New South Wales.
Melbourne Polish community history goes back to 1940. Aside from immediately post-World War II, the second largest influx occurred in the 1980’s.
“There were a lot of Polish people migrating to Australia. There were a lot of Polish students enrolled at the time, around 200 and the school needed teachers.
“I was an economics teacher in Poland so when they asked me, I just went to help them.”
Ms Iwanowski has been heavily involved in the Polish community ever since she arrived to Australia apart from being an active member of the Polish Community Council of Victoria.
She’s been a coordinator at the Marshal Jozef Pilsudski School, member of the Eastern Districts Polish Association, vice-president of Association of Polish Professionals in Australia, and deputy chair at the Polish Education Commission in Australia.
“Ever since I came to Australia, I’ve been volunteering and I love working with children, with the community. I think it’s nice to have other people from the community.”
In 2011, the Polish Community Council only had 100 clients and now they have 700.
Ms Iwanowski also has her husband involved in volunteering and helping her organise events for the community.
One of her proud moments was when the Polish president visited Australia and Ms Iwanowski organised an event with more than 150 Polish students and their families to attend.
The event saw students perform and have a great time connecting with the leader of their homeland.
“It was so nice, everybody was so happy and I was very proud.”
Ms Iwanowski has been a vital part of the vast Polish community in Victoria and her volunteer works truly deserve recognition.
