Pupils’ Easter treats for OAPs

Apr 16 2009 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

PUPILS from Clyde Valley High School in Wishaw last week presented two beautiful Easter baskets to tenants in Margaret Blackwood Housing Association’s development at Cala Sona Court in Netherton.

Nicole McArthur and Darren Paterson handed over the baskets to 84-year-old Genevieve Kaczynska, who thanked them for their kindness and was delighted to accept the treats on behalf of all her neighbours, many of whom are disabled.

The baskets included hand-made Easter cards, some written in German, Genevieve’s first language.

Nicole and Darren were fascinated and shocked to hear that Genevieve was the same age as they are now in 1942, when she and her two sisters were taken from their home in Poland to the concentration camps of World War Two Germany.

She was beaten, and shot several times but survived through luck and sheer force of will.

Living in a displaced persons camp after the war, Genevieve, along with her husband, were able to move to Cala Sona in 1959 after receiving help from British charity workers Muriel Gofton and Sue Ryder.

Genevieve has enjoyed her life in Netherton and loves her brand new flat at the redeveloped Cala Sona, which she shares with her daughter and son-in-law.

In one of life’s bitter-sweet twists, Genevieve recently learned that one of her sisters also survived the concentration camps and returned to live in Poland and, after nearly 70 years, the two of them now regularly chat on the phone.