Limerick to Poland - although not as you know it!

IF you look beyond the blue skies and clear turquoise lagoons, you soon realise that Kiritimati, in the Pacific Ocean is far removed from the postcard image many of us build in our head about a tropical island paradise.

Litter is strewn everywhere - being a small, remote island, there are few places to dispose of rubbish.

Indeed, when the tide goes out, the illusion of tropical beauty is somewhat broken with what is left behind on the beaches.

And while the population of Kiritimati is relatively low compared to the rest of the Kiribati island group - it relies heavily on support from overseas, with natural resources severely limited.

Nowhere is the struggle of island life more apparent than in Kiritimati's smallest village, Poland, located in the far west.

Named in honour of Polish mechanic Stanisław Pełczyński, who greatly improved the island's coconut plantation by introducing a modified irrigation system that could effectively water palm trees during the dry season, Poland village is inhabited by only a few hundred people, and located on scrubland.

Above: Poland's national flag, donated by the Polish comunity in Limerick hangs proudly alongside the Treaty flag in the village

Poverty is very visible: like the rest of the island, the majority of people in Poland live in shacks, with bricks-and-mortar properties often reserved for churches and commercial premises.

As the crow flies west - via the USA - Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island, is 13,280 kilometres away from Limerick. Due to the cost of flights going east proving marginally kinder on the wallet, I flew 'the long way' around via Britain, Turkey, Singapore and Fiji.

Whichever way you dress it up, it's a lengthy distance from home.

Due to this, I didn't want to travel to the island and do nothing: I wanted to try and make a difference in whatever little way I could.

As I recorded in last week's article, making contact with people in Kiritimati was difficult enough. But closer to home, I connected with a gentleman in Poland - the other Poland, here in Europe - Dr Dariusz Zdziech.

Based in Krakow, he is the founder and president of the management board of Poland Helps Poland, an initiative which exists to support the tiny village which bears the name of his nation on Christmas Island.

“Our basic activities are helping Poland. We support volunteers who go to this village, we send material aid, we organise talks with representatives of governments and international organisations,” explained Dr Zdziech.

“Through publications, presentations, podcasts and lectures we teach in Poland where Poland is and why it is so special,” added Dr Zdziech, who shared a number of ideas on how I could help the village and its people during my visit.

During the Christmas and new year period, villagers from across the island of Kiritimati descend on London - the island capital, not the British metropolis - to take part in competitions and parades.

Due to its size, Poland, sadly, never does as well in these as it would like, Dr Zdziech explained.

So he suggested I bring some Christmas toys for some of the children there, and whistles for the band conductors, which could later be used in sporting events.

Given the name of the village, it also felt appropriate to make contact with Patrick O’Sullivan.

Until just before Christmas, the Lough Gur man was the Honorary Consul for Poland in Limerick, and he was pleased to send a letter of support as one of his final duties in a role he had carried out with distinction for 14 years.

Below: St Stanislas Catholic Church, one of the few bricks and mortar properties in Poland, is named in honour of Polish mechanic Stanisław Pełczyński who greatly improved the irrigation system of the island

“Though we are separated by great distances, the bonds of heritage and shared culture unite us. Please know that you are in our thoughts, and we send warm wishes from our community to yours,” read a part of this communication.

At more or less the same time as people in Ireland were settling down after their Christmas dinner on December 25, we were setting out on the long journey to Poland as dawn broke on St Stephen's Day (remember, Kiritimati is 14 hours ahead of Ireland).

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It was a four-hour drive away from London over bumpy, unpaved, and often quite treacherous single-lane roads.

Travelling on the back of a truck on a makeshift bench as the blistering Pacific sun rose through an unblemished sky added to the jeopardy somewhat.

Like everywhere in Kiritimati, a maneaba - a community meeting place - is the focal point of village life.

So it was natural that it would be here where we met members of the community, and I had an introduction to 'maneaba manners'.

Upon our arrival, a rug was laid out for us at one side of the building, and we are expected to sit on it, our legs crossed. To dangle one's limbs out is considered a major dishonour to our hosts, who would sit on the other side.

Among the people we met was the village chairman Kabokia Mange, pictured below.

The 62-year-old who has lived in Poland since 1990, is elected by his peers to be a spokesperson and advocate for the area. And that he was: presenting a list of asks of our group when we arrived.

Chief among them is the building of a business centre of sorts, to provide a new centre for Poland. Local estimates suggest to build this would cost around $10,000 Australian dollars, the currency used on the island, or around €6,030. Also on the shopping list is improved electrical connections, and stronger internet - both being an issue across Kiritimati.

A notice board in the maneaba also provides information from the humanitarian aid agency Unicef on how to ensure there is improved sanitation in the village, and a "wash committee" is in place to ensure standards remain high.

Mr Mange told me, through a translator: "We are really happy to meet you. It's good to know another country is interested in coming to us. We are happy to be linked to Ireland and Limerick."

A letter will issue from the village of Poland back to the new Honorary Polish Consul in Limerick, solicitor Ger O'Neill, in response to Mr O'Sullivan's opening missive once Kiritimati's local authority meets for the first time following their council elections which took place over Christmas.

Perhaps, understandably, there was a small element of scepticism around my visit. Many people before have come and gone from Poland promising without delivering.

I'm no miracle worker, but it would be nice if, with others, I could continue to help this community on the edge of the globe.