Jaroslaw Pieniak is a parent, Co-Founder of Zespoldowna.info, and someone who has done a substantial amount of work in his home town of Wroclaw and throughout Poland to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome, in a relatively short time.

His achievements since 2006, when his son Jan was born, include organising workshops and seminars for parents, therapists and teachers, opening new kindergartens for children with Down syndrome, convincing authorities to accept children with Down syndrome into mainstream kindergartens, contacting parents and organisations throughout Poland, Europe and the world, organising an international conference in 2008, which was the first conference of its kind in Poland, and considerable efforts to raise awareness of Down syndrome through political lobbying and awareness campaigns on TV, radio and other media.

All of this has been achieved in a country where little financial support has been available from government authorities, and negative attitudes have existed towards children and adults with disabilities.

Marek