Centrun Powitania w Warszawie

The idea to create the Welcome Centre in Warsaw

The idea to create the Welcome Centre in Warsaw developed in the minds of two young immigrant women who came to Warsaw, one from an Eastern neighbor of Poland and the other from a country West of Poland. As is the case for many immigrants coming to Poland, both these women confronted various difficulties upon their arrival to Warsaw. With their experiences of immigration close to heart, they decided to create a place where immigrants arriving to Poland could find a helping hand. Until now, in Europe’s most central capital, a place such as the Welcome Centre did not exist; a place where immigrants could benefit from support in the most basic but simultaneously complicated issues.

At the beginning, our support was targeted to immigrants from Asia, Africa and countries of the former Soviet Union who worked on open air markets and bazaars – in particular the Stadium Market „Jarmark Europa” and the markets in Wólka Kosowska. With time, however, our work in the form of „Mobile Advisory Points” (as they came to be called) appeared in new locations, which were attractive to immigrants.

In April 2009, we opened the permanent advisory point, which we named the „Welcome Centre” in Warsaw (address: ul. Górskiego 3 lok. 17). Thanks to its convenient location in the centre of Warsaw, it is easy to reach and to benefit from a variety of services, completely free of charge, which are offered by a team of specialists who speak Russian, Ukrainian, English, French, and Polish.

We hope that everyone will feel at home at the Centre and our aim is to ensure that everyone feels equally at home in all of Warsaw. Toward this goal, we provide a wide range of support and information, and cooperate with a network of people, organizations, institutions and companies that are open and supportive of immigrants.