The family, a national resource

“Large families are a richness for our future” is the title of the event that will bring together in Poland in the coming week-end 150 families and 600 children, a total of almost one thousand participants, for the gathering of large families promoted by the “Three and more” association. The meeting, held under the auspices of the Presidency of Poland (Polish President Bronis³aw Maria Komorowski is the father of five), is scheduled to take place June 21-23 in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, some 50 km’s distance from Warsaw. Political authorities, as well as family members of TV and movie celebrities will seek to provide the answer to the question raised by organizers: “How and when does the State support the family?”  Mutual support. Over 1500 families, 3 thousand adults and over 6 thousand children, are members of the “Three and more” association. Organizers said they expect over 5 thousand member families to attend the meeting in 2014, considering that since 2007 the number of members has doubled annually, while in 2015 they could be as many as 10 thousand. The purpose of the association, pointed out the president Joanna Krupska (mother of seven), “is to provide support to large families and help them submit their requests to the competent State authorities” and to try to change the image of large families in Poland, traditionally considered poor, simple and uncultivated. “The family isn’t the only recipient of family policies. Also the State is”, pointed out “Three and more” vice-President Konstanty Radziwill (eight children), strenuous supporter of tax cuts for family units, large families in particular. In fact, “families’ market demands provides a significant contribution to economic development and job creation”.The example of Grodzisk. Radziwill’s words are confirmed by the fact that t the city of Grodzisk has not been chosen by chance. For the past five years its municipal authorities have been providing families with more than three members a special card with discounts for public services that include transport and kindergartens. The cards used by 400 families cost the municipality some 35 thousand euros per year, but “they are a very good investment”, said the mayor, Grzegorz Benedykcinski. The fertility rate of Grodzisk, which in 2006 was below 1.3 children per woman in adult age, has now reached 1.7. Thanks to higher numbers of children, schools are no longer shut down and teachers are no longer fired, pointed out local leaders. A support system. Families in Poland enjoy a set of benefits and tax cuts. According to a civil society organization, almost 2% of the State’s GDP is allocated to aid to the family. But that money is administered by a large number of bodies and institutions – underline the authors of the report – and ii is often mismanaged or spent in unfair ways, as large families pay a higher VAT compared to singles. In addition to legislative provisions for the family, underlines a recent document compiled by the Social Policies department of the Presidency of the Republic, “it’s equally important to encourage citizens to have more children”.A fundamental institution. There are 6.1 million families and 11 million children in Poland. Daily difficulties often lead parents to postpone their decision to have a child. There ensues that while in the early 1990s an average of 550 thousand children were born each year, in 2011 figures dropped to 388 thousand nationwide. At present, according to estimates, only 63 girls – future mothers – are born every 100 women aged 15-49. If the current trend shouldn’t change, the next generation will consist of 37% less people compared to today, demographers pointed out. “Until now it was believed that the defence of the Church was the  primary moral imperative of the faithful, Now I think that it should be coupled by our commitment for the defence of civilization”, wrote the director of Catholic News Agency KAI, Marcin Przeciszewski, in an editorial. The article speaks of civilization, “whose roots are to be found in the Jewish-Christian heritage, of which the family is a fundamental institution”.