The town, called Biedańsk--derived from the Polish word for poverty—is the creation of the Szlachetna Paczka (Noble Gift) charity, and appears in its newly published ‘Report on Poverty’. Around 500,000 of Biedańsk’s citizens are children and 400,000 are seniors.
According to the report, the town would be home to every fifteenth person in Poland, who would survive on just 29 złoty (€6.7) on average for essential daily needs such as food or clothing.
Almost 2.5 million people in Poland lived in extreme poverty in 2023, the most since 2015 and 47% more than in 2022, according to data published by Poland’s Central Statistical Office earlier this year.
"The idea [for Biedańsk] came to us because the number of people living in extreme poverty rose by so much. The data is shocking. We wanted to illustrate it in the simplest way possible so that everyone can grasp the number," Joanna Sadzik, the president of Szlachetna Paczka, told TVP World in an interview.
“At first sight ‘Biedańsk’ seems no different from the cities we know,” the report said of the town, which, it added, would be 140% larger, in terms of population, than Warsaw.
“Perhaps it is a little more pale, devoid of color, apathetic, hidden behind a slowly descending fog. Upon the first encounter it gives you the impression of a tired man whom, for lack of strength, even the air resists.”
Sadzik hopes that the mental exercise will bring more awareness to the issue of poverty in Poland and encourage taking part in the charity.
Every year since 2001 the charity has allowed its donors to reach families in need by giving them Christmas presents or supporting them financially.
Last year it gave 78.9 million złoty (€20.7 mln) of aid to more than 17,000 families.
