The article "Wołyń kulturalny" published in the magazine "Świat", 1925, no. 38, pp. 6-7 (public domain, reprinted after the KUL University Library) mentions and describes the orphanages existing in Wołyń. One of them, presented in the photograph, is the orphanage located in the palace of the Wiśniowiecki and Mniszech families in Wśniowiec. It existed there in 1920-1939.

A modernised reading of the text

Orphanages

The care of orphans, which in a well-organised modern society is not a reflex of a compassionate heart but an indispensable social function, assumes exceptional importance in our eastern borderlands. Suffice it to say that, according to statistics, there are 284,478 orphans and half-orphans in the four eastern provinces, almost half of whom, 117,714, are in Volhynia. This is the result of a war which lasted longer in these areas than anywhere else in Europe, and triggered repeated changes of political system, taking numerous victims from among the population each time.

However, the largest contingent of orphans was, and still is, provided by neighbouring Sowdepja: these are the children of the repatriates who died on their way home and of the Poles martyred in the Cheka. From the first months of Polish rule in Volhynia, orphanages began to be set up for these little creatures, abandoned to the fate of Providence, supported by government grants, municipal funds and private donations. One of the most interesting institutions is situated in Dubno; not because it is exemplarily furnished, but because it grows and maintains itself almost by its own efforts, with the help of the district assembly alone.

It is housed in a spacious and beautiful, but very dilapidated post-convent building, once belonging to the Carmelite nuns, later to Orthodox nuns. Today it has been handed over to the Border Missionaries, a newly established order vowing work and poverty. The humble, non-ordained "barefoot friars", as they are called by the population, raise more than half a hundred boys with no one else in the world. They teach them crafts and fortitude for life.

The young people go to primary schools to learn books, while on site they have perfectly equipped workshops for carpentry, basketry, shoemaking, tailoring and even blacksmithing, in which the Brothers are the instructors. There are only ten of them for the whole establishment, and everywhere one can see ruined and worn-out cassocks, girded with rope. One of them takes care of the kitchen with the help of the boys, the others take care of the livestock, the garden, the sewing room, the smithy and so on. For the establishment is based on the principles of self-sufficiency. It restores, expands and furnishes with its own forces.

The boys make their own clothes and shoes; they also make orders from the town. All of Dubno has woven furniture, made in the orphanage; it is comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and cheap. The city also has another consolation from its little ones: the orphanage's alumni make an excellent orchestra, making the citizens' moments of rest more pleasant and performing at representative occasions. Dressed in their own white Cracovian uniforms and wearing homemade cornets, they play sultry mazurkas and rousing marches with more skill than many a professional band. The Barefoot Brothers can be proud of their boys.

The secular clergy cannot be outdone by the humble monks in their devotional work. In Lutsk a new building for a shelter for orphan-children is being built by Father Antoni Jaglowski, a professor at the seminary. It became his ambition and life goal. He received the first funds from his American compatriots to start the construction, and now he is saving every penny from the local community by organising fund-raising and income-generating events and selling special stickers - 50 groszy bricks. The walls, erected by foremen and labourers from the centre of the state, are growing day by day, allowing us to expect that before winter the magnificent three-storey edifice will be under roof. A tour of Warsaw journalists, who saw the state of the works on site and familiarised themselves with the plans, was able to conclude that it would be an exemplary establishment, equipped with the latest facilities, in keeping with the requirements of hygiene and the purpose for which it is intended.

It is being built some distance from the town, in a slightly elevated and dry place, next to a road from which it will be separated by a fruit orchard. Today it is growing in the middle of nowhere and this lack of trees, for which we will have to wait a good dozen years, is the weakest point in an otherwise splendid project. An orphanage in Wiśniowiec, founded and maintained by the Krzemieniec district assembly, is in ideal conditions in this respect. It occupies the main body of the huge Wisniowiecki palace, whose wings are used as a crafts and industry school and as a community hospital.

A huge park adjoins the palace, which has belonged to the Krzeszenets local government for a year. It still retains traces of its former glory: statues, arbours, marble columns, stone benches, terraces - decorate the old, dense, somewhat overgrown and in recent years neglected grand-park, once a place of lavish games and love confessions, today an unkempt area for children's games and walks. Tinkers from the orphanage and outgrowths from the craft school languish directly in the wooded areas of the park. Fortunately, the care of the orphanage is truly maternal. Not with rigour and punishments, but with heart and skill in dealing with the children, the headmistress of the orphanage has gained such a following and love that several dozen orphans do not cause any trouble.

The upbringing and relationships at this orphanage are somewhat different to those at confessional institutions. Above all, alongside Polish-Catholic children, there will be Ukrainian-Orthodox children. Coexistence between the pupils is ideal. The Ukrainian children take on Polish culture without any degenerating pressure, while the Polish children become accustomed to respecting the linguistic and religious differences of their Ukrainian colleagues. On the walls, alongside images of Polish heroes and poets, hangs a portrait of Shevchenko.

Everything breathes kindness and tolerance. At the beginning of this year, there were 28 orphanages in Volhynia, with 1159 children, including 799 Catholics, 325 Orthodox Christians and 35 Jews. Some of the orphanages are located in former manor houses, taken over by the state for settlement purposes. This is how orphanages were located in Maciejów, Horyńgród, Ochłopów, Uściług and Beresteczko. "The centre" not only provides the orphans with comfortable accommodation, but is almost enough to support them. The children learn to work on the land, work their farm with their own hands. In addition, two more substantial landholdings were leased in Żydyczyn and Mielec. Children, at risk of tuberculosis, have been eliminated and placed in an orphanage-health resort established in Manievichi, Kowel district. Other establishments are located after towns in worse health and economic conditions.

All of them are looked after by the district government, either by directly contributing to their upkeep or by coming to their aid through subsidies and benefits in kind. Despite great efforts in this direction, however, it has not been possible to meet all local needs, since, according to the data collected, a further 7363 orphans in the Volhynia area should have found a place in care institutions.