Felix Molski, a member of Kosciuszko Heritage, visited the P. E. Strzelecki Middle School in Poznan, Poland, on November 7, during his travels around the world in the footsteps of Strzelecki and Kosciuszko.

Felix, the author of The Best of Human Nature: Strzelecki’s Humanitarian Work in Ireland, gave a presentation about the activities of the middle school’s patron, Sir P. E. Strzelecki. Students and teachers also watched a documentary on the subject.

“The meeting was attended by Mrs. Rose and Mr. Wojciech Owsianowski of the Poznan Branch of the PTTK [the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society], Director Eve Baranowska, teachers, and our school youth, who listened to stories about the activities of Strzelecki during the great famine in Ireland with great interest and reflection,” said Elizabeth Nowak. “We saw our patron not only as a traveller and explorer, but also as a volunteer with a big heart.”

Recently (from August to November, 2014), Felix travelled the world in the footsteps of Sir P. E. Strzelecki and Thaddeus Kosciuszko. He went to Hawaii, visited a volcano once described by Strzelecki, networked in the United States, where he gave a number of lectures on Strzelecki and Kosciuszko, and established and renewed contacts in Ireland, Switzerland, England.

He also played an important role in Poland, where he visited the Strzelecki Middle School, among others, and handed various offices, schools, and museums DVD copies of Kosciuszko Heritage’s latest production, P. E. de Strzelecki’s Humanitarian Deeds in Ireland (the Polish version of the original, English-language version released a year ago).

During his time in Poland, Felix also visited Kosciuszko Mound. There, after discussions with the Director of the Kosciuszko Mound Building Office, Leszek Cierpiałowski, he promised to join in a joint action to propose that UNESCO name 2017 the International Year of Kosciuszko, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his death.

“During his ‘crazy’ trip, Felix covered several hundred kilometres per day, by rental car, achieving his schedule not only using his calendar, but also with a watch in hand,” commented Ernestyna-Skurjat Kozek, the President of Kosciuszko Heritage.