THE generosity of Islanders brought New Year smiles to the faces of children in Poland suffering from cerebral palsy.

Staff at the Foundation, a specialist centre in Opole for those suffering from several debilitating illnesses, couldn’t quite believe it when Islander Cesary Kochan arrived in early January bearing gifts.

Cezary had told the staff several months before that he and other Poles were swimming in a relay from Jersey to France to raise cash for them.

It was a joint scheme with Mont à l’Abbé School’s Project Rainbow to raise money and establish links between the school and the centre.

The idea of a man from several hundred miles away just arriving with £3,550 – the equivalent of year’s salary for someone in a management position – seemed too good to be true.

But the cash did arrive and the Foundation now has three new machines, which have dramatically improved the quality of the young people’s lives.

The centre has bought two bioptron lamps, which are used to improve circulation, reinforce the human defence system and relieve pain, and a cryotherapy unit, which uses cold to improve joint mobility and relieve pain.