A Polish woman who has made Kerry her home is planning to take on a gruelling challenge to help raise funds for the Irish Kidney Association.
Kasia Kolodziej’s decision is inspired by her close friendship with Theresa Looney who had dedicated much of her life to the charity.
Originally from a small town called Luban in Poland, near the German border, Kasia (32) first came to Ireland to be closer to her brother who lives in Kerry.
After spending time in Killorglin and then Castleisland, she settled in Killarney three years ago, where she formed a close friendship with Theresa Looney from Killarney. Kasia works in administration at Munster Joinery.
Theresa has no personal family experience of kidney disease.
However, more than four decades ago after seeing kidney patients from Kerry having to make regular journeys to Cork for dialysis, at a time when there was no treatment centre in Kerry, she became determined to ease the burden of travel on patients and their families.
Along with others, Theresa campaigned for a local dialysis centre in Tralee. Considerable fundraising was required to meet the then Health Board’s financial requirements for the project, and the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle was created specifically to help raise the funds needed to secure the dialysis facility.
Theresa was one of the founding members of the Kerry IKA branch and one of the founding members of the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle, which has since grown into one of Ireland’s best-known annual cycling events and has raised millions of euros for many important causes.
Their efforts were ultimately successful, and a dialysis facility was secured at what is now Kerry University Hospital.
Theresa later played an integral role in securing self-catering holiday homes for kidney patients and their families in Tralee and Killarney. She continues to manage the holiday homes with the support of other committed volunteer members of the Kerry branch of the Irish Kidney Association.
Theresa’s decades of commitment to the Irish Kidney Association and to the people affected by kidney disease have made a deep impression on Kasia.
“When I moved to Killarney three years ago, Theresa took me under her wing”, said Kasia.
“She has a heart of gold and was very kind to me. And now I want to give something back.”
Although Kasia, like Theresa, has no personal or family experience of kidney disease, her friendship with Theresa has given her a close insight into the work of the Irish Kidney Association (IKA) and its Kerry branch.
Kasia has volunteered with the Kerry IKA branch at the Ring of Kerry Charity Cycle and other local events and says her involvement with the organisation has given her a greater understanding of the challenges faced by people living with kidney disease, those undergoing dialysis and their families.
“I just wanted to do something to help the charity locally,” Kasia said.
“I like to challenge myself and put myself outside my comfort zone, so one day I just said, ‘Why not?”
Kasia will take on the gruelling 7km ‘Hell and Back’ obstacle course on Saturday, September 5 in Wicklow.
The event combines running with mud, climbing and a series of demanding obstacles. It will be a first major endurance challenge for Kasia, whose fitness background has largely been based in the gym.
“I don’t do long-distance running or marathons,” she admitted. “I train at Peak Performance Gym in Killarney, and I do a lot of cardio, so I can run for a while, but this is definitely going to be a test. It’s about challenging yourself and trying to achieve something while raising funds for an important cause. I expect to be out on the course for over two hours dealing with mud, water, climbs and obstacles. I think it’s going to tough but fun.”
Kasia has already raised more than €1,700 through her online fundraising page and is hoping to raise even more for the Kerry branch of the Irish Kidney Association. She has set up a t fundraising page at idonate which can be found under her name.
Kasia’s fundraising will support the upkeep of the Irish Kidney Association’s patient self-catering holiday homes in Tralee and Killarney, which give kidney patients and their families from across Ireland the opportunity to enjoy a holiday together.
Today, more than 2,600 people in Ireland are receiving dialysis treatment, while around 550 people are waiting for a kidney transplant at any one time.
Kasia hopes that her fundraising challenge will shine a light on kidney patients and all patients experiencing organ failure and how it impacts on their families.
For more information on the work of the Irish Kidney Association and how to get an organ donor card, including a digital donor card that can be stored in a mobile phone wallet visit their website.