Poland, Kiribati

Location of Poland on Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Kiribati

Poland is one of four villages on the island of Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Kiribati. The village was named after a Polish explorer and engineer Stanisław Pełczyński who aided the villagers. He solved the problem with watering palm trees in dry season by suggesting a modified irrigating system. He helped in building it and he taught them how to use it.

The village was featured in one of the promotional videos for the 2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Warsaw, Poland.[1]

Location

Poland is located on the westernmost part of the island, at geographic coordinates: 1°51′52″N 157°33′07″W / 1.86444°N 157.55194°WCoordinates: 1°51′52″N 157°33′07″W / 1.86444°N 157.55194°W.

Demographics

Poland's population is 235 people (Census 2005), by far the smallest of the four inhabited villages on the island.

Name

The village was named in honour of a Pole whose name was Stanisław (Stanislaus) Pełczyński. Having arrived with an American merchant vessel that was plying the copra trade at a time, when the local inhabitants were having difficulties irrigating their palm tree plantations, Stanisław helped them solve the problem. Accordingly, the village was renamed to its present-day name in his honor. Also, a church was built there and dedicated under the auspices of Saint Stanislaus, and a bay in the lagoon was named Saint Stanislaus Bay.

Education

There is a primary school with three main teachers and 45 students.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.wupr.org/2014/01/31/winning-warsaw-polands-paternalism-hosts-unfccc-negotiations/. Missing or empty |title= (help)

Sources

The 5/6 class of the Poland Primary School and the head teacher at Poland Primary School.

External links