Everyday Hero: Joseph Kokoszka Jr.

While flipping through the television channels one evening, two Channahon residents took special note of a documentary about a Polish priest, being of Polish descent themselves.

After watching about this Polish priest named Father Joseph Walijewski, and the orphanage he runs in Peru, this father and son duo decided to find a way to help the children.

Dr. Joseph Kokoszka and Joseph Kokoszka Jr. set out to find a way to help these abandoned, abused and neglected children.

“A few years back my family took a trip to the Dominican Republic and we saw schools when we were there. Ever since, we know we wanted to help out a school and when we saw this documentary about Peru, we knew this was where we wanted to help,” Joseph Kokoszka Jr. said.

Dr. Kokoszka said that the title of the documentary, “A Pencil in God’s Hand,” also created the urge to help this school and orphanage. He then contacted the parent organization Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II, which is a mission of the Catholic Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin.

The mission of Casa Hogar Juan Pablo II is to deliver high-quality care and services to the at-risk youth of Peru, rescuing them for potential threats and rehabilitating them for a more promising future, according to its Website homeajpm.org.

“After I contacted the organization, I talked to a friend Dr. Jim Carlson, who is the superintendent at Seneca High School to see if he would partner with us on this idea. I asked him to ask the kids to collect their old school supplies in a box at the end of the year instead of throwing them away,” Dr. Kokoszka said.

Carlson said he was open to participating in the program. He said the teachers announced to the students what was taking place, and they placed boxes over the garbage cans as a reminder of the effort.

“I think we ended up collecting six large boxes of supplies. They almost didn’t all fit in Joe’s car,” Carlson said. “This was such a piece of cake, and we will do it again so we can get school supplies in the hands of the families and children who need them.”

After Dr. Kokoszka brought the supplies home, Joseph Kokoszka Jr. was in charge of the hard part – cleaning everything so it would be presentable for the children of Peru.

“The first night I was cleaning for about two hours. However the next night, I was up most of the night cleaning, but that’s OK,” he said. “The kids here in the United States can go to the store to get supplies, and in Peru, they aren’t as fortunate.”

Dr. Adamina Podraza, a coworker of Dr. Kokoszka, said most high school students wouldn’t take the time to do this.

“Most kids don’t jump at the chance to help people. It’s not easy to collect and clean up and ship these supplies. He is setting a good example for kids his own age,” she said.

After the supplies are cleaned and ready to ship, father and son will take the boxes to the post office and mail to the parent office in Wisconsin, and a representative will take them down to the children on the next trip.