When a 12-year-old Polish girl with Down syndrome decided to send one of her paintings to the Queen of England, she never expected to receive a response.
Although she was abandoned shortly after her birth because she had Down syndrome, Wanessa (pronounced âVanessaâ) Bakowska has not let anything stop her from accomplishing her dreams. When she was two years old, she was adopted by the Bakowska family, and has been thriving ever since. For more than two years, art has played a significant role in her life, allowing her to â[pour] her inner beauty and sensitivity onto the canvas,â through the use of paint, balloons, and beads. Her mother helps her showcase her work on Facebook, where they post images of her different art pieces. With the assistance of a devoted schoolteacher, Wanessa mailed one of her paintings and a letter to Queen Elizabeth.
According to FirstNews, the letter read:
âYour Majesty,
My name is Wanessa. I am 12 years old. I live in Poland, in a small commune of Lipka. I have great teachers and a lot of friends. My family consists of [my] mum Karolina, dad Rafat, brother Alan and sister Nutka. I love [them] very much. I am disabled and have Down Syndrome. Nevertheless, I paint pictures.
I would like to give you one of them, Your Majesty.
The title of my work is âThe Earth.â
Greetings from Poland.
Wanessa Bakowskaâ
In response to her kind gesture, Queen Elizabeth requested that her Lady-in-Waiting, Lady Elizabeth Leeming, write a letter back to Wanessa expressing her gratitude. Wanessa received the letter earlier this week, and her mother shared her reaction on Facebook:
âDreams are made to be fulfilled. Today I got a reply to my letter from Queen Elizabeth.â
Read the letter below.
