Kinga Choszcz, better known as Kinga Freespirit (10 April 1973,

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

- 9 June 2006,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

), was a well-known

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

traveler and travel writer. Kinga's first solitary journey led her to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

overland. Soon after she met her life partner Radosław Siuda (better known as Chopin), and together they hitch-hiked around the world for 5 years. Kinga then published her book ''Led by Destiny'' and followed her heart's call to go to Africa. Eight months later she died after contracting cerebral

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

in Ghana.

Travels

In 1998 Kinga and Chopin started a world hitchhiking trip after coming to the American continent with only 583 dollars in their pocket. They returned home after five years of travels through

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

where they have been relying solely on the kindness of other people. Kinga edited her journals and stories posted on their travel webpage into a book which was then published in Polish and later translated into English under the title ''Led By Destiny''. With stories like hitchhiking a plane in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, getting a free yacht ride from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

to the islands of

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

, hitching a tractor in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, often staying with people in their homes, her book was first of all an account of how one can find open and ready-to-help people all around the world. After the book was published, Kinga toured

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

visiting various travelers meetings, giving speeches and selling her book. In late 2005 she embarked on a hitchhiking journey through

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

where she then went alone. Her adventures posted on her website were followed by many people. As an example, on May 12, 2006, she wrote:

..I finally had to take a motorcycle bush taxi that brought me to the Liberian customs and immigration building by the little bridge in the jungle. 'Is that Ivorian immigration building there?' -- I asked pointing to the other side of the bridge. 'Used to be. It's the rebel base now.' -- they told me. But having got as far as this I had to go on. Rebels, however, turned out to be quite kind, and as there was no other transportation there, they gave me a ride to town in one of their vehicles dashing in a convoy through the jungle.

In early June 2006 a note was posted on her webpage by her partner Chopin reading that she had contracted cerebral

and was lying unconscious in a military hospital in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, Ghana. Kinga died five days later on June 9, 2006, aged 33. Her death evoked many comments and discussions within the hitch-hiking and travelers communities. In 2007 Kinga's friends and family decided to honor her memory by creating a foundation that would support and help educate more kids in that part of Ghana where Kinga finished her earthly journey. That's how Freespirit Foundation came to live

Personal life

Kinga was a keen photographer and an active blogger. She was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

for about 12 years and a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

for the last 8–9 years of her life. (visible for registered users)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choszcz, Kinga 1973 births 2006 deaths Deaths from malaria Polish travel writers Infectious disease deaths in Ghana