Dear friends and supporters,
Herewith we would like to share good news from Lithuania with you and send you the new brochure of our association “Kinder- und Jugendförderung in Litauen e.V.”. Likewise, we would like to invite you to our Lithuania trip from September 6 to 9, 2023 and ask you for a donation for the summer vacations of our children and youth in Lithuania.
A BOOM at the PATRIA program
We have good news from the social workers in Kaunas: after the Corona-related lower number of young people participating in the PATRIA program, there is now a real boom in demand there and a waiting list for funding! Currently, 40 young people are coached and financially supported. The PATRIA team is already busy preparing for the PATRIA Camp in September 2023. “Bonding” will be the theme of this year’s workshops and coaching talks, and a well-known speaker has been invited to the event. The anticipation of our protégés for this 3-day get-together, including a trip to a farm, is great. Former PATRIA graduates, our “alumni”, are also expected to attend the PATRIA camp and will motivate and inspire the younger participants by example to follow their own educational path.
Quick and unbureaucratic help for a young man
In April 2023 we received an emergency call from the boy Tomas. He is 17 years old and comes from a violent family. He asked to join our foster family in Marijampole and fortunately we were able to fulfill his request. In such cases we are glad about our financial cushion, with which we were able to provide Sonata’s foster family with 500 Euros for Ignas’s “initial equipment” (clothes, shoes, hygiene articles, bed linen, towels etc.). Read more about Tomas and his story on page 2 of this newsletter.
Gabiya’s smile makes us happy
Gabija’s dental treatment is finally completed after two years! Jaw bone augmentation and implant placement have been passed. The veneers are applied to the teeth – Gabija smiles again and all is well. We are glad that we were able to finance this difficult treatment with the funds from the “Medical Relief Fund” and that both Rita from PATRIA and Jurate from the board team have repeatedly encouraged Gabija.
New brochure “We help young people in Lithuania
We are pleased to send you “hot off the press” our new brochure, which was created under the direction of our board member Simone Graubner-Müller. The brochure represents our new focus of “youth development” and provides concise information about the structure of the PATRIA education program and support for orphans in Marijampole. We will be happy to provide additional copies if needed – one supporter will be using the brochure to raise funds for our association at her summer party. We think this is a wonderful idea and would like to express our sincere thanks.
Trip to Lithuania from 6 to 9 September 2023
Otmar and Ingrid Debald and Jurate Bogacz are delighted to be accompanied on their trip by friends of our Lithuania project. Meet the children and young people on site in Lithuania, take part in the PATRIA camp and get to know the beautiful country of Lithuania. Please contact Ingrid Debald as soon as possible at ingrid.debald@web.de.
Donation request for the summer vacations 2023
The summer vacations are just around the corner and the children and young people in our projects would very much like to spend a few vacation days at a vacation camp. These are organized in Lithuania by social and church institutions, for example at the Baltic Sea. To support these vacations we would appreciate donations from our support group and say ACIU for it already now.
Dear friends and supporters,
Thank you for reading our new brochure with interest and for continuing to support us in our activities in Lithuania for the benefit of children and young people.
Happy summer days and best wishes
Yours, Otmar Debald, Ingrid Debald, Jurate Bogacz, Christine Scheidt,
Susanne Welsch-Lehmann, Simone Graubner-Müller and Verena Nacke
Board team of the association “Kinder- und Jugendförderung in Litauen e.V.”.
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TOMAS STORY – told by Jurate
Life happens every day and so at Sonata’s house we have a new case that needs our help. The young man’s name is Tomas and he is 17 years old. A very likeable, big guy. He is very well-behaved and cool, without bad habits. He was torn away from his family, or rather, he could not bear the violence of his father and reported this to the school. The school, in turn, reported it to Child Protective Services. All the violence against him lasted for 17 years. His parents had strictly ordered him not to tell anyone about it, but Tomas’ courage is great that he finally spoke about his time of suffering. He dreams of learning to swim, going to the sea and being able to see it for the first time, getting his car license, and serving in the Lithuanian army after finishing school and continuing his career there. Jurate will talk to PATRIA soon about Toma’s participation in the training program.
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