VN/11.09.2024
Lithuania newsletter mid-September 2024
Dear friends,
Otmar, Ingrid and Simone from the Executive Board team and long-time sponsor Uta traveled to Lithuania on 5 September 2024 to visit our protégés and caregivers. There they also met the young Lithuanian Gabija, who we were able to help with dental treatment 3 years ago and who has now graduated as a hairdresser.
Trip to Lithuania from September 5 – 8, 2024
At the beginning of September 2024, our team traveled to Lithuania and had a great time there. At the weekend the PATRIA camp took place again with 15 young people taking part. The program also included visits to Sonata’s foster family and to Reverend Donatas, the former director of the children’s village in Marijampole, as well as meetings with former protégés of our children’s villages and the PATRIA project.
The theme of the PATRIA camp was “Making decisions” and Otmar Debald hosted two workshops himself for the first time and Otmar as well as Ingrid and Simone were available for counseling sessions with the young people. Because they have been so well received in recent years, there was once again a photo session and a stay at a horse farm.
Our long-standing godmothers Simone and Uta were delighted to meet their two goddaughters and spend time with them. And there was also some time to discover some beautiful, previously unknown corners of Lithuania together with Otmar and Ingrid. We are already looking forward to the travel report, which we will send out at the beginning of October at the latest.
Gabija’s joy at successfully completing her vocational training
Do you remember our newsletter 3 years ago about “Gabija’s smile”? At that time, we reported on how we were able to use our “health fund” to finance a difficult dental treatment for the young woman Gabija (from Sonata’s family). This treatment ended well after more than a year and gave Gabija new self-confidence with which she was able to plan her future. She decided to train as a hairdresser and became a participant in the PATRIA training program in autumn 2022.
The PATRIA training program helped Gabija not only to achieve her professional goals, but also to learn how to manage her finances, develop self-confidence and make herself look chic. The scholarship also provided financial support for the training period and ensured that Gabija could focus on learning and her personal development.
Now there is some good news about Gabija: she successfully completed her training as a hairdresser in August 2024 and is looking to the future with hope. Gabija had a final meeting with Inga, the head of PATRIA, in which they were able to discuss Gabija’s positive development and the contribution of PATRIA support. Our travel team will visit Gabija in Kaunas and congratulate her personally on completing her training.
Photo by Gabija and Inga
We are full of the many wonderful experiences and encounters in Lithuania and will get back to you with a detailed report at the beginning of October 2024.
Best regards
Otmar and Ingrid Debald and team
Association “Support for children and young people in Lithuania”