Strengthening trust at the PATRIA camp – our travel report Lithuania 2024
Dear friends and supporters,
Every fall, part of our Executive Board team travels to Lithuania to visit our protégés, talk to our local partners about the progress of our project work and take part in the PATRIA camp. Once again this year, there were many moving encounters and wonderful shared experiences. We could feel how the time we spent together with the young people strengthened their confidence and developed their personalities. Read Otmar Debald’s exciting travel report below.
The four members of the tour group had an eventful time in Lithuania. Otmar and Ingrid Debald and Simone Graubner-Müller from our Executive Board team flew to Lithuania at the beginning of September 2024, together with Uta, a sponsor who has accompanied our program for almost twenty years. With this larger group of travelers, we were able to have far more one-on-one conversations with the young people, compare our impressions and, above all, share the joy of working with the young people.
VISIT TO SONATA’S FAMILY IN MARIJAMPOLE
At the beginning of our stay in Lithuania, we visited Sonata’s family group in Marijampole. This time, we started with lunch with Sonata and her team of 5 caregivers and the janitor of the house in a restaurant in Marijampoles.

We then drove to the new house where Sonata’s family has been living since this spring. The house is located in a quiet residential area on the outskirts of Marijampole, surrounded by a large plot of land with a small basketball court and an adjacent small swimming lake. The house is very beautiful and spacious. The eight children live in double rooms. The center of the house is the large kitchen, where we also ate together. As always in Lithuania, there was a very rich and delicious cake.

All eight children in Sonata’s family are doing very well. Two of the children need special therapy to promote their mental and linguistic development. 16-year-old Aiste (kneeling in the middle of the photo), who has been living with Sonata’s family for three years together with her brother, has developed wonderfully. Simone is her godmother and is in close contact with her. It was the first time that the two have met in person. This personal encounter was moving for both sides and an important part of the relationship. Aiste had painted a beautiful picture for Simone.

We then spoke to Sonata and one of her carers about each child’s situation and offered help. Fortunately, nothing essential is lacking in the family. However, for some activities, such as summer vacations or sports, art or music lessons, there are no funds available. We encouraged Sonata to make suggestions as to how we could support specific projects. She has now done so. Starting this month, we will be funding sports activities for the family to the tune of €100 per month.
PATRIA CAMP IN KAUNAS
In the late afternoon, we traveled to Kaunas, where the PATRIA camp was taking place. The evening before, we met several young people who were not taking part in the camp for a dinner together in the old town of Kaunas. Some of them were unable to attend the camp due to work commitments.
The following morning began with a touching meeting with Ernestas at breakfast in the hotel. We met Ernestas, who we got to know in the Kaunas Children’s Village almost 20 years ago and who was Verena’s mother’s godchild. Ernestas has always kept in touch with us. Now 25 years old, he is married and a very successful entrepreneur in the events industry. Ernestas came to thank us for his support. Here is a photo of our meeting.

The day continued with a short meeting with the PATRIA team to prepare us for the camp. We also met the new member of the Patria team, Laisvydas(see the following photo of him). It is good that with the arrival of Laisvydas there is a male counselor in the team again. Laisvydas is an experienced and very motivated social worker who has already been involved in many social projects. He is also an experienced basketball player and coach. Basketball was therefore a very popular activity during the camp.

As in previous years, the camp took place in the two houses on the outskirts of Kaunas. Fifteen years ago, we made a decisive contribution to the construction of these two houses. Now that they can no longer be used for family care, we are very pleased that PATRIA can now use the houses for its own purposes, particularly for group work.
The motto of this year’s camp was “When I have to make a decision”. 15 young people took part in the camp. As in previous years, young people who were previously on the PATRIA program joined us on the first day. The encounters with the “alumni” are important for the young people who have just started the program. Many alumni are involved in the workshops in order to give something back from their good experiences and they convey authentic messages.
The second day of the camp (Saturday) was very intensive with two workshops. For the first time, I (Otmar Debald) led a workshop with the young people myself, which was very moving. I had chosen the topic “How do I make difficult decisions in life” to match the camp’s motto. I tried to give the young people an understanding of how to separate difficult decisions from less difficult ones and how to master difficult decisions in life. It was also about how to find out what is really important in life and how to approach such decisions systematically. I was pleasantly surprised that this resulted in very lively and engaging discussions. Discussions with the PATRIA team after the camp confirmed that this workshop had a positive impact on many young people. We will soon be holding a supplementary video workshop on this topic.
The young people also enjoyed the second workshop with music therapy, the tried-and-tested photo shoot and cooking together.
The second workshop of the day was about music therapy and was led by a Lithuanian teacher. This was about movement, relaxation and processing emotions through movement. In the afternoon there was also the tried and tested photo shoot, for which the participants were also made up. Here are some of the photos that were taken.



The day ended with a team-building cooking session led by Simone. We had an Asian stir fry with healthy vegetables and grilled meat. Many camp participants took part in the cooking. The result was delicious!
Our godmother Uta visited her long-time godchild Ingrida in Kaunas.
While Simone, Ingrid and I were at the camp, Uta, the long-time sponsor who traveled with us, visited Ingrida, whom she has been looking after and supporting for many years. Ingrida, now in her mid-20s, lives independently with one of her two sisters and a few other young people in a house in Kaunas that is made available to socially disadvantaged young people. It was wonderful that Uta traveled with us and spent so much time with Ingrida. We are always grateful when sponsors accompany us and thus deepen their relationship with their protégés.
As in the previous year, the camp ended with a visit to a small farm specializing in horse therapy, which is an hour’s drive from Kaunas. Once again, it was a wonderful experience for the young people to bond with the animals in a short space of time, gain self-confidence and feel how horses can also bond with people. In the afternoon, we went to the final lunch, where we discussed our experiences once again and had the opportunity to say goodbye to each other.

OUR CONCLUSION ON THE PATRIA CAMP
As in the previous year, the camp was an intense experience. It took us a few days to process what we had experienced when we returned home, and I’m sure the young people felt the same way. You can always feel that the time we spend together promotes closeness and trust and that the exchange helps the young people to develop. It was fulfilling to see how the young people we have known for some time have gained in self-confidence and we went home feeling satisfied with the purpose of our work. We could not do all this important work with the young people without your support and would like to thank you very much for it.
We would also like to thank our team member Jurate Bogacz, who has developed and perfected the camp concept over many years. We learn something new every year, but without Jurate, who was unable to travel with us this year, we would not have come this far.
We would like to give you two more dates:
This year’s general meeting will take place in Kronberg on November 28. Please make a note of the date. An invitation will follow soon.
And the date for next year’s camp has already been set . It will take place from August 29 to 31 in Kaunas. We would be delighted if members and sponsors could join us and support us on site.
Many warm greetings.
Yours, Otmar Debald