SOS Children in Lithuania

Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) at the north-eastern tip of Europe, extending from the Baltic Sea in the west to Belarus in the east. It is a country of dense forests, lakes and rivers.

Lithuania became independent in 1991 following the break up of the former Soviet Union. Since then economic growth has been slow with little or no foreign investment, although this has increased since the introduction of a new currency in 1994. Although economic growth is slower than in the neighbouring Baltic States and Poland, compared with Russia and other CIS countries, development is positive.

There are many orphans in Lithuania for whom the only provision is overcrowded state orphanages offering a minimum of care and attention. Care provision ends at the age of eighteen and successful integration into society is rare for most. Although new legislation is in hand to change the social welfare system, it will be some time before this is implemented.

Vilnius

We have been active in Lithuania since the mid-1990s when the country's first SOS Children's Village opened in a suburb of the capital city, Vilnius. The Village has twelve family houses, all brightly painted in the local traditional style, which are home to around 100 children. A youth house was opened in 2001.

Shortly after the village was completed, work began on the SOS Nursery which opened in 1995. Like all SOS Nurseries, it is open to children living in the neighbourhood. It has built up an excellent reputation and become a model for nurseries throughout Lithuania, with the highly trained staff also providing valuable support to other nurseries in Vilnius.

So that children from the Village and others in the Baltics can have an annual seaside holiday, a holiday camp has been built in Karkle, a small village on the Baltic coast. With room for up to 150 children, it is used for seminars in the winter months.

Tel: +370 5 274 2717

e-mail: info@sos-org.lt