Focus on young adults
Andrea Klant, dedicated sponsor and supporter of the association since 2005
And the possibility of personal accompaniment
“It’s great that the association also keeps the older kids in focus and aims to give them the opportunity to accompany them until they are independent and in the workforce.”
Many years ago a friend of mine told me about “Kinderdörfer in Litauen e.V.”.
Enthusiastic about the concept of supporting a manageable group of children in a very targeted way, I initially participated in Christmas campaigns as well as irregular donations. Increasingly, however, I felt the need to become a godmother in order to follow the development of a child very closely. In addition, I think it’s also nice for the kids to know that there’s a person somewhere who cares about you.
I have been in regular contact with my godchild Ramune for years.
My most beautiful experience – The development of my goddaughter
… was a personal meeting during a trip to Lithuania with the association in May 2018. Wonderful to see the great development of my godgirl. We had a very good and intense connection right away. A young woman with both feet on the ground and many plans for her future – that made me very happy.
That weekend I also met many young people who are in the PATRIA project. It is great that the association also keeps the older children in focus and aims to give them the opportunity to accompany them until they are independent and in working life.
Always the welfare of the children in the foreground.
What fascinates me most about the organization “Kinderdörfer in Litauen e.V.” is that the well-being of the children is always in the foreground and that with excellent and professional organization as well as a lot of heart and soul, so many children have already been given a chance for a better life.
Since 2016 intimate contact
Simone Graubner-Müller, dedicated sponsor since 2005, board member since 2020
And sometimes sic calls me “mom
“When my goddaughter Karolina from Lithuania, with whom I have maintained an intimate contact since 2016, simply calls me “Mom,” that is the most beautiful gift.”
Not everyone is granted the same happiness
Sponsoring a child is a matter of the heart.
Grateful for my own family and three healthy children who were able to grow up in a safe country with many opportunities, I would like to support children who were not granted this good fortune and who were born into difficult circumstances.
I have been accompanying Karolina, my godchild, for many years now. She lived in Marijampole Children’s Village until she was of age and I never forget the first visit there. The first meeting with her was very touching and I immediately took her to my heart. That was in 2016 during my first sponsorship trip. She was 13 years old at the time and had been living in the orphanage with her three brothers for many years.
Give support and love
Even though we could only communicate with interpreters at the time, there was a special connection between us from the beginning. But it also made me sad that this little girl and her siblings were growing up without parents and had such a difficult start in life.
All the more I became aware of the responsibility to give this young human being support and love and to be a reliable support.
The visit to Germany
At first we could only keep in touch through translated letters, but gradually her English improved and we started writing to each other via WhatsApp. I visited them every year either during the sponsorship trip or sometimes alone. In 2019, she visited us in Wiesbaden and spent two weeks with our family. During this time we did a lot of things, invited the board to our house for a barbecue and had a Lithuanian friend of hers stay overnight with us. She also got along very well with my niece of the same age and my daughter Marlene. I had hoped to be able to give her a feeling of family and warmth of heart during this time. Even today she tells me that this was the most beautiful time in her life.
Now she will soon be 19 years old and has developed into a self-confident young woman who knows what she wants to achieve in life. We built an intimate, trusting bond that carried her through many a crisis.
Affection and gratitude
I receive a lot of affection and gratitude from her and in many moments she just calls me mom, that is the most beautiful gift.
Great work – great people
Silvia Steinert, Director Corporate Responsibility at Cosnova, corporate donor since 2021
Cosnova has supported for many years
“Great people doing great work for the benefit of children and youth in Lithuania- worth any support!”
It started with a personal sponsorship
Cosnova has been supporting Kinderdörfer in Litauen e.V. for many years. Originally, the cooperation came about through the personal sponsorship of a colleague as well as a colleague at Cosnova.
Due to the really extraordinary commitment of the people responsible for the association as well as the very professional and at the same time cordial support and accompaniment of the children and young people on site, even more colleagues could be found quickly who have supported the work of the association since then.
Personal participation in the PATRIA Summer Camp
In 2017, I was able to participate in the PATRIA Summer Camp in Lithuania and thus also personally experienced with how much heart and soul all those involved support the children and young people to the best of their abilities – that was very, very impressive!
Great people doing great work for the benefit of children and youth – that’s worth any support!
Share in small successes
There is always a chance
“I’m very happy when the young people in the PATRIA program accept our help and share their small and big successes with us.”
One of my beliefs is that no matter how difficult the conditions were at the beginning, there is always a chance for a good and fulfilling life. This attitude motivates me very much to work for those people who, perhaps at the beginning of their lives, fate was less kind to – like our young people in the PATRIA program.
One sentence, one image, one look, one message…. it arrives!
In a world where material well-being comes first, I find the moments that change young people’s lives for the better emotionally fulfilling. They will remain forever in my memory and confirm me in our commitment to young people in Lithuania. Our help has many facets, sometimes it is just a sentence, a look, a message or a question about how the other person is really doing.
A feeling of happiness when young people accept the help
Through my life as a Lithuanian in Germany, I know both countries and understand the people on both sides very well. The kindness of people and the desire to contribute to a better world connects our association with the people of Lithuania and has no borders. We do good, expect nothing, and yet are very happy when young people accept our help and share their small and big successes with us.
Jurate Bogacz, Board member with Lithuanian roots since 2013
Touched on the sponsor journey
Ursula Nemmert, active member of the Executive Board from 2004 to 2019
The dilapidated houses were heartbreaking
“The accommodation and situation of the children in the dilapidated house in Kaunas was heartbreaking – so I was glad that we as an association were able to help buy the two new Children’s Village houses in 2009.”
Initially only the bare necessities
It all started with donations of clothes. In 2004 I was a founding member of “Kinderdörfer in Litauen e.V.”. Setting up and organizing the sponsorship program for more than 100 children in the two children’s villages was a great time and a lot of fun.
I was particularly touched by the first organized sponsorship trip to the two children’s villages in 2007. An experience that showed me how important our commitment to the Lithuanian children there was. The accommodation and situation in which the children lived in the then dilapidated house in Kaunas was heartbreaking. So I was happy that two years later the children could move into the two new Kaunas houses.
The personal meeting of my godchildren
Getting to know the children from the sponsorship program personally – the two lively brothers Marius and Ernestas, the “potato eater” Mykolas or the singer Laura – has confirmed me in my volunteer work.
Children
Sponsors and supporters
Teenagers
Years of active support
Join in
Give a young person in Lithuania the chance to get a good education. 100% of your donations will directly benefit the orphans and youth. Because all employees of the association work on a voluntary basis.
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