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Lithuania
Close to the Baltic Sea, seven kilometres out of the port city of Klaipeda, stands the “Kudishkiai Namai” – a home for young children. It began after the Second World War as an orphanage for babies, with numbers increasing during the Soviet period. A new building was constructed in 1972. During those times many children went on to live in institutions and so never experienced life in a family.
At present there are some 80 children, from new-born to ages five and six. Most of these have been left in hospital by their mothers from birth, and this for a wide variety of reasons – poverty, alcoholism, drug addiction, mental illness, prostitution.
The Director of the home, Dr Irena Genyte, says that many of the mothers grew up in children’s homes themselves and so find it normal to leave a child in one. She herself tries very hard to place children in families in order to break this “cycle” of abandonment. Nowadays a good number of children are adopted, by couples abroad as well as Lithuanian. This may be with the mother’s permission, but if mothers never visit their children they officially lose their right to keep them.
As far as maintenance goes, the government supplies only the most essential needs. Over recent years the home has received much help from outside, particularly from volunteer Christian organisations including members of the Klaipeda Anglican church. Such helpers assist by playing with the children, taking them for walks and other activities, by showing them love as well as financial support. The staff work hard to provide a good environment, but of course two staff members on duty cannot provide the level of care and attention desirable for a group of 12 or 13 toddlers, especially when 10 - 15% of children have psychological problems. The home also provides all possible medical care.
Joke Ball, wife of the Anglican chaplain, says: "I have been helping in the children’s home for two years now. It was hardgoing at first, with the language difficulty and the need to earn acceptance. I generally play with two or three children outside, pushing swings and so on. It is my joy to make a birthday cake on their birthdays, which otherwise are not normally celebrated. And sometimes I am asked to speak English to children who will be adopted and live in an Englishspeaking country.”
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