Article Index

AVSI in Lithuania

Current and Recent Projects

Additional Information

AVSI in Lithuania

In Lithuania, local member of the AVSI network SOTAS has been working since 2002, when the association was formed in Vilnius to respond to grave needs caused by child abandonment, the spread of alcoholism and drug use in several areas of the city. Over the years, AVSI has helped provide school materials and fees to hundreds of Lithuanian children, with a strong focus to the family as an asset for social development, through partnerships with local educational institutions and private donor support. Over the years, the management of programs has increasingly been taken over by SOTAS, whose activities today are still mainly concentrated in the capital city in the social and educational sectors and international adoptions. In 2010, SOTAS began a multi-regional partnership for the prevention of student drop-outs. Hand-in-hand with school administrators and other local NGOS, SOTAS and AVSI helped to forming a common method proven to improve motivation and adherence to school, including a system of daycare or afterschool centers which promote and integrate school activities with extracurricular recreational or tutoring activities.

AVSI and SOTAS are also engaged in a project that involves children, teens and families with cities and the provinces of Vilnius, Kaunas, Kaisiadorys, Panevezys and Utena, which is funded by the Italian Commission for International Adoptions (CAI) to raise awareness of foster care situations and promote a culture of welcoming others, especially children in need. Activities include training and support to families who want to adopt or act as foster homes for children. In 2011, AVSI’s accreditation for international adoptions in Lithuania was renewed through 2013.

Current and Recent Projects

"A family for all - promoting a culture of hospitality" in Lithuania

Location: Vilnius, Utena, Kaunas, Alytus, and Panevezys Provinces

Duration: 2010 - present

Description: Individual support including schools fees and materials for 200 children, families workshops on education and parental responsibility, recreational, musical and cultural education activities and trips, establishment of juvenile homes and educational support, professional preparation for abandoned or at risk youth. Advocacy for law and judicial procedures to facilitate placement of children in their home of origin or foster homes.

Donor Partners: Commission for International Adoptions (CAI), AVSI and other private donors

Implementing Partners: SOTAS, AFN

Additional Information

AVSI Network Partner SOTAS's website

Photo Gallery on Flickr

April 2012 10 years of SOTAS in Lithuania: for families, tradition enriches new generations