Lithuanian people are noted for nourishing strong family relations, dedication to each other and their unity and solidarity within families. However, according to statistical data (2005) produced by Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, approximately 43 pc of homeless children (about 6 500) live in 96 orphanages (55 pc live in foster families, 2 pc in orphanage type families). Approximately 2/3 of orphan children end up living in foster care institutions because their parents do not take proper care of them, refused their child, commited acts of violence against them, etc. A number of social factors conditioned the establishment of orphanages in Lithuania. Various social problems and necessity to solve them require to mainatin the orphanage network, which was inherited from the soviet times. The institutional foster care in Lithuania has not been reformed yet and thus meets different problems, such as financing, insufficient qualification of staff, etc.

I had a chance to take a closer look at three Lithuanian orphanages – babies and children home in Panevėžys (Panevėžio Algimanto Bandzos kūdikių ir vaikų globos namai), children home in Alytus (Alytaus valstybiniai vaikų globos namai) and home for babies with impaired development in Alytus (Alytaus apskrities sutrikusio vystymosi kūdikių namai).

My grandmother was a director of the orphanage in Panevėžys for many years, so she was the first person to attract me there. Being at the same age as youngest orphanage children I used to spend much time with them – play, share, talk and learn together! Only when I started going to school (in fact, to the same one as children from the orphanage) I discovered how indeed differently orphanage children are treated by the society compared to children living in families! Prior to that, I saw the only difference between myself and orphanage children – in soviet times everybody of the same age group in the orphanage was dressed uniformly and had identical hair cuts. Apart that, these children were exactly like me, they were my friends, my company! Outside the orphanage walls children used to stick to each other, which as well as their similar appearance made it easy for others to identify these children as orphans and constituted reasons and conditions for discrimination and hurtful behavior against them. It was a big shock for me and painful experience, which remained in heart for a life time.

I came back to orphanages (this time in Alytus) already being an adult in 2003. My American friends Denise and John showed me the way there. This time I turned to be more as an older sister than a companion for orphanage children. I could hardly think of more rewarding activity than holding tiny hand of a helpless baby, hearing children giggle, watching their army attacking potties before a lunch nap, helping a four-year-old to fold a paper plane or a seventeen-yea-old to make a decision on future choices… Yes, children, who grow up living at institutions are different from the ones raised at home: they have seen and experienced the most extreme life situations during their childhood, they need twice more strength, ambition and optimism to live an independent life and make achievements and finally they have to learn how to trust people again. On the other hand, they have plenty of talents, creativity, desires, goals, optimism, and most important - they know to love and deserve to be loved exactly like anybody else!

Not only my relation to orphanage children, but also orphanages themselves as well as society‘s attitude towards them has greatly changed since soviet times. Though life in orphanages cannot be compared with the one in decent families, but here children get a way more than at their parents home. At the orphanages children are provided with permanent care, nurture, occupation, social work, social rehabilitation and reintegration services. The only thing which cannot be given to children by orphanages is parental love.

It makes me very happy that Lithuanian people have become much more closer, attentive and sharing towards the children from orphanages. Numerous organizations and individuals add to sponsoring children, organizing different events (summer camps, concerts, talent shows) for them or simply visiting orphanages to share their warmth and kindness.