Seniors
Assistance for the elderly is the biggest part of our work. There is about 2600 elderly in 42 cities and villages of Lithuania who regularly get our assistance that varies from visiting during main celebrations to a daily supply of warm meals.
However, the most important mission shared by every Malteser is to make sure that our elderly would not starve just because they are old, sick, poor and cannot take care of themselves. For this reason, our weakest elders regularly receive portions of warm soup. Since it is delivered by our Malteser volunteers, we call this program as ‘Meals on Wheels’. Sometimes our soup is the only warm meal that elders eat in a day, so the importance of the project is undoubtable.
The soup is delivered regularly according to the needs of elders (from 1 to 7 times per week). Those elders who can still cook by themselves or with help our volunteers receive food products. Even though food is an essential part of our life, sometimes the visit of our volunteer is even more important.
Assistance and visiting of the elderly is another important part of our activities. Malteser volunteers know that besides a warm meal, our elders miss a simple talk and social contact that majority of us take for granted. Once our volunteers and elders build trust between each other, we often hear very timid requests to assist in changing a light bulb, to accompany elders to see a doctor or visiting a church.
In order to have enough funding for the above-mentioned projects, we organize a fundraising campaign ‘Maltesers’ Soup’annually. The campaign continues for two months (November and December) when all people are asked to donate for this noble intention.
Our assistance for the elderly is also expressed via another project of Senior clubs, where still active and healthier seniors are invited to spend some time together, socialize, even mote – to become Malteser volunteers and help to visit those elders who cannot leave their homes anymore. Senior clubs are active in 6 cities: Vilnius, Kaišiadorys, Žiežmariai, Švenčionėliai. Utena and Zarasai. Based on our experience, we see that these clubs help to keep elders active and enjoy each other’s company not just every day but also during celebrations.
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