LITHUANIA Young girls are a vulnerable group in Lithuania who in many cases are at risk of becoming victims of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking. At the day centre Pasaka in Vilnius, supported by Childhood, teenage girls at risk come to get counselling, to socialize and to do their homework.

 

The majority of the about 50 girls coming to Pasaka are growing up in institutions around Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. They come to Pasaka in groups, once a week. The day centre is run by the Aids Centre Lithuania, which just like World Childhood Foundation believes that preventive work is crucial when it comes to giving teenage girls at risk a bright future.

 

The day centre was started with financial support from Childhood five years ago.

 

– We want to give these girls new possibilities by offering psychological and social support, and to make it possible for them to make well-informed decisions about their future and health, says project manager Svetlana Kopylova.

 

Pasaka is located in a small building in one of Vilnius residential districts. The girls arrive to the centre in a bus, donated by a company cooperating with Childhood. The house looks a bit anonymous on its location high up on Pasaku Street. “Pasaka” means fairy tale in Lithuanian, and that says something about what Svetlana Kopylova and her colleagues are trying to achieve. Hopefully, the lives of the girls coming to the centre will become more hopeful than they would otherwise have been.

 

– We want to strengthen the girls in a loving environment. We strive at becoming friends with the girls, to be able to engage them and raise their awareness in important matters, says Svetlana Kopylova.

 

At Pasaka the girls listen to music, cook, do their homework, paint and spend time with each other. They participate in group as well as individual counselling and in workshops about themes like drugs, sexually transmitted diseases and conflict resolution. In the summer, a 10-day camp is arranged for them. The staffs are all young women and it´s not unusual for former clients coming back as volunteers.

 

– The volunteers become important role models for the girls, says Svetlana Kopylova. They can relate experiences in a different way since they have been through similar hardships themselves.

 

But Svetlana is concerned, since fewer girls are coming to the centre than before. Pasaka cooperate with a network of schools and children’s homes to get in contact with girls at risk. But creating these contacts is difficult, Svetlana points out. She would also like to reach out to street children.

 

– We don´t reach as many as we would like at the moment. But this summer, she says, we intend to start an outreach project.

 

Author: Maja Svenonius

 

Facts:

Research supports that girls are more vulnerable than boys to the effects of mistreatment and violence. This often results in sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking. In addition, girls have the added risk of early pregnancies, which make education, learning life skills and work more difficult. Many of Childhood’s projects have girls as their primary focus. Their needs are many, and Childhood strives to offer the means to build the self-confidence they need to become strong and independent individuals, with the ability to make the right decisions for the future.

 

Home page of Pasaka day centre: www.aids.lt/pasaka