“The Day of Kaunas”: “The Rest Watching TV doesn’t Seem Attractive to The Seniors”

The biggest newspaper in Kaunas “The Day of Kaunas” („Kauno diena”) was interested by the seniors of Petrasiunai Community Centre and their participation in the international project AFIS(ZA) and the phenomenon of seniors’ volunteering. The journalist of the newspaper asked questions about their work, duties and experiences in the hospice in Bialystok. Six ladies admitted that volunteering in hospice, where are caring very serious patients, was a hard challenge for them. They said that the most difficult thing was to face with death. The seniors about three weeks communicated with polish patients, tried to help them to eat, to take medicines, to wash, brush their hair and other things. But the most important thing – ladies from Lithuania tried to inspire the hope for patients.

Here You can read the whole article about senior volunteering and experiences in Lithuanian language in the newspaper “The Day of Kaunas”: http://kauno.diena.lt/naujienos/kaunas/miesto-pulsas/kauno-savanores-sokiravo-mirtininku-ligonine-643433#.VMji3SwprOI

The culture of senior volunteering in the eyes of the experts

One of the biggest Lithuanian portal “15 min” was interested by the project AFIS(ZA) and the phenomenon of volunteering in Lithuania. This portal wrote about the seniors of Petrasiunai Community Centre, their experiences in Bialystok, and pointed a few observations of social science specialist. Here we present the second part of this article in English language, and You can read the whole article about senior volunteering and experiences in Lithuanian language in the portal of “15 min”: http://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/senjoru-savanoryste-lietuvoje-vis-dar-neiprastas-reiskinys-56-444169

Volunteering is not a value in Lithuania

Investigations about life quality of seniors show that engaged in favourite practice seniors easier overcome the feeling of loneliness which is a problem of numerous senior people in Lithuania. Volunteering person transfers his thoughts and attention to other person and his troubles and sees that the other one suffers more. While feeling the meaningfulness of his job such person experiences the plenitude of life. But whether are often volunteering seniors seen in Lithuania? What is the opinion of experts of social work about the culture of senior volunteering in the country?

2011 was declared the year of volunteering. It was expected to promote and intensify volunteering culture in Lithuania this way. Young people aiming to gain work experience, skills, to establish contacts possibly useful for their carriers or just to put useful records in to their CVs volunteer in big sport events, film festivals, to help organizers of charity actions. There are still not many people of senior age among them though.

Edita Trečiokienė, projects coordinator of the Education Exchanges Support Foundation, notices that employers, organizers of events and actions are impressed by punctuality, loyalty, honesty, responsibility, patience, life experience, sincerity and devotion to the work of seniors. Although by her opinion if considering whether conditions are developed enough to enable permanent volunteering this area has to be still cultivated.

Irena Leliūgienė, professor of M. Romeris University’s institute of Education and social work, claims that volunteering practice is a life norm in other European countries. “Volunteering culture in Lithuania is still of a low level and volunteering work is not considered as a value. Youth volunteering is considered more positively by society while senior people are prone to groan and to complain that they need help themselves. Social problems of a person make a big influence upon that. Insufficient level of living does not encourage seniors to submit their time for volunteering” –notices the academic.

Psychological support and methodical training are important

According to professor there are two ways to become a volunteer. One is when a person feels duty, inner imperative to share with others the experience and skills accumulated through life. On the other hand the volunteering might be some kind of spending leisure time.

Leliūgienė stresses that good training is notably important for every volunteer. “It’s not always enough to follow the principle “from heart to heart”, – states the academic. By her opinion there’s still no system of volunteer training in Lithuania, there are no classes for potential volunteers according to their likings arranged. Besides that the person who would inspire volunteers, communicate with them continuously, discuss difficulties and emerging problems, provide methodological material is often missed. The leader with whom a volunteer might be supported, with whom he could consult, speak up is missed. Such person can help volunteers to practise long-term volunteering.

“On the other hand if observing from outside it’s obvious that youth as well as seniors are keener to volunteer in onetime actions, in the events which take place during one or few days. Many catholic young people help with no reward in the celebrations of believers. Many wish to volunteer “here and now”, but not all dare to take responsibility for a long time”, – one more problem is seen by the expert of social work. At the same time she rejoices that still there are communities and organizations which members continually visit sick old people, work in hospices, child care centres, become police helpers.

“However they must be people of a very good reputation”, – stresses the professor. “The relation of confidence must appear between the person who opens his home door and the volunteer. When buying food, medicine, household items the volunteer disposes money of the supervised person. He is responsible to take care of such person’s health, he has to appreciate the privacy of the other person and to protect the details of his private life. Thus it’s important that a volunteer should be honest, unselfish, reliable person with no bad intentions.”

International project AFIS(ZA) is a possibility for seniors to measure themselves in volunteering. Six volunteers from Kaunas (LT) worked three weeks in hospice and centre of disabled children of Bialystok (PL). You can read about impressions and experiences which were brought home by members of Petrašiūnai community centre in the article “Few impressions of Lithuanian senior volunteers about volunteering practice in Poland” of this blog (2014-08-01). A year later Petrašiūnai community centre will meet six members from The University of the Third Age in Białystok, who will volunteer in Kaunas.

Few impressions of Lithuanian senior volunteers about volunteering practice in Poland

One of the biggest Lithuanian portal of “15 min” was interested by the project AFIS(ZA) and the phenomenon of volunteering in Lithuania. This portal wrote about the seniors of Petrasiunai Community Centre, their experiences in Bialystok, and pointed a few observations of social science specialist. Here we present the first part of this article in English language, and You can read the whole article about senior volunteering and experiences in Lithuanian language in the portal of “15 min”: http://www.15min.lt/naujiena/aktualu/lietuva/senjoru-savanoryste-lietuvoje-vis-dar-neiprastas-reiskinys-56-444169

Six women of Petrašiūnai community centre – Romualda Andužienė, Genovaitė Mikėnaitė, Danutė Varkalienė, Marytė Janauskienė, Danutė Šivickaitė and Janina Olbergaitė were working in the hospice during their three weeks stay in Bialystok. Already during the first day of the visit they wondered that they were not the only volunteers. Staff of the hospital was assisted by nuns and the director of this institution did not get any financial reward himself. The director Tadeusz Borowsky who was more than seventy years old person told that this hospice was established twenty years ago by the initiative of volunteers and was still open not only for Polish but also for volunteers from other countries.

The hardest thing was to struggle with the feeling of helplessness

The hard – tempered by life seniors did not conceal the fact that the work was not easy. 43 patients were nursed in the hospice at that time. Most of them couldn’t move themselves. Volunteers fed them, helped to take medicine, changed diapers, brushed, washed them, tided wards, cleaned wardrobes, washed the floor. There were patients in coma among them. “That everything was simple. The hardest thing was to encounter death every day, struggle with the feeling of helplessness, to empathize the fragility of the boundary between life and death. That was a striking experience” – confided the volunteers.

“There were three men in the ward. One was very weak, he wandered and was breathing heavily. He was connected to the medical equipment. We were praying for him. Next morning we found him dead… Dead were washed at hand, their heads were tied up with bandage, then they were screened off and left in beds covered with white sheets up to their necks until their fellows took them away” – Genovaitė Mikėnaitė was telling. The experience of preparing the dead for taking away fell on the other volunteer, Marytė Janauskienė. She did that together with staff of the hospital.

Encouraged by the director the women strived to communicate with the inmates to the most. They used several words in Polish and some Russian language. Sometimes the help came from five Polish volunteers of the same project, sometimes they were saved by the dictionary of Lithuanian – Polish.

“One of the patients was a professor. He was very communicative, but he had weak health. We were communicating a lot during the first day. Having rallied his strenght and with the help of us he took a little walk. He told that he had no family, felt lonely as a thumb and there was no one able to help him. To make ourselves understood better I was bringing a dictionary to the work” – remembered Romualda Andužienė who gained experience of social work while working in the Petrašiūnai administrative unit. “Other days we saw how moods of the professor changed, his strength and hope to survive weakened. He asked for our address and telephone number saying that he would ask someone to tell us when he’s gone…”

Arvydas Paulauskas, the conductor of the ensemble “Monte Pacis” of Petrašiūnai community centre who was staying together with the volunteers in Bialystok for a few days being excited by the atmosphere lingering in the hospital spontaneously gave a short concert. Patients and staff were surprised by the sound of Franz Schubert’s “Avia Maria” all of a sudden spreading from the chapel of the hospital to the wards through the speakers. The conductor remembered how one after another people began to gather into the chapel to observe and listen to the performed things.

The best reward is joy of children

More joy was brought for Lithuanian volunteers during the few days in the Education centre of Bialystok where children with special needs were raised. With the help of translators Lithuanians gradually succeeded making friends with a few girls having the syndrome of Down. Women didn’t conceal that not all the children expressed the wish to engage, to sing, dance and play rounds. Few elder girls were ignoring the guests but it was possible to see how they were observing the volunteers secretly. Little children were more open, more interested in Lithuanians and played joyously with them, repeated movements, laughed.

Directness and sincerity of the children for a long remained in the hearts of volunteers. Nevertheless they noticed that confusion of children did not disappear later from the first day. Educators of the centre told that one girl sang nicely but she felt confused and refused to sing for the guests.

After the visit in Bialystok the volunteers admitted that these three weeks wasn’t easy physically and spiritually. Only people, who were met, left a strong impression. Lithuanian volunteers were enchanted by their friendliness, warmth, goodwill and inexhaustible energy.

A year later Petrasiunai community centre will meet six members from The University of the Third Age in Białystok, who will volunteer in Kaunas.