Drawing on Flora municipality's experience within the field of social services and child care, Vijurkai children's home will undergo extensive renovation works and staff will be trained. In order to comply with Lithuania's national strategy for reorganising the child care system, the new children's home will provide a more homely environment to improve the children's living and learning conditions. In the long term, the centre hopes to develop into a family-based model foster home.
"The cooperation with Flora is intensely useful for both partners," said Lina Urbelyte of the Kelme District Municipality. In close cooperation with Flora municipality, the staff at the centre is now receiving the required training and qualifications to work with disadvantaged children. "We are collaborating with people who have years of experience working within the childcare system, and they are now sharing their knowledge with their Kelme colleagues," Urbelyte continued.
The Vijurkai children's home is now in the planning stages of major reconstruction works. The children's home is located in the premises of a school building stemming back to the 1970s. Until now, lack of funding has made basic maintenance a challenge, resulting in leaking roofs and children being crammed into small rooms.
Vijurkai children's care home is today the only institution of its kind in the municipality, and some 40 children live at the care home. The institution welcomes children coming from difficult family situations in the local area, both for permanent and temporary care.