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Sparing no effort, life gave him a great gift: the care, care and friendship of two defenders of the rights of the child. Although Gabrielė is now an adult, has started her own family and is expecting a child, she still maintains a warm relationship with two important women: the former director of the Širvintos District Child Rights Protection Division, Ramune Vidmantiene, and currently Senior Advisor for Vilnius City Division of the State Service for the Protection of Children’s Rights Rita Padervinskiene. These women partially represented Gabriele’s mother while growing up in an orphanage. They still accompany Gabriel on the path of life as an adult.
“I want to say firmly: the opinion of the people that child rights specialists want to take children away from their families, they want to harm the family, is still incorrect. I have experienced that they only want to help children and the family. .
My life could have gotten a lot worse if it weren’t for these two women. They did everything possible to help our family, they took care of us, the children, given their working hours, gave their hearts. They took care of us even when they changed jobs and weren’t required to take an interest in our lives. These women help me even now that I am an adult, ”says Gabriel dice with gratitude.
Help the outstretched hand in the most difficult moments
There are painful early childhood memories in Gabriel’s memory: alcohol-intoxicated parents, messy homes, abandoned brothers, sisters, and herself.
“Ramunė Vidmantienė started taking care of our family a long time ago. He tried by all means to motivate his parents not to drink. I worked with mom, she provided help. But she still drank, she left us the children, alone, ”says Gabrielė.
About fifteen years ago, when Gabriele was five years old, she and two other sisters were placed in the Švenčionėliai orphanage. He lived there for a year and a half. Although she was small, Gabrielė remembers that the defender of the rights of the child Ramunė Vidmantienė visited them frequently in the child care homes.
“She came with her colleagues or her husband, she brought us waiting rooms, they went for a walk together, they talked. Although he was still small, I remember him very well. I was very happy when Ramune arrived, ”says Gabrielė.
From Švenčionėliai orphanage to Vilnius
After a year and a half of living in the Švenčion deliai orphanage, when Gabrielė had to go to the second grade, she and both sisters were taken to Vilnius, to the SOS Children’s Village family orphanage, where Gabrielė’s two brothers already lived. The sisters and brothers stayed in a house. Gabrielė remembers this event with great joy.
“Child rights defenders and social workers have realized that it is very important that our brothers and sisters live together, it is very important for us to have a relationship that needs to be nurtured. We were all staying in one house, in a family. It was a great joy, “says Gabrielė.
The child rights specialist, R. Vidmantienė, did not forget about the Vilnius girls either. Although the girls already lived in another territory that was not under the control of a specialist, R. Vidmantienė frequently visited them in Vilnius SOS Children’s Village.
“Not only did he come to us after work, but sometimes while driving from Širvintos, he came to the village where our mother lived and brought her to Vilnius. Ramunė wanted his mother to communicate with us so that she would not lose contact, ”said Gabrielė excitedly.
R. Vidmantienė often called, asked how he was doing, advised and comforted the girls who lived in the SOS Children’s Village in Vilnius. R. Vidmantienė’s beautiful relationship with the children of this family continues to this day, they have been meeting for more than ten years, communicating on social media and other media. R. Vidmantienė and her husband attended Gabrielė’s wedding a couple of years ago, and she also takes Gabrielė’s younger brother, who still lives in a nursing home, to visit her home.
Met another important woman in Vilnius
Not only R. Vidmantienė, but also another child rights specialist – Rita Padervinskienė, played a very important role in Gabrielė’s life. She was the woman who came to the Švenčionėliai orphanage many years ago and brought Gabrielė and his sisters to Vilnius. R. Padervinskienė then worked as a social worker at the SOS Children’s Village.
“Rita not only helped us get used to the new environment in Vilnius, she became me and my sisters and brothers as a second mother. We sincerely take care of all of us. We could go to her at any time with all our problems. The connection with Rita was especially important during adolescence. It was possible to approach it boldly even with intimate questions, and that adolescence arises for all girls in adolescence, ”says Garbrielė.
Gabrielė’s relationship with R. Padervinskiene continued even when the woman became an employee of the State Service for the Protection of Children’s Rights.
“She knows our whole family. We have been communicating with Rita until now. I turn to her for various advice and support. I always get help. We meet anyway, just to communicate, sit down, argue. My younger brother still lives in the SOS Children’s Village at this time. I also turn to Rita for her business, ”says Gabrielė.
“Ramune and Rita are wonderful people with good hearts. They work from an idea. They take care of us even when they no longer have to. I think our family is very fortunate to have these women on their way to life. grateful. If it weren’t for her, I don’t know what my life would have been like, “Gabrielė emphasized.
Dreaming of being a social worker
Gabrielė is currently graduating from the Vilnius Adult Education Center. In the future, she says, dreaming of becoming a social worker.
“I am active. I would love to become a social worker. I have volunteered more than once in various places where I was invited: at the orphanage, at the Food Bank. I really want to help children and adults who need help.” says Gabrielė.
Gabriel’s husband is a long-distance driver. Recently, a young family bought an apartment in Vilnius and are happy to have a first-born.
