Mission
The mission is to promote the Christian image of man through gathering funds for the benevolence to support needy children, child welfare institutions as well as indigent large families in Lithuania materially and financially, to redress the states of emergency, to ensure human dignified basic existences, to render help for self-help and to enhance the chances of life for the affected children on a long-term basis. In this context, we honour our Lord in everything what we do and work with profit to fulfil said service.
Core Values
We carefully handle the funds entrusted to us and accordingly to purpose. The funds are to be concentrated on one region to obtain the greatest possible effect. We carry the need into the public to reach structural improvements for those who live in need. We are the voice of the weakest. What we say, we do. We justify confidence and give account. We want to be a blessing. We want to touch lives on a long-term basis and let people grow in the Word of God. We are grateful in humbleness that God can use us for that. The large family, when the help has been rendered, is to be given a Lithuanian Bible with a handwritten dedication in form of a Bible verse. The Bible is to encourage and to accompany the parents and the children on their path through life. We thereby point at the cross and the redemption in Jesus Christ.
Implementation
The head of Solidarity is German and is called Gerhard J. Carl. He runs Solidarity on an honorary basis personally taking care of the assistance provided. He supervises the assistance until the agreed assistance has been implemented. Thereby guaranteeing that help indeed reaches the large families who have been through so many difficulties in life. The help, which is always carried out in close cooperation with the local social workers and mayors, is to be given one time only, namely where the need is greatest and where no other forms of assistance can be expected. The help is to be implemented in a way that the large families can help and feed themselves. For each large family, an own solution is to be searched for which fits problem-free into the social community. A large family has at least 3 children. The children remain in their familiar surroundings.
Relief Programme
Little farms with arable land and flats are to be bought and given to large families as a gift, residential buildings and farm buildings are to be fixed up and insulated for the strong wintertime as well as heavy loans are to be taken on and paid off. This relief programme is unique in Lithuania and gained great importance in said Baltic country. So, the parents, who are as a rule out of work, can feed with a little farm at least their children and give them stable conditions for the future. Such a gift must be registered in the name of both parents and be preserved for their children.
Financial Means
For over 13 years now, Solidarity has been donating between 40 60 % of its net profit annually to needy children and large families. As a legal public person, Solidarity also has the right to accept donations, endowments, private contributions or legacies to be used for its mission. From 1994 onwards, a total of EUR 708'000 was invested for needy children in Lithuania.
Audit
Solidarity stands under state supervision and was audited by the independent Lithuanian auditing firm lļ Audito Centras. According to the auditing, the bookkeeping and the annual financial statements meet the EU regulations, the Lithuanian laws and the generally recognised business principles.
Core Regions
From 1994 to 1999, the main emphasis of help for self-help lay within the County of Vilnius. From 1999 onwards, the main emphasis of help for self-help has been within the County of Marijampolė. The reasons are the enormous need of many large families who are living in this structurally weak region and the reliable trust and good cooperation with those responsible in the County, the districts and the municipalities. In cases of emergency, cries for help from other regions of Lithuania are also to be examined, by way of example cries for help from the districts of Šilutė and Pakruojis. In both cases, the oppressive state of emergency of the large families was redressed by the purchase of a little farm.
County of Marijampolė
The County of Marijampolė consists of 5 districts: Šakiai, Kazlų Rūda, Vilkaviškis, Marijampolė and Kalvarija. It has an area of 4“460 sq.km and a population of 185“000. Roughly, 4'100 large families with 16'000 children are living in 43 municipalities. About 1'000 large families are in need. Suitable living spaces, hardy residential buildings and basic conditions, which secure the feeding and give the children stable conditions for the future, are missing. The average financial need per large family amounts to EUR 15“000,-. From 1999 onwards, 49 large families with 320 children were supported: 32 large families received one little farm each, 3 large families a flat each and 1 large family a second-hand VW Bus Transporter. For 11 large families, their residential buildings were fixed up and insulated for the strong wintertime; for 1 large family, the residential building was built ready; and for 1 large family, the heavy loan for her residential building was taken on and paid off at the bank.
Public Honours
For this efficient help for self-help, Gerhard J. Carl has been honoured several times in public. The most important honours are the conferment of the Cross of the Knight of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas through the Lithuanian president, the conferment of the name of Honorary Citizen of the Lithuanian district of Vilkaviškis, the conferment of the name of Honorary Citizen of the Lithuanian district of Šakiai, the conferment of the name of Honorary Citizen of the Lithuanian district of Kazlų Rūda, the conferment of the name of Honorary Citizen of the Lithuanian City of Marijampolė, the conferment of the Honorary Badge of the Governor of the Lithuanian County of Marijampolė, the conferment of the television prize Green Apple of the popular Lithuanian programme Bėdų Turgus as well as the conferment of the name of Man of the Year 2006 through the listeners of the Lithuanian radio Lietuvos radijas. These honours are also a special appreciation of the needy large families, of the co-workers of Solidarity and of many Lithuanian friends from political, economical and cultural circles who support and accompany this charitable work on an honorary basis.
November 2007