Our story and achievements

Our achievements

We advocate for children’s rights

• In 2017, we carried out advocacy activities to secure amendments to the Law on the Fundamentals of Protection of the Rights of the Child, banning physical punishment as a child-rearing measure. Lithuania became the 52nd country to officially ban physical punishment and all forms of violence against children.
• 2016–2019: we actively contributed to the campaign initiated by President Dalia Grybauskaitė, “For a Safe Lithuania”, which promoted reform of child care institutions.
• 2008: on our initiative, psychological support for children in residential care homes began to be provided at national level.
• 2007: we were the first in Lithuania to speak publicly about the harm caused by violent child-rearing and implemented a large-scale national social advertising campaign, “Raise Responsibly”.
• 1995: on our initiative, Lithuania ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• 1995: on our initiative, the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights was established.
• 1995: on our initiative, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania established the Committee on Family and Child Affairs.

We support parenting

• 2024: we began implementing the “Building Brains” programme for early childhood development (from birth to age 3). Early development cards were prepared and will be distributed to the parents of all babies born in Lithuania in 2025.
• 2019: we began implementing the nationwide programme “Positive Parenting for Every Day”.
• 2016–2019: the “Save the Children” children’s day centre network expanded significantly. There were as many as 49 centres across Lithuania — the largest number of children’s day centres coordinated by a single organisation.
• 2015: we carried out a study of social services that enabled improvements to family social service provision in 15 Lithuanian municipalities.
• 2009: we began providing direct material support to families raising children.
• 2009: we began promoting and delivering training on positive parenting in Lithuania, based on Thomas Gordon’s methodology.
• 1996: we established the first children’s day centre, launching the tradition of children’s day centres in Lithuania.

We provide support to children around the world

• 2022: when the war in Ukraine began, we provided humanitarian support to children arriving in Lithuania, their families, and pregnant women.
• 2018: we began supporting Ukrainian children living in territories occupied by Russia.
• 2014: on our initiative and with the support of a private donor, a school was built in Mikuto village in Zambia and opened its doors to local children.
• 2011–2015: we carried out regular missions in Zambia.
• 2011: on our initiative, substantial financial support was provided to children affected by the tsunami in Japan.
• 2010: on our initiative, substantial financial support was provided to children affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

We strengthen the organisation “Gelbėkit vaikus”

• 2016: the “Gelbėkit vaikus” anti-corruption policy and staff code of conduct were adopted and officially entered into force. This was a unique development in Lithuania’s NGO sector.
• 2016: Rasa Dičpetrienė, Director General of “Gelbėkit vaikus”, was awarded the medal “For Merits to Lithuania”.
• 2004: we became a full member of the international “Save the Children” network. We are the only organisation from Central and Eastern Europe that belongs to this network.

We listen to and involve children in Lithuania

• 2024: we carried out a Lithuanian children’s survey with nearly 1,000 respondents. After analysing children’s responses and identifying the most pressing issues, we prepared the 2025–2027 activity strategy, which focuses primarily on strengthening children’s emotional resilience.
• Since 2017, each year together with partners we organise the children’s conference “The Voice of Lithuania’s Children”, encouraging children from across the country to speak up on issues that matter to them, in ways that work for them.
• 2017: on our initiative, a unique representative qualitative and quantitative study of Lithuanian teenagers’ views, “Young Voice”, was carried out. The results were presented in the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
• 2014: we began organising the “Solidarity Run”, helping to foster social responsibility among children in Lithuania. The “Solidarity Run” takes place every year in educational institutions across Lithuania.
• 2010: on our initiative and involving children, bullying prevention groups began to be established in Lithuanian schools.
• 1996: on our initiative, the first children’s groups against violence were established in Lithuania, laying the groundwork for anti-bullying programmes in Lithuanian schools.

The history of “Gelbėkit vaikus” in Lithuania

The organisation “Gelbėkit vaikus” was founded in 1991. From the very start, our goal has been to advocate for children’s rights, ensure the realisation of children’s rights in the country, and support children experiencing poverty, violence, and other hardships. We actively worked to ensure Lithuania ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and adopted all laws guaranteeing the implementation of children’s rights in the country.

Since 1996, seeking to reduce the number of cases in which parents lose custody of their children, we initiated the opening of the first children’s day centres in Lithuania. It soon became clear that the services provided to children and families in these centres were highly beneficial, so the number of children’s day centres grew rapidly and more and more families gained access to much-needed support.

Over thirty years of work, we have implemented many child support projects: children’s rights, positive parenting, poverty reduction, children’s education, reducing violence in the home, provision of social services for children and their families, and other areas. In 2011, we raised funds for the first time to support children affected by the tsunami in Japan. With the generous help of people in Lithuania, we also supported children facing difficulties in Zambia, Nepal, and Ukraine. When the war in Ukraine began, we provided humanitarian support to Ukrainian children arriving in Lithuania, their families, and pregnant women.

In 2017, working together with other non-governmental organisations, we supported and advocated for the signing of the Law on the Fundamentals of Protection of the Rights of the Child — one of the most important documents helping to prevent violence against children.

“Gelbėkit vaikus” is part of the international “Save the Children” network

A century ago, after the First World War ended — a war in which an unprecedented number of people were killed — many children in Europe were orphaned and fell into extreme poverty and hunger. At that time, Eglantyne Jebb, a teacher living in England, could not remain indifferent to children’s suffering and began raising funds and providing support to starving children in Europe who had been left without parents.

On 19 May 1919, Eglantyne Jebb founded the organisation “Save the Children”, with the aim of helping children facing severe hardship. It soon brought together many people who provided support to children in all possible ways, and the organisation’s work began spreading to other countries.

Today, more than 100 years later, the international “Save the Children” network includes many countries (including Lithuania) with national members, providing support to children in more than 117 countries worldwide.