Satchel x Niekieno Vaikai: Supporting abandoned children in Lithuanian hospitals
When most people think about helping others, it’s usually around Christmas time. Toy drives, gift collections, holiday fundraisers – December brings out our collective generosity. But here’s the reality: lonely children in hospitals don’t stop needing care, comfort, and companionship year-round.
Satchel supports Niekieno Vaikai (Nobody’s Children), a Lithuanian volunteer-based initiative that provides direct assistance to children who find themselves alone in hospital wards and crisis centers. Those are kids dealing with medical issues while navigating abandonment, often spending months in sterile hospital rooms without family visits.
The numbers tell a story
Last year alone, 340 volunteers of Niekieno Vaikai took shifts to support 291 abandoned children across Lithuanian hospitals and crisis centers. Some are newborns, others are older kids whose families couldn’t tend to their needs. The children have either been neglected, orphaned, removed from unsafe environments, or had parents absent due to other reasons.
The initiative provides what hospitals can’t: human connection through their volunteer visits while also feeding, changing diapers, accompanying to medical procedures, playing, keeping conversations, and reading before sleep.
Why this matters
Scientists have long established the connection between early abandonment experiences and impaired brain activity, behavioral and emotional problems growing up – in other words, long-term physical and mental health. The volunteers of Niekieno Vaikai attest that if a child receives dedicated attention and care even for a limited period of time, it leaves a lasting impact as every positive experience is vitally important for a child’s development.
Ieva Šuipė, the head of an organization Savanoriai Vaikams (Volunteers for Children) that drives the Niekieno Vaikai initiative, says: “We’re delighted that responsible businesses like Satchel join in the effort to help lonely kids in hospitals. This support isn’t just reliable backing that sustains the continuity of our work – it also proves genuine interest in making sure that children who belong to ‘no one’ become the responsibility we all find meaningful and necessary to share.”
Supporting initiatives like Niekieno Vaikai means recognizing that societal health stems within communities, and communities are only as strong as how they treat their most vulnerable members.
“When we became acquainted with the initiative of Niekieno Vaikai, we realized how direct the impact could be,” says Sergiy Barybin, the CEO of Satchel. “Every donation literally translates to a child getting something they need – someone showing up for them at the most vulnerable time.”
What we can do
According to Niekieno Vaikai data, if you donate 630 Eur, you contribute to tending to one child throughout their illness period. The funds are used for educating, coordinating, and supporting the volunteer network across Lithuania. On average, there are 6 lonely children waiting for volunteers in hospitals every day.
If your organization is looking for meaningful ways to contribute to your community, consider this: there are vulnerable children in hospitals in every major city who could use support that goes beyond material items. Donate to volunteers or become one. If you’re an individual, small and consistent contributions, like your 1.2% income tax allocation, often matter no less than large one-time donations.
By doing this, we not just alleviate the lonely reality of kids at hospitals today, but potentially make an impact on their healthier development and help break future cycles of abandonment and neglect.
Niekieno Vaikai (niekienovaikai.lt) provides support services to abandoned and isolated children in Lithuanian hospitals through volunteer programs and direct assistance.
Satchel (satchel.eu) is a licensed electronic money institution committed to supporting vulnerable populations through direct community partnerships.
