Lithuanian social workers describe extreme poverty: homes without electricity, rot, and worm-infested floors
A stark divide in Lithuanian society has left some residents living in squalor, with homes lacking basic utilities, rotting interiors, and floors covered in filth and worms, social workers in the northern city of Mažeikiai told LRT.lt.
Jolita Butkienė and Almantė Karpienė, who provide social assistance in the region, described encountering households where people survive in unsanitary conditions—some without furniture, light switches, or even functional refrigerators, where spoiled meat and maggots are sometimes found.
“The municipality sometimes blames us for finding problems—but we don’t seek them out. The problems find us,” Butkienė said.
The two women run a social support center offering services including a thrift shop where residents can buy clothing for symbolic prices. Their work has revealed deep social exclusion in the region, where trust built with locals helps uncover cases of severe deprivation.
From dentistry to social work
Butkienė, originally from Vilkaviškis, initially trained in medicine and worked as a dental assistant before realizing the field wasn’t for her. “I asked myself, What am I doing here? I enjoyed working with parents and children, but I was just handing over instruments and disinfectants. I realized this path wasn’t for me,” she recalled.
She retrained in social pedagogy and considered opening a day center, but her plans shifted when she moved to Mažeikiai after marriage. Adapting to the region posed challenges, including a language barrier with the local Samogitian dialect. “For the first few years, I barely understood what people were saying. Even now, after 15 years, there are nuances I miss—but I’ve learned to ask them to speak standard Lithuanian,” she said.
Ten years ago, with her husband’s encouragement, Butkienė founded her own organization. Initially focused on youth, she later expanded into child daycare and other social services. Karpienė, a former schoolteacher with limited prior experience in social work, joined her after seeking more meaningful use of her time. “I knew almost nothing about NGOs—my knowledge was like a doughnut hole,” Karpienė admitted.
Clothing donations spark a thrift initiative
Their work at the day center led to an unexpected opportunity when they received a large shipment of donated clothes from Germany’s Caritas, intended for children. This inspired them to launch a social thrift shop.
Karpienė recalled a pivotal moment: seeing an elderly woman carefully place a bag of clothes by a dumpster, only for the items—including a pristine white blouse like one her own mother owned—to be scattered on the street minutes later. “It broke my heart,” she said.
Their efforts now rely on the trust they’ve built with locals, many of whom face not just material hardship but also isolation. “People here often don’t know where to turn. If we didn’t step in, some would have no one,” Butkienė said.