Lithuanian artists impersonated the parents of a child with cancer

68617811 10218351169902867 5304056977293312000 o

 

Take a seat, please. These words mark the beginning of a long struggle of all parents whose children have cancer. This chair becomes their home. This is also the start of a project Vienos kėdės istorija (Single-Chair Story). With the help of well-known artists this project calls upon sitting down in a temporary hospital room and remain seated until all necessary funds for Mamų unija Family Home are collected.

On 16 September, in the very centre of Vilnius, in the Cathedral Square, there will be an installation featuring an imitation hospital room with a single chair beside a bed. The project initiators will be inviting people to spend at least one hour on that chair and thus show their support for the children with cancer and their families. This hospital room shall remain there until the entire sum of EUR 500 thousand is collected to complete the construction of the Family Home.

Many of Lithuanian cinema and music artists and authors expressed their support for the Single-Chair Story project and took part in the filming of a video for this purpose. Among them: Andrius Mamontovas, Gabrielius Liaudanskas-Svaras, Statislavas Stavickas-Stano, Ineta Stasiulytė, Larisa Kalpokaitė, Justinas Jarutis, Ieva Zasimauskaitė, and others.

 

Larisa Kalpokaitė/ Organizatorių nuotr.

Larisa Kalpokaitė/ Photo of organizers
 

Justinas Jarutis/ Organizatorių nuotr.

Justinas Jarutis/ Photo of organizers
 

“As of today all of you are invited to take part, to register on our website and to empathise with the families whose children have cancer. We do not ask for mercy and compassion. All we need is understanding and support. Happy ending for the Single-Chair Story exists. But we must create it together”, said founder of Mamų unija Charity and Support Foundation, author of the Family Home project Eglė Mėlinauskienė.

Around 100 of children fall ill with cancer in Lithuania each year. When a child becomes ill so does his or her family. The idea behind the Family Home project is to create a rehabilitation and information centre for such families so that they are able to stay together in a safe and cosy environment conducive to the health of an ill child.

Eglė states that the Family Home will not replace hospital services or medical staff functions. Rather, this will be a social alternative enabling children and their families to spend more time together.

“The Family Home will be both a place to live for the family of an ill child and a space to share their story and experience with other families. This big and beautiful project is being developed through private funding and only with the donations made by kind-hearted people and socially-responsible companies. We believe that together we will be able to make this dream come true”, the founder of Mamų unija said.

You can register and contribute to the Single-Chair Story project online at www.vienoskedesistorija.lt 

You may support the project by sending a text to 1344 with a word VAIKAMS (donation of EUR 5).

Other support options: making donations via a bank transfer or Paysera banking, donating to the Charity and Support Foundation Mamų unija bank account or by granting periodic support.