tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77768862011-04-22T02:08:40.736+03:00The Salvation Army opened the Patvērums Childrens Day Centre in March 2002 to provide a safe environment for underprivileged children from the local community in Riga.Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.comBlogger991100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-90063223293571280832007-11-02T12:15:00.000+02:002007-11-02T12:35:21.645+02:00

Tik sen nekas nav rakstīts un varbūt liekas, kas notiek Patvērumā? Viss notiek! Beidzot darbs ir iegājis normalās sliedēs! Mums ir 2 nu jau patstāvīgi darbinieki, divi praktikanti un vakar darbu uzsāka 1 brīvprātīgais darbinieks, kas ir meitene Elīna no Holandes un būs ar mums kopā līdz pat janvārim!Tad nu arī varam turpināt un plānot savu darbu ar jauniem spēkiem, jauniem cilvēkiem un jaunām

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Sveiki, vēlos jums pastāstīt par izmaiņām, kas notiek "Patvērumā"! Kā jau Zoe iepriekš rakstīja, ka Vineta un Natālija ir aizgājušas no "Patvēruma" un pēdējo nedēļu laikā, nodarbojos ar jaunu darbinieku meklēšanu. Šaodien darbu uzsāk Mārīte, kas ir nakts auklīte PA Leontīnes Gorškas bērnu majā Agenskalnā, papildus viņa strādās "Patvērumā" un tas ir tikai pagaidām, kamēr mēs atradīsim sociālo

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I know I'm on maternity leave and so shouldn't really know what's going on downstairs but this afternoon I had a chat with Inese and she could do with your prayers as both Vineta and Natalija have handed in their notice.Vineta's been with us for over a year and has been a great team member. Natalija joined us just before I finished but seeing her around the place she seems to have been doing a

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-76429545714031009252007-05-24T09:14:00.001+03:002007-05-25T21:57:45.998+03:00

From the title you might be able to guess that..... we are now OFFICIAL!!Yes, yesterday Inese and I went to sign for the official document that says that Patverums Children's Day Centre is officially recognised by the state as a social service provider!The document was already framed and will now take pride of place on the office wall.As we drove back from the department we talked about the last

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-47238221669459291462007-05-24T09:12:00.000+03:002008-12-09T07:20:23.337+02:00

Last Thursday Patverums had the privilege of hosting the British Ambassador Ian Bond as well as members of the British Chamber of Commerce Latvia for the presentation of a donation raised at the charity Burns Night back in February.It was a great couple hours and everyone did a brilliant job. Graeme planned the visit and lead the proceeding through and he, together with Inese, got everything

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-65097767967793879452007-05-15T19:52:00.000+03:002007-05-15T20:08:56.404+03:00

On Wednesday last week Inese handed in the finished folder full of documents, certificates, forms, and plans for the official status!We now have to wait about a month before we receive the status but they took the folder without any problems so that's a good start!It's taken us 9 months to collect everything and get the centre up to standard but very soon it will be all worth it.Thanks to those

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-9257028491672449812007-04-27T22:00:00.000+03:002007-04-27T22:09:07.634+03:00

Just to keep you up to date today I went down to the Academic Office and collected THE piece of paper we've been waiting for for over a month! This now means that we can hand in all the many documents for the official status next week :-) Hurray!!!Inese will have to do this on her own as I am now longer free because (for those of you that haven't heard) I gave birth to Abigail Evie Smith on

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-91684208469004220192007-04-16T21:59:00.000+03:002007-04-16T22:08:24.091+03:00

For those of you that might still be checking the blog I thought I'd post a small update to let you know how things have been over the past month.Now obviously I don't know all as I'm on maternity leave now but I do have my sources!!Firstly we've had our first kitchen inspection. It went well, the inspector was very good and although there were a few things that were not up to full standard she

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-49407134717334419622007-03-19T13:46:00.000+02:002008-12-09T07:20:24.517+02:00

THE group photo! Goodbye to Zoe & Graeme... ...and hello to Inese!Party Time!

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On Friday we celebrated Patverums 5th birthday. Inese, Vineta, Natalija, Irena and I spent a lot of the week planning, shopping and preparing for the big day.So Friday came...Unfortunately it was the Friday that Natalija had to go to university so we were short staffed, although she was able to come in for a couple of hours before her afternoon lectures started. This meant that the 4 of us were

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Sorry for the lack of entries recently life has been pretty hectic to say the least!A lot has been going on so I'll just take a few moment to tell you all about them.The last time I wrote we were ready to interview one lady for a empty social worker position. Well, I'm really pleased to say it went well and we hired her. Her name is Natalija. She is 20 and she is in her first year at Latvia

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It's a busy week for us with many different things going on.Today and Tuesday Inese and Vineta are out and about doing some home visits, before then centre opens for the children, as we have two families in very difficult situations at the moment. Hopefully they will be able to help, support and offer advice to them.On Wednesday we have an interview with one lady for the Social Workers position

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Last Saturday evening Graeme and myself along with Chris and Goran (new Regional Commanders) had the pleasure of being 'honoured guests' at this years charity Burns night supper organised by the British Chamber of Commerce. The reason for this was that for 2007 and 2008 The Salvation Army is their chosen charity and this year the money raised is going to Patverums!So Graeme, Chris and Goran put

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1171031537837511422007-02-09T16:21:00.000+02:002007-02-09T16:38:46.476+02:00

After yesterdays post I feel the need to write again and update those of you that regularly read!The day continued to be a bit stressful but by the end of it, together with a number of wonderful staff on Headquarters, we had got to the bottom of what was needed. So next week Inese, Vineta and I will be working on these extra papers. One does involve another inspection so we will hopefully be

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1170846485097865522007-02-07T12:58:00.000+02:002007-02-07T13:10:52.540+02:00

Today I'm feeling swamped!! I spent about 45 minutes this morning with Ilga (SA's director of social work) going through all the final bits of paper that need to be done to apply for the official statues. I thought we were close and in one way we are but suddenly having these new things ready makes it feel like it's so far away again. The main problem is my lack of Latvian as these final

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1169735779492213902007-01-25T16:29:00.000+02:002007-01-25T16:36:19.506+02:00

Today we had some bad news. Simona who we offered the social worker job to came in and told us she was now unable to take the job! This is because she is still studying and this spring needs to do a 3 month work placement, the plan was that she'd be able to do it at Patverums but the university has told her she cannot do it at a day centre so she can't work for us and do a work placement!!This

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1168937685244249092007-01-16T10:44:00.000+02:002007-01-16T10:54:45.246+02:00

This weekend Inese and Vineta will be joining other members and staff of TSA in Latvia on a Design for Life course.I am so pleased that they are going as the weekend is excellent (I went on it last year) and I think both of them will gain a lot from it. The idea of the conference is to spend time thinking about what it is God has planned for your life. You hear some good Biblical teaching,

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Here are some photos from our Christmas party:3 sisters make it through to the final round of 'Musical Bumps'!Some boys just don't want to have fun!4 of Patverums Angels!!It's dancing time!Hard to know what to write but the picture kind of sums him up!

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Well, the week carried on to be a memorable one!Thursday - we all tried not to be nervous during the morning but we knew it was going to be a big day - the inspection at 14:00 and then the interview at 15:30. I came downstairs at 13:30, one of our families was finishing their showers and Inese and I got ready to go to collect the inspector. I really felt the need to pray so with a hairdryer going

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1168450557092723952007-01-10T19:14:00.000+02:002007-01-10T19:39:55.400+02:00

When this week began we knew it was going to be a busy and fairly stressful one but it's only Wednesday and I think all of the staff are in serious need of some chocolate!!Monday - 3 of us set off to buy the new kitchen equipment we need to pass the inspection. So we jump on a tram and off we went. Found the place without too much hassle and then we slowly went around the shop collecting all

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We hope you have all had a great Christmas and New Year! We have been busy over the past few weeks as other than national holidays the centre has been open.We had a wonderful Christmas party, a total of 39 people attended and I think it's safe to say it was one of the best for a few years! We laughed a lot while playing various party games, some tradition some not so! Irena did a great job with

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1166708929536965992006-12-21T15:46:00.000+02:002006-12-21T15:48:49.546+02:00

Just wanted to share the good news that yeaterday the fire inspector came back and passed the centre!!! Yippee! It's a good Christmas present for us :-) and it's a good feeling to know that we've managed to complete one of the requirements. So it's 1 down 2 to go!Thanks for your prayers!

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1166461367594401482006-12-18T18:42:00.000+02:002006-12-18T19:10:29.290+02:00

I've just come up to the office after being down in the centre for a while and you can tell Christmas is upon us!!Today the staff and I went out to buy presents for all the children and teenagers. It's a great thing to do but can be a little stressful when you buying over 30 presents for a very varied group and only have 4ls (£4) to spend! We succeed though (as always!) and I'm pleased with

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1165945818616682812006-12-12T19:42:00.000+02:002006-12-12T19:50:18.616+02:00

Today Lilita came to see me in my office and told me that she was leaving! It came as a surprise as she only completed her 3 months trail last week and although I know she has had to deal with a number of new areas in the type of work that we do she has coped really well.She has another job more in her area of education and as she said she's been thinking and praying hard about it but she feels

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Sorry for the delay in writing. The inspection went ok. The women was very good, understanding of our situation and the need for a translator!! The good news: we do not need any structural changes to the kitchen and the basics that we already have in place are fine. She was happy with us using the kitchen for different groups eg the corps using for Friday breakfasts, HQ for staff meals and

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1165237104135817752006-12-04T14:54:00.000+02:002006-12-04T14:58:24.136+02:00

We phoned through to the inspector today and have an inspection booked for 11am Wednesday!We are also contacting the last agency we need to receive approval from this week which is to do with health and hygiene! It's all good fun :-)I'd hoped to have this all finished by the end of the year but that wont be possible now, hopefully by the end on January!! Will keep you posted!

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1165236786786906432006-12-04T14:48:00.000+02:002006-12-04T14:53:06.800+02:00

I found out today that a boy that used to come to the centre when we first opened is missing. Ilga, who is the Salvation Army's social work director but who used to work at the centre, saw he's name and photo on a TV 'advert' showing missing children.He's name is Pavel and he has had a very difficult childhood but at heart is a good kid! If you could say a prayer for him, Graeme and I would

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1164366852551188102006-11-24T13:12:00.000+02:002006-11-24T13:14:12.580+02:00

13:00 and we're all at the centre! Kitchen is spotless, the eating places are clean etc etc and we get a phone call to say they can't come :-( You can imagine our response!So we need to rearrange it for next week. Not the start we'd hoped! Thanks if you prayed and I'll let you know when the next planned inspection is!

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1164356534376725752006-11-24T10:20:00.000+02:002006-11-24T10:22:14.393+02:00

Inese finally managed to get through to the inspector yesterday (Thursday) and she is coming today (Friday) at 1pm EET! So if anyone does read this in the next 3 hours your prayers would be appreciated!Thanks

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Yesterday Inese and I went and registered Patverums kitchen! This might not sound that amazing but it now means that next week an inspector will come to the kitchen, see how we are working and tell us what needs to be done to get it up to official standard. Also we decided that because the kitchen is used by more than just the centre we are asking for it to be registered as a Salvation Army

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Today blog entries are like buses - none for ages and then 3 turn up!!!!I've been meaning to write this entry for a while but for some reasons haven’t and in some ways it might not be necessary but anyway...For those of you that read this and don't know I (Zoe - centre leader!) am pregnant and due in April so that means as of March I will go on maternity leave. On top of that Graeme and my

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News is still a bit vague but it looks like this week the mum has taken herself and the 2 children out of the crisis centre early and have gone back to their old flat! She's not been happy there for a while so we are not that surprise she has left.We are of course worried about them as the dad has been in contact with the family during the past weeks and so there is always the danger that he

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1163610097475163142006-11-15T18:55:00.000+02:002006-11-15T19:01:37.490+02:00

Last week we had the first parents group since the beginning of the summer! It's not that we'd forgotten about it but Dace used to lead the group so with her leaving in July, all the usual summer activities and having a new member of staff start this autumn we have been a bit slow in restarting it!But we sent out invitations to everyone and hoped and prayed that at least one parent would come!

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1162831956698214302006-11-06T18:27:00.000+02:002006-11-06T18:52:36.713+02:00

I cannot believe it's a month since I last wrote an entry! I'd be surprised if anyone is still checking this site but for those of you that are, thanks and here's what's been happen!In many ways it's been a quiet month. The children are back to school and settling into their new classes’. Autumn seems to have been and gone as we had snow on Thursday and unlike the normal first snow it's still

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1160137952616244162006-10-06T15:04:00.000+03:002006-10-06T15:49:06.366+03:00

Once again I find myself apologising for not writing an update on this occasion it's because we've had quite a lot going on and it's been hard the know what to write and when! Anyway, I'm going to try now!Just over 2 weeks ago a family which I have blogged about before found themselves in crisis again. The dad had come home late at night and starting hitting his wife with a bat. Their 2

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1158755027707440332006-09-20T15:18:00.000+03:002006-09-20T15:23:47.716+03:00

Today we were meant to have our first official visitor to the centre regarding applying for official status but unfortunately he arrived at our address but went away before finding us! Not sure quite what happened there but anyway we've made another appointment with him for Friday 9am!Your prayers would be appreciated, thanks. (Oh & thanks Evie for praying for today :) )

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It's hard to know where to start with this blog entry as there's lots to say but it's how to say it, so forgive me if it doesn't make complete sense!Basically this summer it was discovered there is money available from the Latvian State to help run The Salvation Army's (TSA) social centres but that we all have to become 'official' centres. For the past 4 years Patverums although known by social

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1157715510362279962006-09-08T14:26:00.000+03:002006-09-08T14:38:30.373+03:00

The centre's just about to open but I wanted to give a quick up date as we've had a good week in Patverums!On Monday & Tuesday we held interviews and we are so pleased to say that we have found a replacement for Dace! Lilita started with us yesterday, we don't hang around, and so far so good.This is her first job in a social organisation but she is a qualified psychologist, has experience in

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1156248861726293752006-08-22T14:50:00.000+03:002006-08-22T15:53:44.350+03:00

On Thursday we went on our overnight trip to Sabile and as you will see from the photos we had a great time! 13 children came with us and we didn't stop going from one activity to another.As planned we took the children on a summer toboggan run and horse riding. They loved it and I think all would have had more goes if the budget had allowed it! As well as this the children swan in the river,

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Sorry there hasn't been any post for a while but last week because of still being short staffed we closed the centre so that I could guarantee the staff having a week off!We're back now and busy organising for out next overnight trip which takes place on Thursday. This time we're off to Sabile, a small town west of Riga and about 2 hours away. This trip should be very different from our last

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Maybe a strange thing to write about but the centre's blog is 1 year old this month! Time flies!I hope you like the new look, I thought it could do with a change.Over the past few weeks I've been looking back over the different posts that Graeme and myself have written and so been remind of different situations that we've faced, changes in staff and the various events that have taken place. God

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To be totally honest I wasn't looking forward to this week! Irena, the centre's cook, was still of on holiday and so was Inese which left just Vineta and me to prepare food and run the centre. I phoned around to see if people could volunteer but no one could really give me concrete answers!So Monday came but so did Misha!! He has been working as Ian & Jon's translator for the past 5 weeks and so

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On Thursday morning at 8am we all gathered at Riga bus station armed with sleeping bags, camp mats and much more for our 2 day trip to Liepaja.We had a great time and in many ways relaxing (as it can be with 11 children)! We didn't have any activities planned other than spending time on the beach and at the nearby park areas.Below are some photo's from the days away. I'll post more later this

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Last week was BOY'S WEEK which was led by Ian and Jon from the US with Misha their translator. The sun continued to shine which meant they were able to be outside doing loads of different actvities.The day started with putting on their 'war paint' and each day had a theme such as leadership, and perserverance.The guys organised a variety of challenges, games and sports for them to take part in.

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Inside sisters being creative While others play a ball game in the shade :-)It's time for the dance lesson (in +30c temperatures!!) Fun out on the

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Last week was playscheme week! We had a great 5 day even though it was extremely HOT, we packed loads into the 5 days.Each day we had around 30-35 children attend aging from 6-16! There were children from Patverums, the corps and some totally new ones which we were especially pleased about.We started each day with an hour and a half in the hall playing games, singing worship songs, watching part

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Sorry for the absence of any post but I've been away n holiday! I returned to work on Monday knowing that I had a lot to find out about and a lot to do!! My first job was to find out who had applied for Dace's job unfortunately no one! We've not had one application, this was that the start I'd hoped for!! So after talking with Ilga, our director of social work, we decided that the best idea is

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The staff and I have just finished our weekly small group and out of it came some really good conversations. We're slowly making our way through 'Purpose Driven Life' and at the moment we're reading about temptation and how to deal with it!As this is the day after Dace handed in her notice we all met knowing that soon she'll be leaving us but from this came the opportunity for me to challenge

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1149180944106916892006-06-01T19:47:00.000+03:002006-06-01T19:55:44.156+03:00

This is just a quick post to ask you one more time to pray for a new member of staff for Patverums! Today Dace came to me and handed in her notice! She has been offered a job at one of the Riga district social services working in the 'Family and Children's support dept.'. It's pays more and it is a 'step up ' professionally. This evening I'm filled with a mixture of emotions as of course after

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It's been a while since I last wrote an entry and that's not because I've forgotten but because there hasn't been anything 'big' to write about so I thought I'd just tell you about some of our day to day things!Each month we like to take the under 14 children on a trip whether it's swimming, to a museum, bowling etc. This month we went to the cinema to watch 'Ice Age 2'. 9 children came with us

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It's been a week since I last wrote so I wanted to write and let you know what's been happening.We didn't get through to social services until Monday afternoon but we explained the situation and our concerns to them. They knew of the family but didn't have up to date information on them so they thanked us for that and said they would look into it.Then all went quiet! The daughter has been to

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Today we are having to make a phone call to social services concerning one of our families. It's something that we do only when we feel we have exhausted all other options as it is likely that as a result of our phone call the children (brother & sister aged 8 and 7 years) will temporarily be taken into care.We have written about this family before, they are one of 2 families that suffer from

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1146145497779415142006-04-27T16:35:00.000+03:002006-04-27T17:04:38.640+03:00

This week has been a strange one! At the moment we are struggling to have more than 6 or 7 children come in 1 day that are not part of the +14 group and this has led to some quiet and long days. It's frustrating when we have 18 children on the books but only a few are coming and that attendance is slowing dropping so we've sprung into action!!This afternoon Dace phoned one of our 'missing'

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This Easter we had a full program organsied for the children. We had a different activity each day and much to the children annoyance we turned off the computers!As you will see from the photo's we had a great time and were very busy making different crafts, colouring, playing and much more.Every year we give the children a small gift. This year we gave them a small bag of sweets and a card that

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Every Friday since September as a staff we have met in my flat to have quality time together away from the centre. We decided to read the book 'Purpose Driven Life'. It is in Latvian and English and each week we read one chapter before meeting and then spend an hour sharing our thoughts, asking questions and helping each other in our faith.When Inga left I was concerned about what would have to

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1143727464175636412006-03-30T16:31:00.000+03:002006-03-30T18:02:07.090+03:00

3 weeks ago we told you about 2 of our mum's and their current situations. We felt it was important to update you!The first mum, whose husband dies suddenly, is doing remarkably well. After the initial shock she returned home and started going to social services to do all the necessary requirements to get her children back. The 2 most important things were that she show she has a place to live

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The boy's group continues to meet once every 2 weeks. Here is a picture of one of them proudly holding his finished bird's house. This is the second project he has completed and it was clear to see how pleased he was of his work. It's great that after 4 years we're able to provide this kind of opportunity for our boys. Edgars, supported by Inese, is going a great job with them! We thank God

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As promised here is a photo of the finished Giant Lord's prayer! It took the children (& staff) about 2 weeks but it was worth it as we are really pleased with how it looks. This week we are starting to plan this years Easter and Spring activities, so we hope the children will not only enjoy taking part but will learn and experience something new about Easter.

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As mentioned in the last entry yesterday we celebrated the centre's 4th birthday! Like last year we went to Aquaparks - a very popular water themepark!!We took 14 children and had 2 fun hours swimming in the different pools, relaxing in saunas and flying down the slides!When we got back to the centre we tucked into our well earned tea - 4 giant pizza's and a birthday cake! In one way it's hard to

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We're really pleased to write that yesterday our new member of staff joined the Patverums team! Her name is Vineta, she is training to be a social pedagogue and brings with her a variety of experiences from working with young children, doing work placements at a school and at the children's court - all valuable for working with our children and their families.Today is really her first 'real' day

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1142329443194962622006-03-14T11:42:00.000+02:002006-03-14T11:49:38.900+02:00

Over on Graeme's Blog is an entry about Gambling and our corps in Bauska. If you click here you can read all about it.Please leave a comment over there as we are trying to encourage the corps in their fight!

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It's been a busy week in many ways even though we've not had that many children attending the centre due to ill health.On Tuesday we had some shocking news that the dad of one of our boy's died suddenly 2 Sundays ago. At first we were unsure if this was true, as the lady who told us is not always the most reliable, but on Thursday we had it confirmed by social services. The dad is one we have

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Every week we organise a creative activity for the children to do. They can vary a lot from painting a Bible verse across a giant banner, making mobiles to hang from the ceiling, window art, glass painting the list goes on and on!The children are free to take part (or not) when they wish as the activity runs for the whole week, that way if children are away for a few days they don't miss out.Some

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Yesterday we said goodbye to Inga! Above you can see a group photo of us. Unfortunately there were not many children there but we had a good day, looking through photo's from the last 2 years, enjoying a homemade cake, exchanging gifts and many hugs.Inga has been a real asset to the centre bringing a wide range of skills and experience and she will be missed but we hope and pray that she will

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We were set to have the first interview this afternoon and sadly the person didn't show up! Not the best start to our interviewing process.We have had another CV come in today and news of some more on the way, so we might just have to be a little patient!Please keep praying, thanks.

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Inga leaves a week tomorrow, how quickly a month goes by! After the inital interest we haven't had many people apply but on Monday at 2pm (EET) and Wednesday also at 2pm (EET) I will be interviewing 2 applicants.Please can you pray for me and Linda (Regional personnel manager) as we meet with these 2 people and have to decide who is best for Patverums. Also continue to pray for the remaining

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Yesterday we took 17 children to see 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. They had a great afternoon even the youngest ones who struggled with the subtitles and the length of the film! Inga (one of our social workers) did an excellent job translating for 2 of the boys having one sat on her lap and the other sat behind her leaning in to listen as she read the

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I'm just about to go home for the weekend but I wanted to ask for your prayers for one of our boys. His name is Edijs and he is 11. He's been coming to the centre for 3 and a half years and over those years we've had some very good but also some very bad and hard times with him. Right now we are struggling. He is rude to all the staff, shows very little respect to the rules of the centre and

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1139502975069741012006-02-09T18:30:00.000+02:002006-02-09T18:38:43.303+02:00

Unfortunately 2 weeks ago Inga (one of Patverums social workers) handed in her resignation. In one way it did not come as a huge surprise as she has spoken to me before about the direction in which she want her career to develop but when it actually happens it's a real shame to lose her.So we are now advertising for a replacement. So far we have had 2 CV's, one being from a man (Wow, that would

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1139502220978579242006-02-09T18:15:00.001+02:002006-02-09T18:23:40.993+02:00

The last 2 weeks we have had a number of children away sick! As always there are many winter bugs going around but it would be great if you could keep our children in your prayers. At the moment we have 4 children home ill, one with Pneumonia. We often find with our children that because of their poor living conditions it can take them longer to get well but we hope and pray this will not be

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1138739401870631502006-01-31T22:18:00.000+02:002006-01-31T22:30:01.910+02:00

Yesterday we held the first 'Prayer Hour' and we are very please to say it was a success!We were naturally uncertain as to whether any children or parents would attend and if so how it would go but we should have had more faith! In total 4 children and 1 parent attended the hour and Inese was very pleased with how it all went. Using the prayer room really added to the experience as you can

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1138100106067845962006-01-24T12:54:00.000+02:002006-01-24T12:55:06.066+02:00

Last week the staff and I meet for the day to have a planning and goal setting meeting. It was wonderful to be able to sit around the table and share our thoughts about Patverums. Many ideas came out of the day including new summer plans, goals for each of the small groups (+14, parents and boys) as well as some new ventures! One of these is a 'Talk Hour' and 'Prayer Hour'. Our thoughts are

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1138099726949550992006-01-24T12:31:00.000+02:002006-01-24T12:48:46.960+02:00

After a very cold weekend the temperature is raising! The children returned to school yesterday and all seem to be well, thank you Lord!Unfortunately on Sunday evening our cook, Irena was admitted to hospital with abdominal pains. At the moment we still do not know what is wrong but she is comfortable and hopes to be home shortly. Please pray for a speedy recovery!This meant that yesterday

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'Record low temperature was registered in Riga this morning for January 20 - minus 27 degrees Celsius at 5a.m.' was reported in the News website LETA in Latvia today! On Thursday the temperature in Latvia dropped dramatically and when the temperature goes below -25C all schools are closed but we decided that is was important for us to stay open! We have had 14 children attend the centre in past

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1137156924879728932006-01-13T14:44:00.000+02:002006-01-13T14:55:24.890+02:00

This week Patverums closed for the day to allow the staff to attend a seminar organised by the The Salvation Army’s Training and Education Centre.The seminar was an Introduction to The Salvation Army (TSA) and was open to all Army employees with the purpose of teaching them more about the organisation that they work for! It consisted of the history (which Graeme taught!!) and characteristics of

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This years Christmas party was a little different, we felt that after 3 years of having the same format it was time for a change!So, this year the staff and a group of children worked very hard to put on a puppet show called 'The Red Boots'. A traditional story about a shoemaker, Hans, who keeps himself away from all the Christmas festivities but then is visited by an angel who tells him that he

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1135876222965108602005-12-29T18:36:00.000+02:002005-12-29T19:15:42.583+02:00

Sorry it's been a while since we last wrote an entry you will soon see that things have been a bit hectic for us! But first we'd like to wish you all a Happy Christmas! We hope you had a wonderful time and that you felt God's presence with you.So, what's been happening!? Why no updates?! Well, 3 weeks ago Sian came down with Chickenpox!! An unexpected Christmas present!! All things considered

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1133544383626184952005-12-02T19:21:00.000+02:002005-12-02T19:42:34.613+02:00

Yesterday we took 14 children ice skating! We had a great afternoon and we managed to enjoy an hours skating with no injuries.For a number of the children it was the first time and even though there were a number of bumps they loved it! It was wonderful to see them zooming around on the ice, enjoying each others company and getting rid of some energy!!It was a fun way to spend a chilly

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Friday 18th November is Independence Day in Latvia and so a very important time and a national holiday. This being so on the Thursday before we had an Independence Day party!The children helped decorate and prepare the room with Latvian flags, balloons and candles as well as dressing the tables in the Latvian colours. The room looked wonderful! We started the party with games where the

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There have been celebrations amongst the staff as we have had news of 3 parents improving their working situations!! Last week we found a job advert for one mum which we thought she might be interested in, passed the information onto her, she contacted them and now she has a work!! At the same time we heard that one of our mum's, who has not worked for a long time, also has the opportunity of

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1130516364787089952005-10-28T18:33:00.000+03:002005-10-28T19:22:06.413+03:00

As we wrote in the last entry this week has been the school holidays this has meant that we have continued to be busy at the centre. As well as the bowling trip we have had much going on. On Tuesday at the +14 group we had 2 guest speakers from movement 'True Love Waits'(TLW). TLW is an international campaign that challenges teenagers and college students to remain sexually abstinent until

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This week has been the autumn school holidays so on Wednesday we went 10 pin bowling. The +14 group joined us and together there were 14 children and teenagers. We had a great afternoon and for a number of our new children it was the first time they had ever played. To help keep spirits high we had the barriers put up on the lanes so the children were really able to enjoy themselves. Many got

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1129901975854095362005-10-21T16:35:00.000+03:002005-10-21T16:39:35.856+03:00

The situation for our victim of domestic violence is still not good.Her time at the centre we found is drawing to an end, and so far Social Services have been unable to find anywhere for her to live. This is a desperate situation as she has no family to support her, or give her a home.We have a couple of possible solutions in the pipeline, but both are likely to only be temporary.There is a

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1129901709393391162005-10-21T16:31:00.001+03:002005-10-21T16:35:09.393+03:00

A few weeks ago we mentioned that we have had a number of new children starting to attend the centre.Well because of this we now have a record number of children on the books. We currently have 22 children who attend the main Patverums, and then another 2 girls who only come to the +14 group. This means that 24 children are currently linked to the centre.Because of this yesterday we had 19

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1129901493616755712005-10-21T16:31:00.000+03:002005-10-21T16:31:33.623+03:00

One of our first posts on this blog was about the plus 15 group that was being relaunched. Due to number's, we have decided to extend this to a +14 group. We had 3 young girls who were aged 14 and we felt they could do with the extra activities this group provides.So far the group has been a resounding success and they have done all sorts of activities from glass painting to cooking and

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1127980446420920902005-09-29T10:50:00.000+03:002005-09-29T10:54:06.426+03:00

Last night the mother we have been updating you on, came to us, having finally left her partner.Following a series of phone calls we have managed to find her temporary shelter, but this is only for a week.Today our staff and the staff of the centre she is staying in will start the process of contacting social services to try to find a long term solution to her problem.Please pray hard as the

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1127319944042795502005-09-22T09:35:00.000+03:002005-09-22T09:34:00.470+03:00

Two weeks ago we asked you to pray for one of our families as they are going through a very difficult period of domestic violence. We felt it was important to update you as to what has been happening.The situation has calmed again and as such life has returned to 'normal'. A friend of the mum has intervened and was able to help the partner stop the intense abuse that had been happening. In

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1127319145580436742005-09-22T09:30:00.000+03:002005-09-22T09:31:43.176+03:00

In the past 2 weeks we have had 5 new children visit the centre. 2 of these are now attending regularly and the other 3 have still not made their minds up yet!All of the children have come to us via a state run day centre with which we have connections. This centre is being relocated but not all of the children will be moving with them as the new centre is too far for them to travel. We are

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Whilst we celebrate with the parents who have recommitted themselves to each other we should also remember the problems that do exist in this country.The Family is such an important institution and is recognised as being vital for the good of society as a whole. Unfortunately, in Latvia all is not well!Between 1995 and 2002 the divorce rate ran at a staggering average of 64.3%. Thankfully in

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1126509238860374052005-09-12T10:00:00.000+03:002005-09-14T13:58:23.573+03:00

Yesterday during the Riga 1. Corps service we were able to celebrate with one family from which 3 children attend Patvērums. After 14 years of marriage the parents wanted to have their marriage blessed within the church. Originally they only had a civil ceremony, but felt the time had come to make this a commitment in front of God as well. The response from the congregation was amazing with a

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1126281757174484572005-09-09T20:07:00.000+03:002005-09-09T20:07:25.466+03:00

It's been a busy week at Patvērums! The children have now completed their first full week at school with mixed reactions. Many are happy with their new teachers and enjoying some of their new subjects, others are not so pleased! We discovered yesterday that one boy has missed over half of the week but has been lying to us and his mum telling us that's he's been going each day. This is not a good

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We need your prayers this week for one of the families at Patvērums. We have known them for 3 years and throughout that time the mum has been facing domestic violence from her partner. On a number of occations she has come to us wanting to leave but has never followed this through. This is partly due to the difficult system in place for reporting domestic violence here in Latvia. She has 2

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1125912269939635702005-09-05T12:25:00.000+03:002005-09-05T12:24:29.946+03:00

For The Salvation Army in Latvia this time of year is budget time! Every corps (church) and institution have to submit our budgets for the coming year and then we wait to hear whether or not is accepted.Unfortunately, this year is more difficult than past years. Inflation is running at around 7% (not that high compared with many countries I know, but still high enough) but we are unable to

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1125643036674498032005-09-02T09:38:00.000+03:002005-09-02T09:37:16.676+03:00

Ever since Patvērums opened we have been in contact with some of the parents on a regular basis. However, much of this work has been in the way of informal chats and simply spending short periods of time with them.About a year ago we started to develop this work further by inviting parents to a monthly meeting where they could spend time together. Over the coming months we are hoping to extend

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1125642564024115572005-09-02T09:30:00.000+03:002005-09-02T09:29:24.030+03:00

Over the next two weeks we will be seeing some changes to our programme for the older children. We now have 3 girls who are already 15, plus another girl who is 14, and a lot of what we do in Patvērums is not so interesting for them.Since January we have had a once weekly +15 group but this has not sustained their interest as well as we had hopes. This means that we are looking at how this work

Patverums Childrens Day Centrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02150713003128731199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7776886.post-1125383126639891392005-08-30T18:00:00.000+03:002005-08-30T22:09:48.693+03:00

Last week 14 of us packed up our lunch, swimming costumes, towels, buckets and spades and headed to the beach for the afternoon.As soon as we had put down our bags the children were off running into the sea only to discover that it was a bit on the chilly side! That didn't put them off though as throughout the afternoon they swam, built sandcastles, played on the swings and generally relaxed.What

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Last year we produced a calendar to both advertise and assist Patvērums financially, which was a successful initiative. In view of this we are intending to produce a new Calendar for 2006 with the same aim.At present we have had quite a bit of interest regarding this, and hope to produce a slightly different version for 2 Salvation Army territories. This is a good opportunity to both raise much

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On Thursday 1st September the children will be restarting school after the 3 month long summer holiday.2 children will be starting school for the first time - one of whom has speech problems.3 children have been forced to change school as their old school closed at the end of the last academic year. All 3 face different challenges; 1 will be attending a boarding school and consequently will face

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After many months of thinking about having a Patvērums blog, we've finally decided to do something about it.The aim is to keep friends and supporters up to date with information concerning both the day to day life of the centre, as well as other issues as and when they happen. It will give you the opportunity to know a little more about what is happening on a level that is in impossible in normal

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