Creating Hope through Sensory Room in Plunge Lithuania

This was one of our Baltic humanitarian projects that we started and it is now complete and is being used by the children’s center.

Traumatized children often experience lasting effects on their emotional, social, and cognitive development, exhibiting intense and unpredictable aggression, self-harm, social struggles, attention difficulties, and anxiety. These challenges highlight the urgent need for specialized interventions.

The organization requested various materials and items, including carpeting, window blinds, LED bubble tube, color tunnel, electronic tablets, wobble board, floor pillow, lounge chair, light fiber canopy, projector, mood cube and table, kinetic sand, and a large variety of specialized sensory fidget toys, which were funded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The center repurposed a space to create a sensory room using the purchased items. Employing a drug-free approach, trained psychologists guide children in a controlled and supportive environment, where they engage with sensory stimuli to regain control over their emotions. This approach incorporates coping strategies, sensory regulation techniques, relaxation exercises, distraction methods, and emotional expression activities, all aimed at helping children regulate their emotions effectively without the use of drugs.

Plunge Social Services Center currently supports 252 families, including 300 traumatized children grappling with behavioral and emotional challenges. With the establishment of the sensory room and the dedicated efforts of professionals, there is hope for these children to find solace and develop the necessary skills to navigate their emotions and behaviors.

Baking Sourdough

I attended a sourdough baking course at Bread Ahead Baking School in Wembley, England. The comprehensive class introduced us to the intricate process of fermenting dough from flour and water, leaving us with a living culture to nurture over the coming days. The hands-on experience of mixing and shaping loaves with this starter yielded beautifully risen bread, filling the room with an earthy aroma of toasted grains and comfort. Lunch featured a delicious freshly baked pizza that I had a hand in crafting. The newfound knowledge and the delicious outcome fueled a sense of accomplishment and a desire to delve deeper into the art of sourdough baking upon returning home.

The class not only taught us how to make sourdough bread but also made us appreciate the skill and patience needed to create delicious bread. The instructor's expertise helped us understand the process better, resulting in beautiful, crusty loaves. This class ignited a passion for bread baking and made us eager to learn more and try different flavors and techniques.

The Vasa - Sweden's Greatest Warship Historical Blunder

The Vasa Museum proudly exhibits a historic warship, initially intended as a symbol of strength and power, also, known as one of Sweden’s greatest blunders. Today, 98% of the ships remnants are recovered from the sea and stand as a poignant reminder of its ill-fated journey and the remarkable recovery efforts that ensued.

In the 1600s, Sweden's monarch ordered the construction of the Vasa, a majestic Swedish Navy warship crafted from wood and adorned with over 50 statues depicting prominent figures and soldiers. Despite apprehensions regarding its top-heavy design, the ship set sail on its maiden voyage on August 10, 1628, armed with a formidable array of cannons. However, tragedy befell the vessel shortly after departure, as a powerful gust of wind caused it to list and sink to the seabed, resulting in the loss of many lives.

For centuries, the Vasa remained abandoned on the seafloor, deemed too challenging to salvage. It wasn't until the 1950s that a concerted effort was made to raise the ship. Employing innovative techniques, a dedicated team of archeologist, slowly lifted the hull from the depths and transported it to shore for preservation. Today, the Vasa Warship Museum, stands as a testament to both the ship's tumultuous past and the perseverance required to recover and safeguard such a significant piece of Swedish maritime history.