The number is ever changing and depends on how one defines “lives”. At present there are 25 children for whom Zvannieki is “home”. Six are under 8 years of age and the rest are 12-23. Each child has arrived via his/her own path – some from orphanages, others were removed from their families by Social Service personnel and others came for a visit for a while and some of those chose to remain.
September 2001 was the beginning of Zvannieki. A little girl whom we call Buba arrived when she was 4 months old, together with her mother. Soon thereafter her 4 year old brother and 3 year old sister joined them. Up until that point they had been living in an orphanage. Zvannieki was born and a family was reunited.
In March 2003 the local orphans’ court asked if a temporary home could be provided for a 15 year old girl. There were problems of abuse in the family and the girl asked for a new home. Since she had numerous siblings and all were subject to abuse, the court decided that the remaining children should also live in Zvannieki. In June of 2003 two brothers and three sisters, ranging in age from 11 months to 19 years became part of the Zvannieki family. In the summer of 2005, they were joined by their eldest brother.
The end of June 2003 brought a new addition: a local ten month old girl. It was the hope and intent to help her mother and to reunite their family, but that did not come to pass. Once the mother received her “baby bonus” for giving birth to her child, she left and has not been seen since. She left her daughter at Zvannieki.
Summer vacation of 2003 brought guests to Zvannieki: children from the "Lejasstrazdi" Orphanage - two girls aged 9 and 12 and two boys aged 14 and 15.
At the end of the Christmas vacation 2003 the two boys from Lejasstrazdi asked if Zvannieki could be their new home, because they wished to become members of this family.
After lengthy and intense discussions, the brothers of the abandoned infant girl were brought to Zvannieki. They were 3 and 4 years old and had spent those years in an orphanage. Both brothers are visually impaired and have developmental handicaps. The discussions were especially intense because the Zvannieki house was undergoing renovations.
The winter of 2004 is marked as a new beginning, for Zvannieki has frequent live in guests: teens from the surrounding area – classmates of the Zvannieki children.
The summer of 2004 is home once again for guests from the “Lejasstrazdi” orphanage who are beginning to view Zvannieki as their home. At the end of the summer vacation one 12 year old boy refuses to return to the orphanage.
During 2004/2005 school year a couple of local teens decide to live in Zvannieki as does a local 20-year-old schoolteacher.
At the conclusion of the Christmas vacation of 2004 two sisters aged 11 and 14 beg to be allowed to become part of the Zvannieki family. They do not wish to return to their “home” – the orphanage.
As is the Zvannieki custom, during the summer vacation of 2005, the Zvannieki family goes for a several day hike along the coast of the Baltic Sea. They are joined by one of our teenager’s classmates, a 17-year-old girl who is homeless. She becomes a member of our family.
At about the same time, the “Lejasstrazdi” orphanage asks us to provide a home for a 14-year-old girl who refuses to attend their local school and to live in the orphanage. Psychologists at a crisis center conclude that the girl needs new living arrangements and agree that Zvannieki would be an appropriate venue for the teen.
In December of 2005 one of our teens, a 17 year old boy, decides to accept the kind offer of a family in Michigan to attend school in the USA. Another teen, an 18-year-old girl, joins the family. She also has no home. Not withstanding her difficulties, she is an honors student.
