Summer Camp Triples the Size of Lithuanian Jewish Community

Like most of her fellow counselors, Inna never had the opportunity to attend Jewish camp while growing up in Estonia during the Soviet era. In July 2003 however, in the Lithuanian town of Siaulai, she and her colleagues had the chance to develop the second annual Baltic Jewish Summer Camp, offering 400 Jewish children all the things she had imagined as a child.

Funded entirely with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, the JDC-initiated program gathered campers from the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for fun in a warm, educational atmosphere where they explored Jewish history, the Jewish lifecycle and Jewish ethics. This summer’s theme, "Jewish Characters" brought to life the values upheld by Jewish heroes throughout history and offered campers a deeply transformational Shabbat experience.

While JDC's local consultants organized last year's inaugural camp, community youth leaders trained and groomed by JDC assumed the leadership role this time around. For 18-year-old Natasha from Lithuania, that training gave her the confidence to lead the camp's folk dancing program, a position often held at other camps by dance instructors from Israel.

Not only an unforgettable summer initiative, the Baltic Jewish Summer Camp also serves as an important catalyst for the development of community activities year-round. After the first camp, family clubs evolved throughout the region, youth movements were revamped, and madrichim training was strengthened with assistance from JDC.

For the 250-strong Jewish community of Siaulai, which was devastated during the Holocaust, the opportunity to host the camp in a rented location near town was a remarkable step towards self-sufficiency. "With the camp, we have temporarily tripled the size of our community," exulted the president. "I never dreamt I would again see hundreds of Jewish children in our town."