Narrowing Lithuania's regeneration gap

  • 1999-07-22
  • By Paul Beckman
VILNIUS - The Lithuanian capital of Vilnius can perhaps be best described as a city in flux. It's difficult to walk down a street in Old Town without bumping into something which is being rebuilt, restored, refurbished or just plain new. But as the recent farmer protests around the country indicate, not every nook and cranny of Lithuania is feeling such a surge of regeneration.

In many of Lithuania's more provincial regions unemployment is higher and the word "change" better describes a person's monthly income than an atmosphere of increasing prosperity. A new project launched by a non-profit organization called the U.S. Baltic Foundation, however, is aiming to change all of that by helping regions to help themselves.

The cozy southwest region of Jurbarkas is one of the areas which hopes to see better days. Of the 17,000 people of working age, about 13 percent are unemployed. A significant number of those who have jobs toil in an inefficient agricultural system. Successful small- and medium-sized enterprises are scarce.

The Russian financial crisis has also contributed to Jurbarkas' woes. With the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad just a stone throw away, people who used to sell imported cars to their Russian neighbors have seen an ample drop in clients. Almost a fifth of the regional budget is dished out to help the unemployed and low-income families.

"Unemployment in Jurbarkas is a problem," said Jolanta Taruskiene, country director of the U.S. Baltic Foundation. "It's also more difficult for people in small towns to get information which could help them plan more efficiently. For example, a farmer doesn't always know what crops the market actually needs."

By working with people from the local business community and volunteers, the U.S. Baltic Foundation is hoping a new program will stimulate economic growth and build up communities in more rural regions like Jurbarkas.

"We chose to work with the Jurbarkas region because they really showed a lot of initiative," said Taruskiene. "A lot had to do with one of their businessmen, Rimas Zazeckis and Ryan Campbell, a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. Plus the Jurbarkas municipality is very active. It's easier to accomplish goals when people are willing to take the initiative themselves."

Last February, the U.S. Baltic Foundation, along with Campbell, organized a meeting in which various segments of the community were represented. Then the group attempted to identify the region's major problems and work on some solutions.

Unemployment wound up near the top of the problem list. To get the economic scene moving, community members volunteered to work on getting the infrastructure developed for tourism and to establish a business information center. According to Loreta Zakare-viciene, the U.S. Baltic Foundation project coordinator, the spirit of volunteerism is key in getting communities on their feet.

"Sometimes people think we are bringing money to hand out," said Zaka-reviciene. "But we want to provide support in other ways and establish a tradition of volunteerism. In Lithuania it seems that type of tradition has been forgotten."

The U.S. Baltic Foundation then organized a training day, where local business people could learn about credit opportunities offered by the central bank, how to get support for small business from Business Incubator in Kaunas and activities of the Lithuanian chambers of commerce.

Work on the business information center has also begun rolling. The mayor of Jurbarkas has indicated the center will have a place to set up and Lietuvos Taupo-mausis Bankas will throw in a computer.

But as Taruskiene and Zakareviciene point out, the project is not only about building up the region's economy, but building up the community. At the same February meeting in which local problems were discussed, one of the ones which was noted was that there was a lack of places where people could get together. Work is underway to establish a community college in the region.

The U.S. Baltic Foundation is involved in another community project in the tiny town of Sasnava, in the Marijampole region. According to Taruskiene, the organization is planning to expand its economic development and community projects to other regions in the future.