The Jurbarkas Library is hosting a photography exhibition titled "To Raise a Person," which showcases the lives of foster families.

"One of the most powerful moments in life is when a grown child starts calling me 'mom.' The first times it slips out through a filter of awkwardness—testing, weighing, wondering if it's too soon. I never show my emotions—accepting it naturally makes the transition into daily life smoother. For me, it's a recognition—I didn't give birth, I didn't raise them from the start, but I am 'mom.' It's an advance for being there from now on, until the end of the world," says Eglė Vaitkevičienė, a foster care ambassador and mother of 18 children.

"To Raise a Person" is a unique traveling photography exhibition that portrays the daily moments of foster families across Lithuania. Over two years, families shared their stories and the warmest moments of their lives. This exhibition offers an up-close look at 15 families from different parts of Lithuania, all united by the fact that they became homes for children in need.

Perhaps you too can become a home for children in Lithuania.

More information about foster care is available at: https://globoscentrai.lt/

Exhibition organized by the project: "Improving Child Welfare and Safety, Enhancing the Quality and Accessibility of Services for Families, Foster Parents (Guardians)" No. 08.4.1-ESFA-V-405-02-0001

Photographs captured by "Foto Plunksna."