Overview
- Location
- Lithuania
- Website
Description
The Lithuanian Red Cross is a state aide in the humanitarian field, the purpose of which is to protect people's lives and dignity, to alleviate human suffering and to provide assistance to people in distress in Lithuania and beyond.
The Lithuanian Red Cross Society was founded on 12 January 1919 by the efforts of Roko Šliūpas and other doctors. Many prominent Lithuanian doctors and health care workers were actively involved in its activities. The Society established hospitals in Vilnius, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Klaipėda, the first tuberculosis sanatorium in Lithuania in Higher Panemunė, ambulance blood transfusion institutions, nurse schools and courses, and made a significant contribution to the development of Birštonas and other Lithuanian resorts.
The Lithuanian Red Cross is a member of an international organization, the Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, headquartered in Geneva. The organization seeks to prevent or alleviate the suffering of people. The Lithuanian Red Cross is a state aide in the field of humanitarian activities, implementing the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of War Victims during peace and military conflicts. In carrying out its activities, the LRK is guided by the basic principles of the Red Cross: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, volunteerism, solitude, universality.
The main areas of activity are: care and care of the elderly, lonely people, training to provide first aid, assistance to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, and humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable people in Lithuania and beyond.