Donation presented to the children of Tartu Maarja School

Representatives of the Baltic Defence College presented a donation to the children of the Tartu Maarja School on 25 March as a generous giving by the students and faculty of the College. The presenting party included student officers’ Taivo Rokk and Steven Tierney accompanied by members of the BALTGIRLS including Mrs. Irena Vaikšnorienė, Mrs. Rasa Buikienė and Mrs. Kaja Arulepp.

The children who attend Tartu Maarja School suffer from many types of mental and physical illnesses. This donation came from funds collected during BALTDEFCOL international night held in the autumn of 2013. The funds were used to buy an instrument called a Tao Lyre which is a type of harp which is easily playable by people without music skills. It has a sound that may be associated with relaxing music from East Asia. It is also used during music therapy which may help these children further develop mental capacities. Taivo Rokk mentioned, ‘The gift will fit into the mission of what the director and the teachers of the Tartu Maarja School are working to achieve. ‘

Mrs. Vaikšnoriene led a presentation with the Director of the school and presented the Tao Lyre on behalf of the Baltic Defence College. School officials were quite pleased to receive the gift and emphasized how much it will help the children. The Director explained that the school was operated because of generous support from the Norwegian government and funds from various government levels within Estonia.

The staff of the Tartu Maarja School were kind enough to offer a tour of the facility and were pleased to show the students receiving their lessons for the day. The tour visited various arts and crafts studios and a music room within the school. Many of the students live on site versus traveling home daily due to the location of their residences throughout Estonia.