In 1971 two young Diss Rotarians Ernest Cole And Ted Mercer visited the 
Rotary Club of Hadsten in Denmark . 
They received a warm welcome and established a friendship between the 
two clubs which has become if anything stronger over the subsequent 35 years.

About five years ago Hadsten RC helped to establish a Rotary club in the 
town of Kupiskis in Lithuania . 
Since then they have developed a number of joint projects to help the people 
of the town including the re-equipment of the kitchens in the town’s senior school.

Photo's on this page are Thumbnails 
Click to Enlarge

Kupiskis Junior School

During a regular exchange visit of Diss Rotarians to Hadsten last June. The Danes explained their project 
and asked Diss to support them in the next phase, the re-equipment of the kitchens in the 
school for younger children.

As a result two Diss Rotarians Martin Rickard and James Kay found themselves on a plane bound for Riga  
in nearby Latvia where they met Hadsten Rotarians Karsten Muus and Jan Dinesen and their Lithuanian hosts.

A brief tour of the beautiful city of Riga followed before the party was whisked across the boarder to Kupiskis. 
The following day the party visited the two schools in the town and in particular their cooking and eating facilities.

Building techniques in Lithuania over recent years can be divided into two contrasting categories, those from the 
former Soviet times, where standards are appalling and the building work done since independence in1991,
 where standards are up to those in most European countries. This difference is reflected in the kitchens of the 
two school. The upper school was clean and modern while the lower school was old fashioned with much equipment 
that no longer functions. For instance one lady had to wash the dishes for 1000 pupils by hand! The need for the 
project was clear to see.

After a visit to the mayor, our Lithuanian hosts were keen to show their guests the natural resources of their country. 
This involved an expedition into the vast forests nearby to collect mushrooms, a noisy and enjoyable business
 much interrupted by mobile phone calls and stops to consume locally distilled vodka.

The final day was spent in a visit to the capital city of Vilnius . The stunning 
buildings of this Baltic capital hid a dark secret in the form of the former KGB 
headquarters in the cellars of which 
countless people had been imprisoned, tortured and shot. It was a stark reminder 
of the past suffering of the Lithuanian people and the need to support 
them now as they struggle to catch up with the standards of  the rest of Europe .

Rotarians Rickard and Kay reported on the project to the Diss club which unanimously 
agreed a donation of £2,000.00 ($3,580.00). This will be added to the funding from 
the Danish club as well as from an associated American Rotary club.  
The Diss donation has attracted matching grant from the District 1080 Designated
Fund and from The Rotary Foundation resulting in a final contribution of about £7,000.00
($12,530.00).  The children and people of Kupiskis will benifit from 
this project and, as well, the Diss club now has another firm international contact in
Luthuania.

The group meets the Mayor