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Fondo Social Europeo Plus
Project2020-04-14

A salad bar with a difference: Mano Guru

Picture of Eduardas
Europos socialinio fondo agentūra, 2017
On the face of it, Mano Guru is a salad bar, serving healthy food to the people of Vilnius City, Lithuania. But underneath, it offers ex-offenders and people with addictions a way to rejoin society.

When Eduardas was 16 years old, he fell in with a bad crowd and started using drugs.

"My addiction became very strong," he says. "I tried to cure myself many times - about 27 times - and unfortunately all my attempts were unsuccessful. I almost died from overdose a couple of times and lived on the streets for a long time. I used anything I could use. Buried my dreams and buried my whole life."

Over many years, with the help of various rehabilitation communities in Lithuania, Eduardas began to change his life. And one day, at a rehabilitation centre called Agapao, he met Reda, Director of Mano Guru, who offered him help to rejoin society.

On the face of it, Mano Guru is a salad bar. But underneath, it is a social integration project, helping people like Eduardas after rehabilitation. Based in Vilnius City, it employs ex-offenders and people with addictions to become cooks, servers or bar attendants.

Project details

Project name
Mano guru:combining business & social initiatives with new opportunities in the labour market
Países
Lithuania
Organización
Non-profit organization “Socialiniai paramos projektai“
Participantes
50
Project start
2009
Project end
2011
Internet and social
Contact details
Reda Sutkuviene
info@manoguru.lt
+37068753720
Total budget
423610
EU Budget contribution
€ 423,610.00