Good afternoon,

We are Aldona and Valdas.

We must admit that we are raising funds to pay off our debts, which were incurred through no fault of our own... My husband had a business, which he has now lost due to his failure to meet his obligations to creditors...It was a small business and my husband really enjoyed running it....And, most importantly, things had started to go well for him, and we were gradually getting back on our feet...Our needs are quite modest...We have always been content with what we had; for example, in our 47 years together, we have never once gone on a holiday. We have neither a house nor a country cottage, nor any land. We have a small flat where the three of us live. We just wanted to improve our living conditions a little and provide a good life for our only son. We have never had any help from the state, and we still don’t. We built everything ourselves. I have no parents, and my husband’s parents do not recognise us and do not speak to us... But we never let that get us down. We were happy to be together, all in good health.

The company’s debts arose because he helped his friends, who were also trying to establish themselves in the same sector as my husband’s business. They didn’t repay the debts....There’s no point in going on about it, because we’re drowning in debt. We’ve got ourselves into such a mess that now we might lose our only asset—our flat... My husband has really broken down...I suppose everyone knows how painful it is when you’re let down by people you’d never even expected to do so. There wasn’t even a hint that they were so deceitful and irresponsible. And we’d been friends with them for about 10–12 years. We’d helped each other out in all sorts of situations; in other words, we’d stood the test of time... But they left my Valdas to rot on his own. He was completely broken... He took all the blame upon himself, even though he wasn’t to blame... He blamed himself for the fact that we’d been building up our lives for so many years, and he’d ruined everything...And he feels guilty that my son and I are suffering so much because of his mistakes. He tried to take his own life... Thanks to my great efforts, I saved him, at least physically.... But what next...How hard it is to look at a loved one who is suffering so much, when you can’t do anything to help him....The future is very worrying because of his condition, as we need to keep trying to solve the problems as much as possible.

It’s so, so hard to ask for help... Because you feel... I don’t even know how to put it into words... You feel truly guilty for having found yourself in this situation because of your naivety and trust in others...

But on the other hand, can you really trust no one? Shouldn’t you help a loved one, whether a relative, a friend, or even a stranger you don’t know...? What sort of life is that then... you might as well live in the woods like some kind of hermit....

My husband and I simply cannot understand how anyone could behave so despicably towards others. What must be going on in the mind of someone who chooses such a path in life – to harm others...