Latvijas Kristiga Studentu Braliba

Latvijas Kristīgā Studentu Brālība (LKSB) is an interdenominational organisation that has received the status of social benefit from the Republic of Latvia. It was established in 1993, and is a member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). The target group of the LKSB are university students. Although the major part of the students involved in LKSB activities are Latvians, in the capital city Riga we are also working with international students; other young people are always welcome to our events too. Lately, a significant improvement of our international work has been experienced, mainly due to the chance to cooperate with our former volunteer Nenad from Croatia who arrived in Riga in September 2017. After his volunteering Nenad stayed in Latvia and supervised international student work which experienced a huge increase in the past few years. The goal of the LKSB is to offer the students a possibility to get to know Christianity, its foundations and values, as well as to promote discussions between various worldviews and opinions, and to support the initiative of students. We are open to every student regardless of their religious background, race, gender, social or financial status. Our mission for international students is that they could encounter friendship, experience hospitality and explore Christianity while staying in Latvia. A great emphasis is put on teamwork, communication and development of leadership skills, personal growth, creativity and mutual acceptance. Our core values are: the authority of the Bible; team; discipleship/succession (students forward their knowledge and skills to other students); unity (in diversity); and quality over quantity (each student is perceived as valuable). At the moment, LKSB is operating in three Latvian cities – Riga, Jaunpils, Jelgava. In each city, there is a team of local university students that is supported by a staff worker or a volunteer worker. LKSB is actively cooperating with universities, churches and other organisations. With the launch of Covid-19, we meet weekly from a different location in Latvia online, as the physical boundaries of the physical location no longer matter that much (online meetings). In each city, the student team meets regularly to mainly mentor and support each other and plan, organise various events. For example, there are educational seminars about topical issues (time and money management, relationships, identity, the search for meaning of life et al.), discussions groups, movie nights, orienteering races in the city and other public events. Several times a year, a separate team of staff workers and volunteers organizes bigger events for students from all over Latvia – New Year and Midsummer celebration conferences, weekend seminars and volunteer training events. We have also organized an amateur theatre tour through the whole country and Student festivals in some universities. In the time of Covid-19 we experience growth in students pariticipating in our groups and joining our organisation what serves as mental and practical support and brings feeling of acceptance for them.