recreating the lost, and the still living,
shtetls of Lithuania through genealogy, by
bringing to life in the virtual world the
places and the people of Jewish Lithuania
across the country, both past and present.
It all began when Robbie Brozin visited
Lithuania on a family history tour, and
there he met a local rabbi who detailed the
thriving Jewish identity of the community,
but the sad state of their economic affairs.
Robbie was taken with this country of his
and so many others’ roots, its people and its
past, its present and its continued survival,
despite the odds. He wanted a memento,
something tangible to take with him that
would reignite for him at home the fire he
felt there, but there was nothing he could
find of the sort. So on his return, the first
thing he did was to brainstorm a creative
way to help the Lithuanian community
there, at the same time as creating a more
vibrant Jewish identity for Lithuania, which
kicked off the whole Lita Lives project.
He approached Mendi, self-taught advertising and creative brain, to head the
project, along with Justine, experienced
with marketing and brand management,
who was conveniently looking for something that would marry her creative abilities with her desire to do something meaningful. From there, the potential for the
project was wide open, and together they
took it to great heights, with the official
launch of the website and online shopping
portal for its products in February, and
lots more to come in the near future.
The impetus behind the project is that
Lita lives… inside each and every one of
us. But it is also still alive and well in
Lithuania, where Jewish life continues
despite the hardships. Lita lives. It’s the
juxtaposition between that Lithuanian
spark inside of us and the Jewish spark
still alive in Lithuania. The warmth we
think is South African but which is more