Summer Camp in Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, intercountry adoption began in 1992, the year after the country declared independence from the former USSR. Intercountry adoption reached its peak in 2004. In that year, 835 Kazakh children found homes in the U.S. After 2004, intercountry adoption rates slowing began declining in all countries. From 1992-2011, 6,421 intercountry adoptions occurred from Kazakhstan to the U.S. Then, in 2012, Kazakhstan closed intercountry adoption, shortly after they signed the Hague Convention.
For the last 8 years, adoptions from Kazakhstan have ceased; however, in January 2020, Kazakhstan announced that they were licensing Cradle of Hope Adoption Agency for one year. Currently, they are the only U.S. adoption service provider facilitating Kazakhstan adoptions.
Kazakhstan has been an important part of HIAOM’s ministry since the beginning. In 2003, our very first host program was with children from Kazakhstan. When intercountry adoptions from Kazakhstan closed in 2012, we continued serving vulnerable children in Kazakhstan through a trusted partner. (We are not using the name for privacy and protection.) With the help of our generous supporters, HIAOM has continued to support summer camps, fund surgeries, and provide winter clothes and school supplies.
This summer, HIAOM has helped fund a portion of the $6,000 needed by our partner to have summer camps activities for children in orphanages. Since the children in the orphanages cannot go to summer camp this year due to COVID-19, local officials approved camp activities to take place at the orphanage while taking the necessary precautions. However, like many parts of the world, Kazakhstan has seen a resurgence in the coronavirus after a partial re-opening. Currently, there is a stay home order in place, but once it is safe to gather again, summer camp activities will happen with the necessary precautions.
Currently $3,700 has been raised toward summer camp supplies for children in Kazakhstan orphanages. If you would like to join HIAOM and other families and churches in supporting summer camps in Kazakhstan, you can do so here. All funds given through this link will be forwarded directly to our trusted partner.
Source: For more information on the history of intercountry adoption in Kazakhstan, please visit adoption.org/Kazakhstan.
