Seeking your help for Kazakh Orphanage

As some of you may already know, Laura and I are planning travel to Karaganda, Kazakhstan for an international adoption of an infant boy. We anticipate travel within the next two months. We have been in contact with some of the other families that are there now, or who have recently returned. We have really been touched by some of the needs at the orphanage, and Laura and I see our pending travel as an opportunity to hand-deliver a charitable contribution from our local community.

Update: I've linked a pledge form for your convenience, so that I can better recognize contributors, and to coordinate pickup of donated items. Please take a moment to consider our request and join the other donors with a modest contribution, either by payment or by picking up a few items at your next Commissary visit.

Specifically, we are seeking your help for an orphanage in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. This orphanage is well-known for its quality child care of over 100+ young kids, however, they are critically short of many common items that we take for granted in the highly-developed West.

A family wrote from Karaganda on 05 March 2008:

We brought Children's Tylenol, Desitin, and Orajel OTC medications... I'll talk with them tomorrow about needs... When we arrived, Dr Lyudmila told us that they were running short on formula and they typically quit giving children over 12 months formula. Our first day, the children in Group 4 had HORRBILE diaper rash ... but as soon as our gift was given to the doctors, they stocked the rooms and the children have mostly healed... I will tell Natasha we are in contact and ask her for a wish list for the baby house needs...

The families and their generosity reflect well... so this benefits everyone (especially the kiddos)... we wanted to make a donation... but we preferred buying something specifically for the benefit of the children instead of giving cash. We bought Nestle formula here... We bought 12 boxes and wow, was it cheap ... in the States we pay about $35 for each can and here we paid between $8-9 per box. We also purchased two 50kg bags of rice for the children. We made the purchase on a Thursday and were told that by Monday the kids were eating the formula and rice... We were told that with the budget cycle here in Kaz, from time to time, Natasha buys food and drink for the children as [the orphanage] literally has no money. The doctors and caregivers aren't paid either until the money is allocated!

One of the caregivers asked Oxana if she could buy diaper rash cream from us ... Oxana asked her if it was for her own children and the caregiver said no, for the babies! I was in tears at this point. They can't afford diapers for all these children, so what they do is wrap them in cloth-like diapers and potty them after every feeding...

The orphanage is in desperate need of a few common OTC baby medications, including:

• Desitin or A&D diaper cream (4 oz tubes), Patch Commissary aisle 7
• Baby Orajel (.33 oz tube or 12 ct swabs), Patch Commissary aisle 7
• Children's or Infant's Tylenol (4 oz liquid), Patch Commissary aisle 8
• Neosporin Original (1/2 oz tube), Patch Commissary aisle 8

Please consider making a modest donation of any quantity of the above items prior to April 01, 2008. Please, due to luggage size restrictions, no items not on the list. In lieu of the above items, we will also gladly accept cash donations to purchase baby formula or rice once we are in country. To drop off your items or to make a donation, see Bob or Laura Sims in person, or contact us through this website. Please note that this is a mission of personal charity, and is not endorsed by any official military or government organization. To be clear, this donation request is for a specific orphanage, and not any particular family’s children.

Thanks in advance for any donations, and bless you for your continued prayers and support of this effort. I have created a flyer for your reference or distribution as needed.

For those who would prefer a donation of money instead, I have provided this special Paypal button below to allow for secure payment by credit card. No special Paypal account required!