Children in Kazakhstan living with disabilities are often stigmatized and sent to institutions for care instead of supported at home or through loving foster families. Such children spend their childhoods moving from one institution to another often enduring physical, psychological, emotional, and social harm with consequences that can last a lifetime.
With your urgent support, UNICEF joining forces with the Government and partners can strengthen child protection system, so that every child in Kazakhstan has an opportunity to grow and thrive in a family. Complete your Ramadan by helping children in need.
A child who starts behind, stays behind
We’ve made great progress to ensure that residential facilities become the last resort for children living with disabilities – not the norm. Yet, too many children are still waiting to be reunited with their biological family or placed in a loving foster family.
There is no time to waste– a child who starts life behind, stays behind as they grow up. But with the right support and resources, children with disabilities can live a full life together with their families and formal institutions can become a thing of the past.
Your compassion today will go far in bringing children from a place of isolation to a place of belonging. Every gift – big or small – helps make a difference for children in need.
For three decades, UNICEF in Kazakhstan jointly with the Government and partners has helped to:
Transforming Children’s Houses into Child Support Centers to support families in difficult life situations.
Increase the number of Child Support Centers across the country. As of now, 18 Child Support Centers exist in the country. In 2017, there were only 3 centers.
Advocate for children’s right to a family and support the government’s deinstitutionalization policy.
With your donation, UNICEF will be able to strengthen the government’s policy of de-institutionalization so that children do not enter the system, and those already in the system will return to their biological or foster families.
Your Ramadan donation can help children to grow up in a family
Your donation will help strengthen the following possible solutions for the de-institutionalization of children:
- Develop professional foster families in Kazakhstan and prevent children under 3 years from being placed in the institutions.
- Eliminate the legislation gap when children without parental care are placed in institutions.
- Develop defined categories of foster care for children with different needs.
- Strengthen and scale up programs by transforming specialized and focused psycho-social services that cover families in difficult situations at early stages to avoid child institutionalization.
- Facilitate case management and integrate it into health, education, social welfare and child protection departments.