On July 11-12, the first International Forum «The best place for a child is a Family», organized by our Foundation, was held in the capital city. The main purpose of the forum was to introduce the Institute of professional foster families (hereinafter – PFF) in Kazakhstan.
A visiting expert from Harvard University, Doctor Junlei Li, emphasized, “I have been working in the field of caring for orphans for over 20 years. I am delighted to see the significant and systematic efforts being made in Kazakhstan to prevent orphanhood and place children in foster care. I was fortunate to visit the «Mother’s Homes» personally and witness the foundation’s commendable efforts to prevent situations where children are left abandoned and alone.”
Aydin Rakhimbayev, the project initiator representing the patrons, highlighted the foundation’s achievement of rescuing 10,000 children from orphanhood. He illustrated this impact by likening it to filling the Barys Arena stadium with children. “By supporting mothers during critical times, we’ve prevented 7,000 babies from being separated. Additionally, 3,000 children have found foster families, including 200 with special needs.’ These accomplishments, supported by over $17 million in patron contributions, underscore the urgent need to prepare 1,000 professional foster families to provide homes for the remaining 4,000 children in orphanages.”
Doctor Tracy Larson from the University of Pittsburgh explained the concept of foster families, emphasizing that children are nurtured by professionally trained caregivers. “I myself was raised in such a family, an experience that demonstrated the stability and love foster families can provide. My personal journey is a testament to this.”
The panel sessions were attended by representatives from government agencies, non-governmental organizations in the orphanhood sector, as well as foster parents and foreign guests. Alongside American experts, representatives from Moldova and Kyrgyzstan shared their experiences in implementing the professional foster families (PFF) model.
Each Forum guest gained valuable knowledge, received answers to their questions, and departed with thoughts on how to translate the concept of professional foster families into reality.
On the second day of the Forum, experts from the United States conducted masterclasses for officials from guardianship authorities and leaders of public organizations. These sessions focused on the importance of implementing PFF and transforming orphanages in Kazakhstan.
