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Why do children need foster care? Foster Care enables children, who have been separated from or have lost their family, to still enjoy family life and reap the benefits of growing up in one. Children thrive in nurturing families that offer them individual attention, love and care. This allows the child to bond with the family and enhances the child's self-esteem and identity formation. It is important for a child's development to form healthy child -adult relationships, and to see themselves as part of the wider community.
Why do we need another orphanage? Kazakstan, or the whole former Soviet Union for that matter, has tens of thousands of orphans placed in orphanages. The House of Love is an orphan-house not an orphanage. The biggest difference is that orphans in orphanages are cared for by employees whereas in the House of Love they are cared for by a pair of real parents. Though the parents are not their blood parents, they are committed to treat the child as though he/she is one of their own. The other difference is that the child will have a life that is closer to a normal life – going to a normal school, having normal friends, and having the same opportunities that your child and mine will have to succeed in life.
Importance of family life Family is to a child what water is to a fish. You can’t survive without it. Yet many of us who are blessed with one do not appreciate it enough. Children thrive on the love and nurture of a family. The family also provides a launching pad for the child to find his /her place in society, providing a wide range of friends and relations. Family life gives the child the chance to learn the life skills required for independent life as an adult, while ongoing relationships with a family provide opportunities for sharing joys and sorrows throughout life.
A worthwhile investment for a better tomorrow You make a world of difference when you give a child a family. You not only foster a child’s growth and happiness, you also foster a brighter future – for all of us. Children are many things to many people. They can be promising students. They can be budding athletes. And most importantly they are building blocks for a better tomorrow – our tomorrow. I believe that I am almost right when I say one child becomes an orphan everyday in Kazakstan. They are orphaned because their natural parents are ill, addicted to drugs or alcohol, incarcerated, or have died. Street kids are an increasingly common sight. If nothing is done the problem will only grow. We can no longer turn a blind eye and think that the government will deal with it. As they say, “Everybody’s problem is nobody’s problem”. Until someone says “This is my problem and I will do what I can about it” the problem will not go away. This is how we plan to improve the situation.
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