During the second COVID19 relief distribution we were able to fill 200 bags with 43kgs of staple food, cleaning and hygiene supplies. Our project managers worked together across our four projects – disability, life skills, women’s empowerment and antihuman trafficking – to get the relief to those in our projects who needed it the most.
Members of our team in Kazakhstan, in partnership with others in Almaty, have been using their occupational therapy and caring skills with people with disabilities.
Their biggest felt need is to have someone who isn’t there to benefit from them, but who wants to listen to their stories and to believe in them.
It’s not only relationships that Alma has grown in, but confidence too.
10,000 people are trafficked through Kazakhstan every year. These people literally just disappear. With promises of more money, they are lured away.
Anna is always going to need a lot of help, but if we can make small changes like how she is positioned at home, it’s going to have big long term effects on how tight her muscles become and how much movement and quality of life she has in the future.
Our women’s empowerment groups take the form of a lesson on a topic which is relevant to the ladies and then they divide into smaller groups to discuss the topic and share their thoughts and experiences with each other.
Often young people to have no idea that sexual slavery exists in Kazakhstan.
The women were amazed that an older woman (our friend is in her early 70s) would travel the world to spend time with them…
Women are finding support and belonging through sharing their stories and pain with their self-help group and hearing the stories and struggles of others.
This was also a turning point for the team, as training others to recognise the needs of children with disabilities and to identify the ways in which they can help is one of its main aims and goals.
“I’d never been taught about HIV and AIDS before or heard about the consequences of the disease for my life. Now I want to live safely.”
During the second COVID19 relief distribution we were able to fill 200 bags with 43kgs of staple food, cleaning and hygiene supplies. Our project managers worked together across our four projects – disability,
During lock down due to COVID-19 in Kazakhstan the rate of domestic abuse has increased as people are quarantined in their homes together.
Operation Mercy Kazakhstan organized a seven-day HIV and Aids seminar, for people to be equipped to make a real difference in the HIV and AIDS pandemic.
There are now 1,500 more teachers who have been empowered and equipped to teach their students about HIV and AIDS! This is an excellent example of how our NGO can widen the government’s “umbrella of care” to its people and assist in it being able to achieve its objectives.
One of the most difficult parts of doing therapy in a community setting is quickly finding the one or two things that you can teach the caregiver or finding one adjustment you can make to improve the child with a disability’s quality of life.
The Akimat (mayor) invited parents and teachers to a meeting. He had identified key areas affecting students in the school in his area that he was concerned about,
Operation Mercy organised a conference in Kazakhstan for parents whose children are HIV positive or have AIDS.
Who cares for the care workers? In Kazakhstan, Almaty region social workers explored this question during the “Caring for Caregivers” seminar facilitated by Dr. Scott Breslin.