At a very young age, Aliya and her sister were sent to the state-owned orphanage in Kyrgyzstan because of family problems. "Time passed very quickly, and having to start a life outside the institution was hard to even think about. Every week a team from the organization [Egehuset, ed.], which helps orphanage children who have no place to live when they can no longer live in the orphanage, came. This is how I got to know Egehuset, where I later came to live", says Aliya.
Aliya is just one of many vulnerable children in Kyrgyzstan who are abandoned by their parents and sent to orphanages every year. However, Kyrgyz law only allows a child to live in a public orphanage until the age of 16. After that, public assistance is restricted, which puts pressure on vulnerable young people, many of whom find it difficult to complete their education. This is especially hard for young people who have no family members to lean on. Ultimately, some young people may end up in prostitution, crime or human trafficking.
Girls get help during the difficult teenage years
The Oak House in Kyrgyzstan is a transit house for young girls supported by donors to the Danish European Mission. Here, the most vulnerable orphanage children can seek refuge when they can no longer live in the orphanage. At Egehuset, the girls have a safe place to stay, and the housewives cook for them. The girls are enabled to get an education and develop social skills so they can eventually stand on their own two feet. The aim is to support the girls through the difficult teenage years so that they can become an integrated part of society as well-functioning members of society.
The girls meet the love of Jesus
The Oak House staff show the young girls care and the love of Jesus in a very practical way. The girls are not pressured to go to church or attend a Bible study group, but the opportunity is there. Aliya is one of the girls from the Oak House who has taken up the offer. She has already become part of the local church and is involved in children's ministry. "Through Egehuset I came to know God and now I'm a member of the local church and help out in the children's church on Sundays", says Aliya.
Kyrgyzstan is the country in Central Asia where Christians have had the most freedom to practice their faith. But in recent years, a conservative form of Islam has been gaining ground, tightening its grip on the country's Christians. Despite the challenges, however, employees continue to work for the benefit of the vulnerable.
Thank you to everyone who will support and pray for this vital work so that girls like Aliya can have the opportunity to hear the gospel and get help to get through their teenage years.
