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Central Asia Without Orphans Roundtable

Roundtable

In mid-April, sixteen pastors, leaders, and foster and adoptive parents from Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan gathered to discuss the role of the Church and Christian leaders in care for orphans in the Central Asia region.

The first day was spent learning about each country’s context. Even with shared post-soviet legacy and similar cultures, unique strengths and weaknesses in each country were identified. Amazingly, every representative brought to the table exactly what others were missing. For example, some have experience working with local governments, others have strong social work backgrounds. Some have strong adoption vision in their local churches, and others have legal understanding of how to address broken systems and corruption.

The second day representatives worked together in interest groups: church activation, equipping foster and adoptive families, and supporting biological families in crisis. New connections were built, and each group will plan their future cooperation in the region. Later that day, people split by country to discuss their further steps to grow WWO networks in their countries.

The gathering concluded with a powerful time of prayer for each country and the region as a whole.  For more information, or to connect with Central Asia Without Orphans, please contact info@worldwithoutorphans.org!

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