Every child needs touch

Love and care for the orphans of
Kyrgyzstan
We are the NGO Uplift-Aufwind. Our mission is to
initiate, implement, and monitor projects that alleviate and prevent poverty and establish proactive
measures that impact on health. We have been
serving
socially
disadvantaged
and
orphaned children and single mothers
since 2007.
Amidst all the difficulties arising from
the transformation and globalization
of Central Asia’s post-Soviet societies,
our work has impacted the lives of
over 500 children and each day our
results demonstrate the value of our
programs.
The “Loving Hands” program
The far-reaching benefits of
massage
Every child needs touch
The green kite
breaks the vicious cycle
A shortage of care throughout the world has devastating consequences, further entrenching poverty in
regions such as Kyrgyzstan. Poverty leads to increased numbers of abandoned and institutionalized
children. While international aid organizations and
the national government seek to provide basic shelter, food, and medical care for these children, the
need does not end there. A child’s ability to develop
normally is crucially tied to having physical and emotional contact in the early months of its life. Our experience shows that institutionalized children lack
affection, communication, and physical touch. These
deficiencies cause severe physical and psychological
damage. However, when these children receive regular physical and emotional attention over several
months, they begin to catch up and develop normally.
That is why massage therapy for babies continues as
one of the key projects of Uplift-Aufwind. Abandoned babies in maternity hospitals and orphans are
the primary recipients of this effort. This program
provides crucial physical and emotional contact to
babies in the early months of their lives.
In 2005, the pilot project “Loving Hands – Early
Intervention for Orphans” began for
children aged 0-4 years in a Bishkek
orphanage. “Loving hands” was the
result of years of experience by
Alexandra Walz, a certified infant
massage instructor from Germany.
"Women/Caregivers are trained to
become
certified
"Massage
Mothers" during the program." These
“Massage Mothers” regularly massage
the infants and children and take time to
bathe them, play with them, talk to, and
feed them.
These regular treatments, the ongoing touching, personal contact, and loving attention together yield
positive effects! These neglected children blossom
physically and spiritually; the massage process shows
visible benefits that give children a good start in life.
Again, this massage therapy has given the children a
real chance to develop in a relatively normal fashion
despite their living in orphanages. It is a fact: our
children are consistently among those most rapidly
adopted! Nowadays Uplift-Aufwind provides regular
love and massage to 164 orphans from orphanages
in Bishkek, Tokmok, and Belovodskoje.
Prevention of child
abandonment
Through maternity homes, Uplift-Aufwind
works with new mothers who are at risk of giving up
their children.
These women usually have no husband, home or
family support or money. Sometimes they choose to
leave the child because it has a disability. The goal of
the “Prevention of Child Abandonment” program is
to encourage the mother to keep her child. Sometimes all a mother needs is some understanding,
support and modest financial assistance at the beginning and she will choose to keep her child
with her.
Uplift-Aufwind e.V. team in Kyrgyzstan:
Coordinator in Bishkek
Suleimanova Nazgul tel.: 0555 91 64 73
n.suleimanova@uplift-aufwind.org
Coordinator in Tokmok
Shamyrkanova Burul tel.: 0777 21 20 65
b.shamyrkanova@uplift-aufwind.org
Coordinator in Belovodskoje
Yatsenko Natalia tel.: 0555 91 79 46
n.yatsenko@uplift-aufwind.org
Support for parents of children
with special needs
In our fight against child abandonment,
Uplift-Aufwind has also created a program called the
Tokmok “Play Group”. Three times a week, parents of
children with special needs come to the social station
for massage lessons, child care instructions, and
guidance in obtaining social services. This is also an
opportunity for these parents to meet other parents
who are facing the same difficulties. This UpliftAufwind prevention program gives them the emotional support they need to keep their child.
Emergency help
Individual help is offered for children
needing emergency care in particularly
difficult circumstances, such as life-saving
operations. For example, we help to arrange operations for orphans with cleft palate. We partner with a
team of doctors from the German-Swiss foundation
“AWD-Kinderhilfe”, which provides professional
medical treatment. Uplift-Aufwind organizes the appointments for operations and accompanies the
children before, during, and after hospitalization.
Sponsor a child Help to break the vicious cycle!
By sponsoring a child for $30 per month, you can
make it possible for a child to receive care and love
through the Loving Hands program. The money will
cover all expenses (training and medical checkup of
the Massage Mothers, massage materials, etc.).
Every donation, large or small, helps to strengthen our
work to give orphaned children a better chance in life
and to promote the civil and social development of Kyrgyzstan.
Infant massage instructor, physical therapist
Cornelia Hewitt-Geiser
c.hewitt-geiser@uplift-aufwind.org
Uplift-Aufwind e.V. team in Europe:
Maren Ernst, founder & board member
m.ernst@uplift-aufwind.org
Nandani Lynton, board member
Ute List, bursar & board member
info@uplift-aufwind.org
www.uplift-aufwind.org
Uplift-Aufwind e.V. is a charitable organization.
Donations are tax deductible.
By bank transfer:
GLS Bank - Account No.: 4021514500
BANK CODE NUMBER: 43060967
By PayPal:
vorstand@uplift-aufwind.org
The Green Kite symbolizes our innovative programs – embodying movement,
strength and progress!