Hope for disabled children

t('articles.tweet')

* denotes required field.

• Your name *
• Email to *
• Comments *
• CAPTCHA *

Reset

TASHKENT - On the International Day of Disabled Persons, Dec. 3, five children’s homes in Tashkent and the Karmon Group announced a joint project to create a charity website aimed at helping disabled children compete in the Special Olympics to be held in the U.S. state of Idaho next February.

“Invitations to participate in the next Special Olympics for children with disabilities were extended to 150 countries, including Uzbekistan. The Olympics begin in February, so we urgently need to raise enough money to help 14 youngsters make the trip,” said Headmistress of Residential School No. 83 for Disabled Children in Tashkent Nilufar Rahimbabayeva.

All expenses incurred by the participants during their stay will be covered by Idaho state authorities and the Special Olympics organising committee, but expenses for airfare, Uzbek exit and U.S. entry visas and sports equipment, which amounts to about $2,000 [USD] per head in the case of Uzbekistan, still have to be found for each country’s Special Olympians.

The Children’s Home cannot afford to cover those expenses. Donations have begun to come in, however, since the new charity website came online. “The site features a description of the home, photos of the children and details of what they need. Businessmen are busy people, and the site allows them to easily transfer money directly using their mobile phones,” says Chief Executive Officer of the Karmon Group Dilshod Abdukadyrov.

“We have 299 children. The local authorities are aware of our problems, but their funds are limited. The fact that information about our children has gone onto the Internet has given us hope about increasing donations and, in general, about the prospect of the trip to the U.S. for the Special Olympics,” Rahimbabayeva says.

The joint charity scheme is open to all children’s institutions in Uzbekistan. Just days ago information about five other homes for disabled children was added to the website http://ehson.ek.uz/index.php, and another 30 have expressed interest in the venture.