This week I found out that my daughter is in Aqtobe (pronounced Octobe with a short O then a long O then a long E - kind of like October without the R and adding a Long E to the end.) As another adoptive parent put it, "When I found out my region, I had no idea where in the world it was, and now it is my favorite place on earth!" This region is to the far west of Kazakhstan, in the boonies practically, about 100km from the Russian border. Actually, if you can find the Ural River on my map (double-click the map to make it larger), to the west of this river is considered Europe, but Aqtobe is still in Central Asia. The population of Aqtobe is about 300,000 people with a fair mix of Russian & Kazak. Kazakhstan is eleven to twelve time zones away from us, literally Kazakhstan is on the other side of the world. :)
I will fly into Almaty and then take an in-country flight to Aqtobe, I am told that the flight is only about 2 1/2 hours.
The name of the Baby House is Ymit, also called Umit, which I believe stands for 'Hope.' Perfect! From what I gather so far, the orphanage is fairly old but in relatively good condition. The caregivers are said to be dutiful and have amazing affection for the kids. One mom said that there are about 8-10 children per group and 4 caregivers, if this is still the case, that means that the ratio between caregiver to child is only 1:2 1/2 babies. This is absolutely amazing, and I truly hope this is the case. If this is not the case, please do not email me otherwise, it will help me during the wait to know that my daughter is being well cared for. :)
8 comments:
How wonderfully exciting for you! (And thank you for the invite). Do you have any inclining of when you will travel? Do you know anything else? I realize you can't share anything but it would be nice to know if you know anything else specific... redundant but I hope I make sense! What great news before the weekend!
that is so awesome .I'm so happy for you. I can' wait to follow along.
Congrats! :)
How WONDERFUL!!! VERY exciting!!!
Can't wait to hear more!
Congrats, Christy, and a sincere thanks for inviting us to the blog. We know you'll be an Aqtobe expert in no time at all, and we know your daughter is in loving care now, just waiting for your arrival! So exciting!!! We are so happy for you! Karen.
That is so great! I've heard about a number of Kaz baby houses that have that type of ratio, so I'm sure your information is correct. I bet she's being well taken care of and will be even more so when you get there to meet her! Can't wait to follow your journey. Post more as you learn about the Aqtobe region... is it rural or city?
Thanks for the invite and that is awesome news! Congratulations!
Christy
I am so excited for you. So how many books have you read about your region. I am sure you are an expert already :)
I can't wait to hear more from you. Have they indicated how many baby girls are at this baby house? or ages? Any idea when you will travel?
Congratulations and I look forward to following your journey
sandi
Christy,
This is very exciting. I can't wait until we find out what region we'll go to. If we get Aqtobe then we'll know a little about it through your blog.
I love the name of the baby house. It made me think of the name I voted for and including it in the name of your daughter, Emerson Hope Simon!
Eileen
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