Help Reunite Twins and Other Siblings!

Here Are Oleg and Igor Together A Few Years Ago

Below are photos of the boys taken last week. They have been living at separate orphanages for more than a year. One is at the Regional Boarding School Orphanage, and the other is at Sokolovka Orphanage, about an hour away.

In 2007, Antares Foundation began sponsoring monthly"Siblings Reunions" for sibling sets that were separated between the RBS Orphanage and Poludino Orphanage. Due to the difference in their ages, younger siblings live at Poludino, the preschool orphanage about an hour away from the RBS where their older siblings live and attend school. The most recent reunion took place this summer at camp. Spending a few hours together means so much to the children! These reunions are emotional, with tears of happiness and great joy at being together again, and then tears of sadness when it is time to say "good-bye". But they soon realized that they would see each other again at the next reunion.

We have recently learned that there are even more sets of siblings, including Igor, Oleg and their younger sister, that are "split" between the RBS and Sokolovka. So, in 2008, very soon, we hope that the first Siblings Reunion between the RBS and Sokolovka will occur! We need to raise $150 for this Siblings Reunion. (Possibly more, depending on the total number of kids involved.) We look forward to seeing photos of Oleg and Igor and the many other siblings that will soon be reunited!

Donations for the Siblings Reunion Fund can be made through the "Donate" button on the sidebar or by sending a check to the address above it.

Letters and Packages (RBS Orphanage)

Pictured here are children at the Regional Boarding School Orphanage in Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan, who this past week have received a package, letter, or other items from their sponsors.

As you can see, some sponsors sent a package. Others sent letters (via e-mail) that were translated for the children. While other sponsors sent money so that items could be purchased and delivered to their sponsored children.

What we have found that means the most to these children is: just knowing that someone cares!

THANK YOU SPONSORS!!!

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For more information on sponsoring a child :

http://lrosier.giving.officelive.com/sponsorachild.aspx

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Shampoo and Toothpaste

We have recently mentioned that the RBS Orphanage has requested shampoo and toothpaste for its children. If the RBS has need of this, Sokolovka most likely needs these items too. We would like to raise funds to purchase and take these needed items to both orphanages.

Since the RBS children are divided into 9 groups, we would like to purchase items for each group: 2 large bottles of shampoo, and 20 tubes of toothpaste. We are asking for $5/bottle of shampoo and $2/tube of toothpaste. (The actual cost is a little less. These amounts will help to cover the expense of having someone buy and deliver the items, and the cost of PayPal and transfer fees.) So for the RBS, we need to raise $50/group or $450. It adds up quickly for 200 children!

We do not know how the children are divided up at Sokolovka. We do know that there are 170, so about $400 should buy an equivalent amount of shampoo and toothpaste per child.



You can contribute by clicking on the Chip In buttons, or by sending a check to:

Antares Foundation
148 Tanglewood Lane
Sharpsburg, GA 30277

(Only on-line donations are reflected in the "Chip-In" totals.)

Packages and More for Sokolovka Children

Sokolovka School Orphanage is located at the edge of the small village of Sokolovka, about a 50 minute drive from Petropavlovsk. It is one of the largest buildings in the village. About 170 orphans from the ages of 8 to about 18 live here. Because of its distance from the city, this orphanage receives very little support.

Earlier this week our Antares Sokolovka Coordinator, Sasha delivered fruit for all of the children at Sokolovka. He also delivered some much needed school supplies. The orphanage administration was very grateful for these school supplies! We hope to do more to help at Sokolovka Orphanage and have started working on those plans.

Thank you to those who contributed

to the Sokolovka School Supplies Fund!

A Package Was Also Delivered

For This Boy and Some of His Friends



The Children Were Happy With the Items That Were Sent




They Were Also Happy to Know That Someone Cares!

Letters, Shirts, and Gifts Were Delivered to These Children
From Their California Sponsors

THANK YOU, SPONSORS!

Thank you, Judy P, Nancy, Judy F, Reuben, and Marilyn,

who sent items to these children at Sokolovka!

Packages For RBS Children Arrive!

Barb and Ken recently sent packages to their sponsored child. These arrived and have been delivered.

Thanks to donations from Barb's dentist, she also sent toothbrushes and toothpaste for this child and all of her group.

Toothbrushes and toothpaste are always needed at all of the orphanages. Check with your dentist or orthodontist for possible donations!

Look how thrilled she is with the photo album!


Sisters and sponsors...it's nice having people who care!

Thanks, Barb and Ken, for making a difference!

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Another Child Receives a Package From His Sponsors:


He is also thrilled!!!

Special thanks to Sibyl and her daughters for caring and brightening his day!

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A Wonderful SURPRISE!!!

The Antares Summer 2008 Postcards Project was a greater success than we realized! We had heard that all of the RBS children at summer camp received at least one postcard, and that they were thrilled. We had also received a few photos and had posted those here.

It was such a wonderful surprise to recently find in the Antares Foundation mailbox a package from Petropavlovsk! This package contained about a dozen postcards and letters from some of the RBS children! It really made our day!

It was very touching! Some of the postcards originally sent from the US to KZ had been written in pencil. Some of the children in Kazakhstan wanted to reply, but paper (especially at camp!) is not a readily available resource. Sooooooo……some of these children ERASED the pencil writing on the postcard they had received and wrote a note to send back to the US. Others did manage to find scraps of paper they could use to scribble a note.

We had thought the children would really like the pictures on the postcard, to keep, to trade, and/or to serve as a reminder that someone cared and was thinking of them. However, just as with the sponsorship program, the “connection” and knowing that someone cares is more important than what is sent!


Two of the children even sent photos, which we know are treasured possessions there. They have so little that is their own, but they still wanted to share and experience the joy of giving! This is something that they do not get to do very often because they have few, if any, possessions of their own. Here are the two photos:

It was such an incredible act of generosity for this boy to give this photo away!
We know from the Siblings Reunions how much he loves his brother!

********UPDATE********

We are busy as we have started coordinating details for our many programs (new and old) with the orphanages. Since the children enjoyed the postcards so much, we are looking into the possibility of a pen pal program with the English class. This would certainly be a means of encourging them to practice their English!

School Time!

The "First Bell" has rung! The children have been back to classes for three days!

RBS Children

Thank you to those who contributed to the “School Supplies Funds”

for the RBS and Sokolovka!
The goals were reached for both!

Here are some other specific items that the RBS let us know that they need:

Shampoo and toothpaste and plates!
The plates they have for the children are breakable, and they never have enough.
There are 200 children and for every meal they need two plates.

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Summer Siblings Reunion

Here are some photos from the summer Siblings Reunion. The younger siblings from Poludino traveled to the RBS camp to spend the day with their older siblings. As you can see, this was one of the cooler summer days. It did not matter to the children what the weather was; that they got to spend this special time together was what mattered!

We plan to continue these Siblings Reunions and are in need of sponsors for future reunions. Currently these reunions only occur for siblings at the Regional Boarding School Orphanage and Poludino. Plans are in the works to arrange Siblings Reunions for sibling sets split between the RBS and Sokolovka.

How you can help: Consider making a donation to help sponsor future Siblings Reunions! Or help us with a fundraiser for this purpose.

Play Time

Snack Time

Time to Say "Good-bye" Again

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