There are SOS Children's Villages in Bishkek and Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan.

April 14, 2010: Last week's uprising in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan forced President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital, Bishkek. The violence that occurred among rioters and police killed 75 people and injured more than 1,000. Bakiyev is now staying in the southern part of the country. The opposition, led by former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva, appears to control Kyrgyzstan's security forces, say news reports.

SOS Children's Villages has been caring for vulnerable children in Kyrgyzstan since 1999, when it launched its first of two Children's Villages there, in Bishkek. Today SOS-Kyrgyzstan runs an SOS School, two Kindergartens, a Youth Facility, and two Family Strengthening Programs.

In Bishkek, clashes between police and protesters brought about a state of emergency and curfew. Banks and shops were closed. Gulnaz Sairova, National Director SOS-Kyrgyzstan, reports that all SOS children and staff are safe but that some SOS workers have gone home to stay with their families. Widespread looting prompted SOS to hire security personnel to protect its sites.

On Friday, April 9, the country held a day of national mourning for victims of the bloody protests that ousted the Bakiyev government. Bakiyev was elected president in 2005.

SOS Provides Sanctuary for Children in Need

SOS Children's Village - Cholpon Ata is located on Lake Issyk Kul, in Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The post-communist era, a period of difficult economic transition for former Soviet bloc countries, left many Kyrgyz families poor and unable to care for their children. In 2002 SOS opened its second Children's Village -- in the small town of Cholpon Ata on Lake Issyk Kul. SOS schools at both sites educate SOS children as well as impoverished neighborhood children. SOS family strengthening programs support 400 at-risk Kyrgyz children and families living near the Children's Villages.

Family-Based Care

A boy plays outdoors with his brothers and sisters at SOS Children's Villages - Bishkek, in Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyz boys and girls brought to SOS Children's Villages find warm, bright homes. They are raised by professionally trained local women who love kids and maintain life-long emotional bonds to their SOS families. SOS children enjoy the companionship of their own biological siblings, when possible, and that of their SOS brothers and sisters.

SOS gives each child under its care three nourishing meals a day, an education, medical care, and the support of a community whose mission is to help children succeed in life. Help a young boy or girl whose own parents cannot. Please, make a donation to SOS Children's Villages today.