Antares is one of the brightest stars known, even if it is not visible to the naked eye. That is a comforting message for orphaned children in Northern Kazakhstan who receive support from the Antares Foundation. Newburgh, Indiana, residents Linda Wicker and her husband, Larry, have been actively involved with the organization for 11 years and describe Kazakhstan as their “second home.”
“You’re not going to change the world with one child, but for that one child the world will change,” says Linda, who serves as the foundation’s president and also works part-time at Evansville’s Lampion Center, which offers counseling for children and families.
Antares Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit co-founded in 2004 by Georgia resident Laura Rosier, provides services Kazakhstani orphans otherwise may not receive. This includes sending sponsored packages with gifts, money, and supplies for health care โ eyeglasses, hygiene items, or vitamins โ orphanage outings, holiday events, and birthday parties. Still, the organization’s largest areas of focus are sponsoring children in Northern Kazakhstan orphanages and supporting them once they age out of orphanages and become what the Antares Foundation calls “post-orphans.”
The Wickers have three biological children โ Miranda, Denise, and Brad โ but their desire to adopt led them to Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country they knew nothing about. In 2006, after a three-day journey from the U.S. to Kazakhstan, the couple finalized the adoption of teenage siblings Alex and Oksana. Profoundly moved by the number of orphanages and the lack of resources, they eventually would adopt two more Kazakhstani teenagers, first Daniel and then Grisha.
“Each trip and each experience there opened our eyes to the more needs they have,” Linda says.
The Wickers became aware of the Antares Foundation when the organization contacted Linda with photos of Alex and Oksana when they were younger. Today, the nonprofit facilitates sponsorships of kids in five different orphanages: Poludino, Sokolovka, Ayirtausky, Children’s Village, and Archangelka Shelter, which houses orphans for six months before they go to an orphanage. The organization sponsors 107 out of 252 children in partner orphanages, leaving 145 orphans without sponsors. Linda says the organization lost a lot of its sponsors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why sponsor a child? “Because they deserve it,” Linda says. “Kindness and love don’t stop in your neighborhood.”
Individuals, families, or organizations can sign up to sponsor a child starting at $15 per month. Sponsors also exchange monthly letters with the children, translated to and from Russian.
Fedya, a child the Wickers met during their visits, has come to the U.S. twice for eye surgeries and treatments. While here, the Wickers enrolled him in school and he attended their church, 1on1, in Newburgh, which also works closely with the Antares Foundation. Since 2018, they have sponsored Sasha from the Sokolovka Orphanage, and they stay connected via social media.
Sponsors also can visit Kazakhstan and meet the children they support. Linda has been around a dozen times after her first trip in 2006, while Larry has made at least nine trips. In August, they took their 17-year-old grandson, Judah Scholl, for the first time, along with their adopted sons Daniel and Alex and three others with the Antares Foundation.
Schollโs interaction with orphans on his inaugural trip made a lasting impact.
โItโs cool to see how much they appreciate your attention, that you understand that theyโre equal,โ he says. โOne act of kindness can change everything. Iโm glad we were able to do some good. I will continue to do that.โ
He also noted the difference in cuisine โ including the use of horse meat and milk โ the large number of stray cats, and the lack of certain comforts, like a warm shower.
โWe take for granted things we donโt even realize we take for granted,โ he says. Playtime and lunch factor into each visit. At Childrenโs Village, lunch was pilaf made by a local chef and paid for by the Wickerโs adopted son, Alex, who grew up in Sokolovka. One child cried after a meal because, according to a local coordinator, she was not used to people being kind to her.
โWhen you see or hug a kid, I canโt describe it, itโs just love,โ says Larry, a U.S. Army veteran and former AstraZeneca employee. โThey know people halfway around the world love them. No matter how much you love, you will get 10-fold back.โ
Children at the orphanages also get a special event day. During the Wickersโ August trip, orphans at Childrenโs Village, Sokolovka, and Poludino spent a day at the City Park โ a place many of the kids had never been to โ which was funded by donors and sponsors. Orphans at Ayirtausky enjoyed a lakeside picnic lunch.
โThe kids get motion sick because some have never been in a car,โ Linda says, but the excitement still is palpable. โAs we leave, the kids already look forward to next year.โ
Children at Ayirtausky also performed a traditional Kazakhstani dance for sponsors and presented the Antares Foundation with a certificate of appreciation, thanking the organization for their support and participation. An English Club, The American Corner, also invited the group to lead a discussion on kindness at a library in Petropavlovsk.
Post-orphans present the Antares Foundation with a different challenge. These children often age out of orphanages in their mid-to-late teens and are encouraged to learn a trade. However, the Kazakhstan government rarely provides them with enough support to live independently. Support comes from 1on1 Churchโs resource and handicraft programs, through which post-orphans sell crafts. The Wickers often sell these items โ hand-carved wood and Kazakhstan souvenirs, knitted items, jewelry, pillowcases, and more โ at area art shows and church events. All proceeds go to the post-orphans, helping them chip away at their monthly expenses. Many post-orphans also need a driverโs license, school supplies, bedding, hygiene items, and phones. This year, 43 children aged out of the five orphanages supported by the Antares Foundation โ eight kids were only 15.
While sponsors are in Kazakhstan, post-orphan meetings are held with each orphanage to discuss individual needs, goals, and dreams.
โThey donโt get any parenting. They hold onto hope through the program,โ Linda says.
The need in the community and love for the children are what draw the Wickers back to Kazakhstan.
โPeople ask, โWhy do you go back every year?โ How can you not?โ Linda says. โEach year, I see more, another need or another orphan. Weโre there to help the orphans because everyone deserves to be loved.โ
GET TO KNOW KAZAKHSTAN
LOCATION: Central Asia
POPULATION: 20,485,000
CAPITAL: Astana
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Kazakh and Russian
INDEPENDENCE DAY: Declared independence from the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R) on Dec. 16, 1991
INTERESTING FACT: Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world (1,820 miles east to west and 960 miles north to south)
