Austin to Astana: Teens give back to orphanages they were adopted from

Dylan McKim
·3 min read

AUSTIN (KXAN) — When Skylar and Griffin Moore were brainstorming ideas for their Eagle Scout project, they decided to go back to their roots and donate resources to the baby houses, or orphanages, they were adopted from in Kazakhstan.

“We just wanted to provide them with stuff that the government didn’t always provide them with,” Skylar Moore, 15, said about their reasoning to tackle this project.

Skylar was adopted from a baby house in the nation’s capital of Astana, and Griffin was adopted from Petropavl in the northern part of the country.

Skylar, left, meets with one of the caregivers who took care of her (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).
Skylar, left, meets with one of the caregivers who took care of her (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).

The two visited their baby homes in 2019 with their mother, Susan, and got the chance to meet the caregivers and doctors who cared for them more than a decade ago.

Griffin, right, hugging the director of the baby house he was from in Petropavl (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).
Griffin, right, hugging the director of the baby house he was from in Petropavl (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).

They said the caregivers remembered exactly who they were and embraced them like family.

“I hadn’t met them before and they really showed that they care about me. That made me feel really appreciated,” Griffin, 16, said. While there, the two said they noticed there was some help they could provide to the baby homes. Griffin said the baby cribs at his orphanage were the same ones he slept in as a baby.

Fundraising efforts

In order to donate the resources to their respective orphanages, Griffin and Skylar needed to raise some money. Griffin decided to host a fun run at Camp Mabry, while Skylar decided to host a garage sale out of their home.

Griffin speaking to Cub Scouts about his fundraising efforts (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).
Griffin speaking to Cub Scouts about his fundraising efforts (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).

Skylar said the home was filled with more than 1,000 items that were donated by friends and neighbors. With both events, and some donations from Austinites, the two were each able to raise $3,700 for their baby homes.

Skylar makes a sale at the garage sale (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).
Skylar makes a sale at the garage sale (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).

Skylar and Griffin said they were beyond grateful with the help and support they received from complete strangers.

“I didn’t even know them and they helped donate materials and items. They helped donate extra funds when they realized what this was for,” Skylar said.

Making the trip to Kazakhstan

Austin to Astana is more than a 6,800 mile trek. The Moore family hopped on a flight to halfway across the world loaded with their funds to make a difference. With the help of a translator, the siblings were able to communicate with the baby homes to find out what resources they needed.

In the capital, Skylar used her funds to buy new clothes, developmental games, monitors for the staff members, and musical instruments for the children. She said the kids even did a performance with the new instruments for them while she was there.

Griffin standing with the cribs he donated (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).
Griffin standing with the cribs he donated (Photo Courtesy: Susan Moore).

Griffin bought 20 new beds for his orphanage, including 10 cribs for the infants. “I actually got to see a baby sleeping in one of the cribs that I had provided them with. So that was pretty cool,” Griffin said with a smile.

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