Turkmen charity’s ‘gifts’ to disabled children just a PR stunt
Charity just for the camera: In Turkmenistan, gifts are given to children, then taken away
08.04.2026
Article published on the azattyqasia.org website
In the Balkan velayat in western Turkmenistan, children in need of special care were given presents and food, but after a photo shoot, they were all taken away. The event was timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the founding of the charity named after the country’s former President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, father of the current Head of State, Serdar Berdimuhamedov.
Gifts for a photo shoot
Representatives from the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charity for Children in Need and Balkan velayat officials visited residential facilities for children with disabilities, as well as orphans and children’s foster families. Sources told Azatlyk, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Turkmen service, that the visits were filmed in order to send reports to the charity’s head office.
“The footage shows expensive gifts and food being distributed to those in need. However, after the charity’s representatives and local officials had photographed and filmed the whole event, all the items were taken away”, said one Balkan velayat resident, who witnessed the act of “charity” at first hand.
Despite Turkmen authorities claiming that caring for children is one of the State’s key policy objectives, the number of young beggars and children working in bazaars has increased.
Another Balkan citizen who did not want to be named said that charity members and officials brought gifts for her child, asked her to sign a document, and after making a video report, took everything away with them.
“Local officials visited my son who was born with a medical condition. They brought him a wheelchair, nappies, five kilograms of lamb, butter, rice and pasta. They then made me sign some paperwork confirming receipt of the food and presents before taking them all away with them”, said the mother who admitted to feeling humiliated after they’d gone.
According to the woman, the officials who came to her home with the gifts explained they were acting under instructions “from above”.
Representatives of the charity said “You must understand that we were told to deliver these items as gifts on behalf of the charity, but we didn’t receive a single penny, with staff, women’s organisations and trade unions asked to raise money for the presents. The staff are tired of constantly collecting money. This is why we are forced to stage these scenes. They made me write that I had received the wheelchair and food and to thank Arkadag (the title of the former President) on camera for his paternal care”, she said, having complied with the officials’ request.
On paper and in practice
The events in the Balkan velayat were held to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the creation of the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov charity. Official media regularly report on its activities, claiming that it helps children in need of care. However, Azatlyk’s sources say that the picture isn’t always an accurate one.
In the capital and the Mary and Lebap regions, there have been cases where documents indicated that families were getting substantial help, but who in fact were receiving considerably less.
For example, two years ago in the Mary velayat, representatives from the Gurbanguly-Khadzhi Mosque and village elders visited the home of a widow who was raising her children following the death of her husband. They gave her a goat, then asked her to sign a receipt confirming she had received a sheep.
“They asked me to sign some paperwork to confirm that I had received a sheep weighing 42 kilograms, but in fact they gave me a goat that weighed 18-20 kilograms”, the woman claimed.
“There’s no money: Public workers report extortion”
Staff at Turkmenistan’s State-funded agencies complain about regular extortions for the Berdimuhamedov charity.
According to some sources, the charity’s financial resources are extremely limited. An insider working in one of its regional branches said the charity was short of funds, which is why the organisation is resorting to extortion.
“In fact, money forcibly collected from public sector workers isn’t enough to pay staff salaries or cover regional office electricity bills”, said one source on condition of anonymity.
Azatlyk’s editorial team has been unable to contact the charity for a response. No-one has answered journalists’ calls made to numbers listed on the organisation’s website.
The main objectives of the charity are to provide wide-ranging support to children deprived of parental care, as well as funding complex medical operations and treatments, ensuring rehabilitation and recovery, facilitating patients’ adaptation back to everyday life and promoting international cooperation in the field of child protection rights. It is also reported that since its inception the charity has provided help to over 2,400 children.
The Turkmen media has reported that the charity has sent humanitarian aid on the country’s behalf to children in Ukraine, Palestine, Afghanistan and Iran.
