President Johnson Provides Relief in Eurasia

Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched an 8-day ministry to three countries in Eurasia at the end of February, including visits to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Georgia. 

President Johnson was accompanied by her husband, Doug, and the President of the Eurasian Area, Elder Aleksandr A. Drachyov, and his wife, Julia.

“The highlight of my time here in Kyrgyzstan is seeing that the work of LDS Charities, which we had the opportunity to survey while we were here, is so consistent with our global initiative to improve the well-being of women and children,” President Johnson said.

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In Bishkek, President Johnson visited two humanitarian projects supported by the Church on Saturday, February 28, 2026. She toured the Children’s Rehabilitation and Family Support Center, which serves children who are orphans and those with disabilities from birth to age 7.

“We had the opportunity in that orphanage to be with the children and, in some cases, pick up some of the children. They stood with their arms outstretched, wanting us to grab them and lift them up. And that was a tender opportunity to wrap our arms around those dear children,” President Johnson said.

“LDS Charities has contributed to that cause by providing big, industrial-sized washers and dryers so that the clothing of the children can be appropriately laundered and dried,” she said.

“We work together with official government agencies,” said Alia Gomersall, who represents the LDS Charities Foundation in Kyrgyzstan. Those agencies include the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Welfare and the Ministry of Education.

“We just serve people trying to be better,” said Gomersall, who is one of a handful of Latter-day Saints in the Eurasian country.

The Church is also providing support to a national hospital to help save the lives of babies and their mothers in Kyrgyzstan.

“LDS Charities has provided incubators and monitoring equipment for those newborn babies and support for the mothers,” said President Johnson, who met with neonatologists at the National Center for Maternal and Child Health.

She continued, “We’re teaching neonatal resuscitation all around the world. But the people here were so very grateful for the efforts of LDS Charities to bless them with the materials they needed to teach medical professionals all across this country how to care for those babies that come with respiratory issues.”

The project has enabled training for staff from 35 medical facilities in Kyrgyzstan, including 60 healthcare professionals. In addition, 200 maternity departments have been equipped with basic resuscitation equipment.

President Johnson, the leader of the Church’s 8 million women, also interacted with the Congress of Women in Kyrgyzstan during her ministry.

“They are wonderful, innovative people who are looking to provide entrepreneurial and economic opportunities for women,” President Johnson said.

“We were happy to visit with them about opportunities to collaborate, knowing that when we strengthen the women of Kyrgyzstan, we strengthen the whole country,” she said.

President Johnson traveled by car to Almaty, Kazakhstan, to attend worship services with Latter-day Saints on Sunday, March 1. The Church is growing in this country, which borders Russia and China. A baptismal service was held in the morning for three new members of the faith.

On Monday, she attended a puppet show at an orphanage in Almaty, performed by missionaries.

“It’s a way to teach children about healthy habits,” President Johnson said. “There was a discussion about handwashing and about good eating habits, all shown through puppets. And then the children had the opportunity to use the puppets themselves.”

The children were also given some new toys following the presentation.

President Johnson concluded her visit to Almaty with a devotional with missionaries from the Russia Yekaterinburg and Russia Moscow Missions.