Gift Personal Mentors to 100 Orphans in Kazakhstan

Finally, in Shymkent our mentors were able to spend time with children outside of the orphanage for the first time. The project has been running in Shymkent since 2019 and our mentors had been meeting with children online or only at the orphanage all that time. In April 2022, our mentors were able to go out into the town with the kids and they had a great time and. Our 4 couples went for a walk in the park, had a delicious meal, and celebrated the 15th birthday of one of our mentees! They got a lot of emotions and impressions! In Shymkent we had training and we increased the number of mentors by one. Now this mentor is waiting to be acquainted with his mentee, because the children went to camp for the whole summer. In the previous report, we told you about Nikita and his mentor Andrey. Andrei invited Nikita to his home. For the first time Nikita visited his mentor's home, saw his everyday life and met his mom. His mentor’s family warmly welcomed Nikita. After that, Andrei invited Nikita to meet his friends. All these meetings were very heartwarming and fun. All of Andrei's relatives had wanted to meet Nikita for a long time because they had heard a lot about him. Now Andrei continues to meet Nikita. During the summer, Nikita went to camp, and Andrei came to visit him on weekends.

We had a training in Karaganda in April, because of which we formed four new mentor-mentee pairs. One of our new pairs is Meruert (mentor) and mentee is Nastya. They love to walk in the park together. The mentor has done a lot of work in these three months. Meruert has taught Nastya how to use a bankcard, how to make correct and profitable purchases, entrusting her card to Nastya. In a short period, Nastya opened up to her mentor and shared her personal story, talked about her beloved grandmother and told about her worries.

Another of our couples in Karaganda is a girl Alisa and her mentor Saule. Alisa is a graduate of an orphanage. This year she received her own apartment, her mentor Saule helped her move, and now together they are equipping Alisa's new home. Thanks to the mentors, the children continue to receive support even after they leave the orphanage. Also during this period, we provided two training sessions for all mentors in this city. In these training sessions, we discussed themes of burnout, making plans and the importance of mentors in the lives of children in the orphanage. All of our mentors received useful advice and new knowledge at the training sessions, which will help them in their work with children from orphanages.

In the last report in Pavlodar we talked about the achievements of Ademau, a girl in gymnastics. Thanks to the support of her mentor, Ademau has moved from amateur to professional sport. During this time, Ademau has added a passion for equestrian sports to her gymnastics. Now she and her mentor are spending time at the racetrack and riding horses. Together they are holding photo shoots with horses and are doing therapy with horses. Teachers at the orphanage note that thanks to the attention given to Ademau by her mentor, she has begun to open up and show her talents. They also note that she has become a leader in the orphanage and is very active in all activities.  Ademau used to do gymnastics, but thanks to her mentor Lyudmila she has changed from an amateur sport to a professional one. The mentor supports her in every way. In addition, the mentor fosters a love of English, and regularly holds classes for Ademau herself. Now Ademau is still practicing gymnastics, and her coach is noticing her success. He took her under his personal control and now she trains 6 times a week, accompanied by her mentor. We wish Ademau more success in the sport!

We also have a story to tell about another couple in Pavlodar. Gulnara the mentor and Kamila the mentee. Gulnara became a mentor for the girl in 2018. Since then, she has always been there for her and has been a tremendous support to Kamila. After graduating from the orphanage, Kamila lived at home with her mentor. Kamila's biological mother is alive, but unfortunately, they do not communicate. Kamila has such a close and trusting relationship with her mentor that the mentor is like a mother to her. She already treats her as if she were her own daughter. Kamila turned 19 this year and she got married. Mentor Gulnara was at the wedding as a mother and blessed the young couple. 

In Atyrau, our mentors regularly meet with children on weekends. They explore the city together, walk around the parks and learn new things. In addition, six students from Shanyrak Children's Village had an internship at Marco's Supermarket. The children practiced as sales assistants, helped with filling products on the cash register and learned how to work in a team. The boys were able to work in the IT department of the store and the girls in the accounting department. Thanks to the project, children got professional experience and learned about some professions in practice. 

In Uralsk, our team of psychologists provides psychological support to mentors. Several trainings have been conducted. Mentors regularly continue to meet with their mentees.