Gift Personal Mentors to 100 Orphans in Kazakhstan

Dear friends,

2022 year has ended, and we are ready to share the results with you for the whole year. The year was difficult for the children from the orphanage due to restrictions, due to the coronavirus, but despite this, we were able to achieve some definite results.

During the year, we received 1525 questionnaires throughout Kazakhstan. More than 400 candidates had been trained in mentoring and 66 children across Kazakhstan found their mentors. This year we launched the project "Educational courses for children in orphanages" in six cities and now more than 70 children are studying various subjects with the tutors. Children improve their knowledge in school subjects – some of them are preparing for the UNT and entrance exams.

In Shymkent, the children from an orphanage had to move to another building because their building was temporarily closed for renovations. They did not want to move and leave their home, which they were accustomed to so much. They were scared and worried about the move, but thanks to the support of their mentors, the children quickly adapted to the new orphanage. Now for more than 6 months the children have been living in another orphanage, and our mentors continue to visit and support them. They go to various master classes to gain new skills, knowledge and spend time at mentors’ homes surrounded by family.

In Karaganda, we held a presentation of our book "Mentors" for all guests. We had a holiday "Mentor's Day" for our mentors and children as well. We invited all mentors with children from the orphanage, representatives of orphanages, too. All our guests played various team games, had fun, communicated and received many positive emotions. In addition, the guests were presented small gifts and had a great time.

Also in Karaganda, we organized a creative event for mentors and children, to which we invited city activists and made bright souvenir items together.

Mentors Daren and Aliya have been in the project for 2 years. They have a warm and trusting relationship with Maxim from the orphanage. The mentors invited Maxim to visit them, but first they arranged a joint trip to the store so that the boy could visually see how food is bought and selected. Afterwards, they began to cook “manti”, Maxim also helped to sculpt them. The evening ended with a game of consol. Dauren and Aliya are very happy that they can interact with Maxim and have fun.

In Pavlodar this year, 10 children found their mentors and now the number of "Mentor-Child" pairs is 22. All mentors take an active part in children’s life: they help with lessons, instill children in sports, and motivate them to learn something new. Oksana's mentor has a very concise relationship with the girl Regina. Oksana makes great efforts for the development of Regina. As to Regina - she noticed how she began to change thanks to the mentor: she gained self-confidence, began to respond more gently to various situations; feels security in the face of a mentor who always supports guides. Recently, Regina had various unpleasant situations in her life. Due to this occasion, Oksana, as a mentor, showed herself responsible and strong, protecting and teaching Regina new tactics of behavior.

In Pavlodar, together with the city administration, we held a big flash mob with mentors and children. Thanks to this, flash mob, our new ‘mentor-child couples’ were able to get closer, and the citizens found out enough information about the Mentors program.

In spring, a girl Arina from Pavlodar was preparing for the UNT and studying history with our tutor. In summer, she successfully passed the exam and was able to win a grant to the University! We are very pleased with her admission, because it is very difficult for a child from an orphanage to enter the University. Starting from September 4 more pupils from the orphanage began to study with tutors. They study geometry, algebra, chemistry, mathematics, physics and English language.

In Uralsk, mentors and children went to a haircut master class. The barbers told the children about their profession and gave them trendy haircuts. After that, our mentors and children walked together and had a delicious lunch. A couple Ekaterina and Denis from the orphanage have been together for almost a year. They have already passed the stage of acquaintance and adaptation and are now actively communicating. They have common interests. They like to spend time together at the mentor's cottage and like to go fishing together. Denis tries to do everything that the mentor says, and Ekaterina worries about the learning process and tries to help with his studies.

Our team in Uralsk regularly conducts seminars for our mentors, and psychologists provide support to them.

In Atyrau, this year we have 4 new ‘Mentor-Child pairs’, and the total number of pairs is 16 pairs. In addition, this year, eight pupils began to study with tutors. Children are preparing for university entrance exams and studying the following subjects: History of Kazakhstan, written and mathematical literacy and other specialized subjects. Our couple Akerke and Kazybek love to play various board and intellectual games. They are also learning English. The mentor tries to instill the desire in knowledge and traveling, because her own children are studying abroad. The mentor notices that Kazybek has a desire and interest in languages, and she plans to enroll him in additional language courses from the New Year.

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.