By Tim Munday | Project Leader
It takes a lot of work to look after a site as big as ours, but it's a wonderful place to operate from, and the buildings themselves are solid. Originally built as a kindergarten in Soviet times, they have extra-solid foundations, designed to protect the little ones in the event of an earthquake. There are still old windows we need to replace, and an old heating system that needs updating, but the foundations are very good.
It's a good metaphor of our work here, and some of what we've been doing over the last few months. In September we celebrated 20 years of continuous charitable activities here in the city since we were registered as an organisation, the experience and reputation from that time still reaping benefits now. We've had more students visiting our AIDS Xperience and learning not just facts but a new attitude towards those with and at risk of HIV/AIDS. We've had opportunities to share our experience and understanding of social entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan with other NGOs around the country.
Our English courses continue to be very popular, with each semester producing many young people influenced not just with improved English but a new outlook on the world and how to address its issues. Our cafe continues to function well as a popular meeting place for local students, and now with its new roof to safeguard its future as a community resource. Our Care project was able to help a number of families in very difficult circumstances so that their kids could start the new school year.
There's no point putting a nice new roof on a building with unsure foundations, in the same way as inspiring people to help those in need around them needs to start from a solid understanding of how to bring real change over the long-term. Foundations aren't all that 'sexy', but they're vital for a reliable construction.
Thanks for investing in us and all that we're building on those foundations to bring lasting change to Central Asia.
From all the team here.
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