Inspire the Growth of Kazakhstan's Global Citizens

Much of Salem's focus and energy these days goes on developing our English courses, which provide children and students of all ages with the chance not just to enhance their language skills, but also to broaden their horizons. We continue to make this opportunity available to those from deprived backgrounds who would otherwise not have the option to study with us.

One example is Dastan. His father recently died, and his mum Dilfuza was left on her own with their four children. Dastan’s old brother and sister had already studied at Salem, and Dilfuza, herself a former English teacher, wanted all her children to have the chance to learn English, even though the family’s situation had become very difficult after her husband’s death.

The family live very close to Salem, and Dastan was keen to follow in his siblings’ footsteps. “My sister really liked Salem,” he says, “and it’s almost next to our block. So when they told us that I could get a grant to study there, I was very happy. It gave me extra motivation to study even harder. I would like to work in business here and in other countries where I can speak freely with my English one day.”

Sometimes, the boost of being able to study has unexpected additional benefits for those receiving a grant.

Sunatali lives with his grandmother, Nurisa, who cares for him and his siblings. His dad died some time ago, and not long after that, the family were victims of fraud and lost their home. His mother is in a specialist hospital with significant mental health problems related to it all, and the kids are being brought up on Nurisa’s pension, together with whatever extra work she can find. Despite some behavioural and social challenges, Sunatali would get good grades at school. Nurisa, recognizing his abilities and wanting to do everything she could to enable him to succeed, approached Salem for a grant.

“Even though things have been hard at home, I’ve dreamed since I was small of travelling to other places," says Sunatali. "Knowing English, the truly international language which people speak all over the world, is a really big deal for me.”

“I’ve studied on various courses at different places, but none of them taught me as well as they teach at Salem,” he says. “I was so so happy when I found out that I would be able to study here on a grant, it has given me extra desire to not just study well but get the highest scores possible in every test. It has helped me do better at school too, and I’ve become a model student at school.”

We can't pretend that everyone who studies with us becomes a model student, but it's great to see the bigger impact that we are having on those who study with us.