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.

The world of Paralympic sports isn’t one that Salem has ever had much reason to encounter, but earlier this year we got to know all about the sport of boccia. Similar to bowls and petanque, it was originally developed for people with coordination impairment, and is one of only two Paralympic sports that do not have an Olympic counterpart. These days, it is very popular among disabled people, especially in the Russian-speaking world, and is a great way for these young people to find greater purpose and socialisation.

Through the initiative of a Russian charity which supports disabled people gaining greater access to sporting participation, Salem had the opportunity, in partnership with the Shymkent Marathon, to provide high quality wheelchairs donated by Medline Industries to two young people, Aighul, 12, and Abrorbek, who is seven.

They are both keen boccia participants, but know all too well the challenges of playing in old wheelchairs that are a hindrance to their sports activities due to poor manoeuverability and the endless repairs that are needed. They were both amazed at how easy it was to get around in their new equipment with their high quality tyres.

Aside from those with sporting ambition, there are many families here who have children with cerebral palsy. For them, basic mobility is always a challenge. While government services have improved a lot over the last 20 years, they are often under-funded and unable to provide all that families need. Mothers have to carry children in their arms even once they've grown big enough to become a heavy load, there is simply no other way to get about.

We were recently able to pass on a first ever wheelchair to a six year old, Amina. Her family had applied to the government to get one, but were still waiting. Their very limited household income meant they had no other options, and Amina’s mum was so excited by finally being able to take her daughter out and about without having to carry her.

Aksultan’s family have a similar story – he is seven, and had been issued with a state-funded wheelchair, but due to its poor quality his family rarely used it and preferred carrying him around when needed. They were very pleased to be the recipients of another Medline wheelchair.

Aruke who is 12, also has cerebral palsy. Her family was able to obtain a wheelchair through a government program, but it proved very hard to manoeuvre, and the wheels had to be constantly inflated and repaired. In her new wheelchair, passed on by Salem, she found it so easy to use that she was immediately navigating around on her own, delighted and grateful for the precious gift of mobility.