25 MORE WISHES FULLFILLED

The project is run by the Shakhmardan Yessenov science and education foundation’s Komanda SOS volunteers’ team.  The point of the campaign is in giving presents to those children who for various reasons are deprived of the joy of receiving any. To make it come true, volunteers call out for donations made by fellow Kazakhstanis.  In previous years the free-will donations were given to children and teenagers with hearing impairments, orphans and children living in large families, Special Olympics athletes and children diagnosed with tuberculosis.

This year the Komanda SOS has decided to help children undergoing rehabilitation courses at the ARDI. The project involved 25 children aged 2 to 15 years with various forms of cerebral palsy. Almost all of them are not able to move independently and most of them do not speak, while many children are from low-income families.

Photos of the children with their names, ages and New Year wishes were hung on a New Year tree in Sputnik, one of Almaty’s shopping malls and a special coverage saw light on VoxPopuli.kz page. Local businessmen, members of the Almaty branch of the international Rotary Club, rendered assistance in purchasing some of the presents.  Both individual philanthropists, our fellow citizens, including those residing abroad and corporate groups were also actively involved in fulfilling the children’s wishes. For example, AlmatyBroTeam — a cycling team of businessmen, — gave specialized bicycles to the children diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

As project coordinator Grigoriy Lee said in his interview, “we are very pleased that with the support of sponsors and some of our fellow citizens the wishes of all children were traditionally fulfilled.” “It was a joy for us to see the faces of the parents too — moms and dads — and, of course, the children themselves, when they received the presents,” he added. Komanda SOS thanks all the Kazakhstanis who participated in the campaign for caring and assistance in fulfilling the desires of children with special needs. We are sure that their life became brighter and happier.

ARDI (Association of parents of the children with disabilities) was established in 1991 in Almaty by a group of enthusiasts, united by a common destiny and a desire to help their children. This is the first non-profit organization for children and youth with disabilities in Kazakhstan. Today it is takings care of more than 500 families where children with various diagnoses live.