“Do good things and post them on social media” is the motto of Acts of Kindness, a social action programme presented Oct. 6 in Astana. Initiated by the National Volunteer Network and supported by the Seventh TV channel, organisers believe the measure will help them achieve several goals at once: helping those in need, spreading the word about citizens’ acts of kindness and increasing the amount of positive content in the media.
“During these difficult times when we face more negative than positive content every day, simple acts of kindness made by ordinary Kazakh citizens living from Aktau to Ust-Kamenogorsk can inspire people to do good deeds more often. That is why we have launched the social prize for kindness in Kazakhstan and we call on you to expose your own or other people’s good deeds and share them with us on our website or post them on social media platforms like VKontakte and Facebook in the form of a photo or video message,” said National Volunteer Network expert Zhanara Omarova.
The planners noted one of the main obstacles in promoting the initiative is the question of morality, as it is usually not acceptable to “boast” about doing kind things or helping others.
“We understand that. After all, people do not do good deeds for the public and therefore feel ashamed writing about them. We focus on Western public charitable actions and flash mobs which generate so much positive energy that other people start joining the initiative. Another option is to write about other people who, in your opinion, deserve to be mentioned for their kindness and willingness to make this world a little better. We are going to encourage our participants by establishing special categories,” added Omarova.
The Naimi.kz project, one of the initiators and a participant in the action, provides free assistance with home repair for socially-disadvantaged citizens.
“This month we have completed repairs for three pensioners. However, the number of requests is still pretty low,” said Naimi Executive Director Erlan Esemseitov.
Kazakh celebrities were among first activists to support the cause. Actor and head of the Astana Zhastary Youth Resource Centre Anuar Nurpeisov stressed the importance of the action, noting how “truly touched” he was earlier this year when he read about the ways people united to help flood victims in the Karaganda region.
“People didn’t just express kind words, but really helped by bringing food, warm clothes and building materials and collecting money. Such happenings give us hope that our society is able to support others during the hard periods we all experience once in a while. Let this story be the proof that kindness does exist and will continue existing. Tell the world about good things happening by sharing them on social networks and don’t forget to put the hashtag #DoGoodThings,” he said.
Applications for participation can be submitted until Nov. 10. The list of participants will be published Nov. 13, followed by public voting through Nov. 19. The gala award ceremony will take place Nov. 20 and be aired Nov. 27 on the Seventh TV channel.
