NUR-SULTAN– The Year of the Volunteer has inaugurated a plethora of volunteer movements and actions nationwide in 2020. The Menin Armanym (My Dream) project is a unique initiative in Kazakhstan and Central Asia as the fund helps to fulfill the wishes of children with physical disabilities and serious health conditions.
The main page of the Menin Armanym (My Dream) website.
Launched in October 2020, the fund has already granted 14 wishes and received 120 requests. The fund’s activists do not provide gifts or fundraise money for treatment, they make the most cherished dreams of children come true.
“We know that the main dream of every person is to live life without illness, complex therapy and loneliness. Our project is about finding the kindness in people around us, about overcoming obstacles, about learning how to live happily no matter what,” reported the press secretary of the fund.
Miras
The concept of the project is based on the Make-A-Wish international project, which has been granting life-changing wishes for thousands of children around the world over the last 40 years.
“There are tens of thousands of children with chronic, life-threatening, or terminal illnesses in Kazakhstan. Sometimes a child has only a few years or even months to live. The main mission of our charity project is to make the dreams of children come true. We help to keep their spirits up during the endless medical procedures. We brighten up the days of children who spend time in apartments, hospitals, specialized institutions and bring joy and happiness into their lives,” said Executive Director of the Menin Armanym Corporate Fund Shamil Vankeyev during a recent press conference in Almaty.
Children and their families can apply to take part in the project on the website, via Telegram-bot or through the call center. The fund also attracts volunteers and organizations to become sponsors of the project or to participate in its volunteer movement.
The activists can help children become a scientist, policeman, or pastry chef for a day, to visit a zoo, a museum or to get behind the scenes of a theater, to visit a rehearsal of their favorite band and the set of their favorite TV show. They can also assist in organizing a personal exhibition, a concert, publish a book or record a video.
Dauren
The fund has received about 300 applications from volunteers who want to contribute to the project. For wide coverage, 15 branches in other regions are planned by the end of April.
Four-year old Miras became one of the first children whose dream came true. He dreamed of meeting his favorite superhero – Spider-Man. The volunteers invited animators and Miras spent the day with his parents in their company, and he also got the role of the young Spider-Man.
Twelve-year-old Dauren dreamed of seeing Almaty from above as he wants to become an architect in the future. The volunteers invited him to visit one of the tallest buildings in the city – the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Dauren also enjoyed the helicopter tour around the city for the first time.
On their website, the volunteers are met with the message: “We do what is necessary and important. And every day more and more people support us. If people want to help, they can join our team,” it says.
