New Beginnings?

Posted by Sara Coggins, Kids Connection Manager

Today, when we went on our weekly visit to an orphanage here in Taraz, we found out that three of "our" children had gone home to live with their mother. This was a reminder to us that many of the children that we work with actually have a living parent, but for one reason or another they are not able to live with them. I was surprised that my initial response was questioning whether this would be good for them and thinking that they might actually be better off at the orphanage. This surprised me because if you ask me if I think life in a home is better than life in an orphanage in general I would likely answer yes, unless it was a rare extreme.

As I asked some more questions, I found out that they left yesterday, were living with their mother, and their mother was currently working. No one really new much about their mother, except that she currently had a job. I remember the children talking about her and their being excited about the idea of her taking them from the orphanage, but I thought the words were just dreams that would never be fulfilled. As I thought about their leaving and talked about it with others on our staff, we had more questions than answers.

Is this home a safe place for them? Will life with their mother actually be better than life at the orphanage? What kind of structure will they have? Will we ever see them again? Will this just be another chance for disappointment? How does something like this make the other kids at the orphanage feel? Will they have enough food? Will they end up in the orphanage again in a few months, even more hurt because they experienced family for a while and then lost it again? Will they go to school and develop in the way they should? Are there any positive male role models for them?

These questions are not new to me after having taught in the States for a couple years. Sometimes, it is hard to know exactly what to make of the changes that we see in our daily work. I guess I come back to the fact that I am glad that we even know these children well enough to realize that they are missing and care about their well-being.

Ping Pong ATTACK

Posted by Ember Mumaw, Intern

This past Sunday we celebrated birthdays with 3 children and their friends of choice from Saramoldaeva Orphanage. The day began normally with a movie (Narnia), pizza, and cake. Ken went ahead and set up the ping pong table and we did a few round robins before Sara began a game of Spiderman Operation. Artur, usually the last at everything, being the smallest, aced Operation and won everyone’s admiration. Then ping pong merged with keep away in the family room to become a huge game of Monkey-in-the-Middle. It was hilarious as kids and adults alike tackled and teased the “monkey” with a left over ping pong ball. For half an hour it was as if we were all family having a Sunday afternoon together with lots of laughter, teasing, and love. Ping pong will never be the same!

The People Behind Interlink - David Knauss

Posted by David Knauss, President

My first trip to Kazakhstan was in 1992. When we deplaned onto the tarmac it was very early morning and it was a beautiful clear crisp day. I could see the mountains that surround Almaty like watch towers protecting the sleeping city. As beautiful as that was (and still is) what caught my heart was the Kazakh people themselves. That very morning I knew a part of my heart would never leave.

My wife, Theresa, and I moved to Kazakhstan in 1993 and have had a wonderful life over the last 14 years working, living, learning and raising our family in Kazakhstan. In 2007, we returned to the US. However our love for the people of Kazakhstan continues and even though we are living in the US its our hope and desire to deepen our friendships that have been so rich and a significant part of our lives over the years.

Theresa and I have 4 wonderful children. The oldest, Jenae, will be a high school senior this coming year. Natalie will be a sophomore and our boys Daniel and Caleb 6th and 5th grade respectively. We are all adjusting to life in the US and its many different nuances. We will have the great joy of returning to our beloved Kazakhstan next month as a family for several weeks.

I am currently the president of Interlink Resources and will be working at expanding our base of support and operations here in the US. Interlink is a great company and the partnerships and friendships we develop both here in the US and in Kazakhstan are touching hearts and changing lives of both Kazakhs and Americans alike. The relationships being developed will have significant and long lasting impact.

Men's Day at Ulan

We had a guest with us when we went to visit Ulan Orphanage for Men's day. He and his wife were in town adopting a baby and since he had some free time he wanted to come along and help where he could. We thank him for his help and for sharing his thoughts on the day with us.





Posted by our Guest
While Men’s Day in Kazakhstan is not the spectacle that Women’s Day was back in March, it did provide us with the opportunity to share a small gift with the boys while we shared some time with them as well.

The morning began with the smaller children and the intent of some games, but the kids seemed to enjoy the constant motion of running and after several half-hearted attempts at forming some semblance of organization, the kids won and the running to and fro became the sole activity of all present, kids and adults.

A few offshoot games with short ropes or sticks were quickly discouraged, with a second attempt organized games again thwarted in favor of keeping a balloon aloft. Balloons are always good since they can be used for a variety of games; volleyball, soccer, keep-away and more.

Throughout the games, the simple expressions of touching; carrying kids, shaking hands, and hugs, are obviously more important to the kids than the games that are going on. The joy in their faces when we arrive is clear, the happiness knowing that their desires are important is evident and the delight from a simple hug would warm the coldest morning, but today is certainly not cold as the kids are sweating and the sun has shone brightly on us.

We finished our time with the little ones by giving the boys watches and then with a banana as a snack. A banana may seem pretty simple, but they are expensive here, even by American standards and the kids LOVED them!

Next it was off to visit the older boys and we met with each of the four groups of boys to explain why we were giving them gifts and wishing them a Happy Men’s Day. Greeting the boys is always a formal time as each must shake hands with us as we arrive and they are anxious to see what is up today. We showed the boys how to set their watches and talked briefly, but overall it was a short visit. The scene is played out in each of the boys’ four rooms. Each time as we leave, they respectfully thank us and say good-bye while they continue to push the buttons of their new watch.

Just the fact that someone has come to see them, let alone give them a small gift, is important.

Perspectives on our Savva Visit

We visit Savva Orphanage on the first Sunday of every month. This month we thought it would be nice for you to hear about that visit from several different perspectives. We hope you enjoy!

Ken Baskette

Visiting the Savva orphanage is one of my favorite work activities. Because it is far away we only go once a month. We have many good relationships with the children and staff there.

This past weekend we were able to visit to celebrate birthdays for all children born in April plus we celebrated Men’s Day with all the boys at Savva. For Men’s Day we gave each boy a new digital watch. Nothing fancy, but it keeps time and date. Also, to help everyone celebrate, we gave each boy and girl a fresh banana. This may sound a little odd but bananas are expensive here so the children rarely get to eat them.

As usual the children greet us with hugs and kisses. We play games, sports, sit around and chat and exchange letters. We love bringing them gifts from American sponsors back home. The watches and letters were a big hit. Many children write back right away. It is so rewarding to do this work and love doing it.


Olya Cherevko

Last Sunday we had our usual visit to Savva. Kiikzhan and I prepared a smoking seminar for the older boys. The seminar went really well, with all the boys asking questions about how to stop smoking. Some of them shared examples of people they knew that had been able to quit smoking. The next morning I got a letter from one of the boys that I have never received a letter from. He was thanking us for the movies that we bring, the seminar that we gave encouraging them to quit smoking and focus on sports, and the birthday parties and gifts that we give them. He wrote this letter at 5 am and it was a long letter - much more than what children usually write. It was good to hear from their perspective that they appreciate what we do.


Sara Coggins

I was actually sick during most of our visit. Before getting sick, I sat in the hallway playing Legos with a changing group of children. A couple eighth graders that study English came and sat with me to practice English. One of the girls operated as my "translator" with the other children. It was fun to see how far her English has come over the last three years.

At one point, one of the boys that I had talked with during our last visit about his desire to quit smoking came and knocked on the door were I was resting. I was feeling well enough to talk, so we talked about how he was doing with his goal to quit smoking. As of my last visit, he was smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. He shared with me that he had been able to cut back to two cigarettes a day. We also talked about his future plans and desires.

In the morning, after having been at Savva but not seen by most of the children, I was rewarded with many HUGE smiles and hugs as I left my room. They were concerned about my health and wanted to make sure I was okay. It was encouraging to know that I had been missed. I actually had the opportunity to have some conversations that I never would have had if I had not been sick.


Ember Mumaw

“Balagon” a small hut made of sticks and leaves.
“Tourniquet” a jungle gym.

Each time I visit Savva I get to see a little bit more of the children's lives. I get to see what they are like and what they do when they put down their walls. This visit I spent a lot of time walking around the property with different children. They showed me their garden full of beets and onions, and beets and onions, and beets and onions. There may have been other things, but the children didn’t know what they were and/or couldn’t explain it to me! They showed me their quite impressive looking balangon, their cool stunts off the old rusty water tower, and all the tricks they can do on the tourniquet.

And I finally realized that while we often spend so much time with the young kids, who are eager for games and silliness, the older girls could be found walking arm in arm around the grounds. As the evening approached I found several sets of girls who were more than happy for me to join them. They walked and talked and sometimes, if there was a Kazakh speaker, we talked and laughed as we tried to understand each other. I hope to have more evening opportunities to walk with these young women.

The People Behind Interlink - Aben

Posted by Aben Kulmahambetov, Site Manager

I have been working for Interlink Resources since the opening of our office in Taraz. I was instrumental in overseeing the construction of our building and continue to be responsible for its upkeep. Much of my day includes driving people around town to run their errands and doing the small things that keep the office looking nice (changing light bulbs, paying bills, fixing things that break, etc).

One of the most important things in my life is my family. My wife and I have four children, three girls and one boy. Our oldest daughter is studying at a local college to become a hairdresser. Our youngest son just started school in the fall. With work and my family, I keep pretty busy.

Teacher IMPACT Update

Posted by Zina Omarova, English Program Manager

A lot has been happening recently with Teacher IMPACT. Here are some highlights of recent activities.

April 22-24, 2008
Heather Lewis trained 16 village English Language (EL) teachers from 7 regions of the Zhambyl Oblast (the oblast that Taraz is located in) to be IMPACT trainers. They had been selected after 50 hours of IMPACT courses during the previous 2 years. The training was held at the Interlink office. EL teachers got certificates showing their successful completion of the IMPACT trainer course. This June, together with the main trainers from Taraz and the author of the program (Heather Lewis), they will train teachers in their own regions.

April 26-27, 2008
40 Taraz University and school English Language teachers attended the 4th round of the IMPACT program and got certificates of completion. Our main trainers Galina Polikhronidy, Rosa Molchanova, Marina Kirichenko as well as Heather Lewis, trained them.

May 6, 2008
Heather started to train 14 City University and School teachers, who will be trained to be IMPACT trainers. The teachers will come twice a week to the Interlink office and will work from 2:30 pm until 6:00 pm.

An Evening Out

Posted by Sara Coggins, Kids Connection Manager

We took the four children from Rakhym out for the evening. Our plans to spend the evening roller blading at the town square were cut short by an rain shower, which is unusual for this time of year. Instead, we decided to go to the office and play games together. We had a great time eating microwave popcorn from the States, having them try sour patch kids, and playing UNO. We enjoyed continuing to build our relationships with them. We look forward to doing this more regularly.