Posted by Ember Mumaw, Intern
The celebration of October birthdays at Ulan happened to fall on Halloween day. So after helping out at the Youth Impact carnival, Ken, Kiizkhan, and I (still sporting our costumes) took cake and gifts to Ulan to celebrate birthdays. Birthdays at Ulan have encouraged me that good things are happening here in Kazakhstan for these kids. For Ulan birthdays the children will sing and perform for each other. Their music teacher helps them prepare and they sing for us just as they would a huge audience. The staff make special dishes at home and bring them in for dinner. It's been a very neat time to connect with a smaller group of kids and staff. Those connections allow us to understand and better meet the needs of both groups. So a birthday is so much more than just cake and games!
