Staff Picnic

Posted by Sara Coggins, Kids Connection Manager

On Friday we had a wonderful opportunity to spend some time together as staff of the Taraz office.  Our employees and their families enjoyed a day by the river.  We got an early start (everyone actually wanted to get started before the normal workday began) and spent the entire day playing, visiting, and eating.  The men prepared Shashlik (chicken barbeque) for us and we enjoyed getting to know each other's families.  Children and adults alike had a wonderful time.  Several of the staff mentioned how nice it was to be able to spend time together building our relationships outside the office.  Here are some pictures from our time together.

Video Seminars

Posted by Sara Coggins, Kids Connection Manager

During the months of June and July, Interlink was able to provide three video training conferences for orphanage staff as well as youth in a local youth center.  They covered basic video knowledge (such as composition and lighting) as well as basic video editing.  Steve Mirer, a friend of IRI, currently living in Madrid and sponsoring two children through Kids Connection, provided the training.

The staff of Savva orphanage were exceptionally grateful for this training.  Two years ago, IRI (as a result of the Kids Conneciton program) was able to purchase a video camera for the orphanage.  Having someone train them in video techniques and editing was something they had desired for a while.  We are very thankful for Steve's willingness to come to Kazakhstan and build into their knowledge.

The youth from Inalien (a local youth center) were also very appreciative of the training they received.  Their organization recently received grant money to purchase a video camera, but had no knowledge of how to operate one.  This training came at the perfect time for them.  They are excited to be able to try out their new techniques on their new camera.

Thank You!

The staff at Interlink want to thank those of you that allowed/encouraged/supported friends and family that came to Kazakhstan on the Youth Impact Delegation.  We can not even begin to measure the impact they had on the students that they worked with.  Thank you for sharing them with us. 

We wanted to remind you of a few things as they return to the States today.  Every person processes a trip like this differently.  Some people need days or weeks to process before they feel like they can accurately express what happened to them.  Others will have hours of stories that they will be ready to tell as soon as they see you for the first time.  Be patient with them and allow them to express their thoughts as they have time to reflect.  It may take a while for you to be able to understand the changes that have happened in them during this time. 

Thanks again for letting them come and helping them to process as they return to the States. 

Delegation Update

The Delegation arrived safely in Almaty this morning.  Nate is feeling a bit better this morning.  He is planning on resting in the morning and then joining the delegation for activities in the afternoon.  They will go to Tsoom (for touristy shopping) and Kook Toobe (a hill overlooking the city).  

Delegation is Off

Posted by Sara Coggins, Kids Connection Manager

We saw the Youth Impact delegation off at the train tonight as they came through from Shymkent.  They all seemed to have had a good visit in Shymkent, although the guys actually complained because they were given too much to eat.  Yet another example for them of the wonderful hospitality here in Kazkahstan. 

Nate started feeling slightly nauseous yesterday and so the first part of the hot train ride today was somewhat difficult for him.  He was able to get out in Taraz and get some fresh air which seemed to help.  Hopefully, they will have the air conditioning on for the rest of the trip. 

The delegation will arrive in Almaty tomorrow morning at around 8:30 am.  They will go to Shymbolak (a ski resort in the mountains South of Almaty) and do some other touristy things.  We will try to keep you posted on how they are doing in Almaty. 

Delegation Update

Posted by Sara Coggins, Kids Connection Manager

The delegation went to the bazaar this morning, had some time with the American team in Taraz for lunch, and traveled to Shymkent this afternoon.  They arrived safely in Shymkent this evening.  Tomorrow they will see the Interlink Resources office in Shymkent and then leave on the evening train for Almaty.  We will hopefully have some blogs for you about their time in Shymkent over the next couple days.

Park Visit

Posted by Nate Clark, Delegate Hello everybody! What a great trip so far! Today (Saturday morning) we got to take young children from the orphanage to the park. The 20 or so kids varied greatly in personalities, energy levels, and response to unknown adults. Many were so wanting of love and affection. My deltoids are very sore from throwing kids up in the air so much. I did it once and instantly we had a line of kids wanting the same. We took them on several rides and hung out with ice cream. It was great seeing so many smiling little faces. It’s amazing to see how much a simple hug can affect someone’s mood! We have another program with elementary-aged orphans soon which we are all looking forward too. We look forward to sharing with you more later!