We’ve made a commitment to invest in the communities where we do business and we’re socially active throughout Kazakhstan. We work in partnership with charitable organizations that share our aim: to improve the quality of life of those most in need – the elderly, war veterans and people with disabilities. Here’s a flavor of some of the projects we’re proud to be involved with.
Taking care of those in need
One vital project that we support is the Social Adaptation Center for Seniors in Astana, which helps elderly people adapt to modern life and combats loneliness. It is run in partnership with the Astana Organization of Veterans, Astana City Council, and Astana Employment Center.
Of the 54,000 seniors living in Astana, 5,000 are single or have little or no contact with others. Seniors visiting the center can get hot meals and first aid, use a hairdresser, join the chess club or the choir, or attend drawing and computer literacy courses. 300 seniors have visited the center in the last three years.
Another initiative we support is a rural resident support program in Ili District, Almaty. This program helps WWII veterans and low-income families in Ili District by giving them food baskets and essential commodities. The program also improves the living conditions of people in need by repairing the houses and gardens of veterans.
We have won many awards for our community investment work. For example, in 2013, 2014 and 2015 we won recognition by the European Business Association of Kazakhstan (Eurobak) for our corporate social responsibility projects.
Promoting the arts
In addition to helping the most vulnerable members of our society, we actively support art and cultural programs as we believe they enrich people’s lives. We collaborate in the Japanese Spring and Japanese Autumn International Arts Festival, together with the Degdar Humanitarian Foundation. Held in Astana in spring and Almaty in autumn, the festivals celebrate the Japanese seasons. Stars of traditional, classical and jazz music from both the Land of the Rising Sun and Kazakhstan perform. It showcases the best of Japanese and Kazakh music, finds parallels in our cultures, and acts as a creative exchange between the two countries’ artists.