29.03.2022

AYALA Foundation has allocated more than 5 billion tenge to projects to reduce infant and child mortality, career guidance for adolescents and to help children with special educational needs over the 15 years of its activities

Since 2007, AYALA Foundation has been consistently and systematically working in these three areas of charity. The main approach in the work of our Foundation is effective charity. Funds from sponsors and donations from Kazakhstanis are used not for one-time assistance, but for projects that last for years. The result is hundreds of thousands of children’s lives saved in Kazakhstan, and not outside our country. Hundreds of high school students who received the basics of career guidance skills in orphanages and boarding schools across the country. Thousands of little children with special needs who receive correctional development on equipment installed by the Foundation.

In 2021 alone, the Foundation raised more than 480 million tenge from major sponsors and in the form of donations from Kazakhstanis, of which 216 million was allocated for the purchase and installation of 80 units of the latest medical equipment in 12 perinatal Centres in Kazakhstan. In the next 5 years this will help save the lives and intelligence of thousands of newborn children.

“At the very beginning of our work, we decided that one-time funds raising was not our way. As a doctor, I understood that only a systematic approach can lead to large-scale results. Therefore, our Foundation has been working for 15 years with equipment for pediatric intensive care units and with skills improvement training of pediatric doctors — neonatologists, orthopedists, cardiac surgeons, resuscitators,” comments Aidan Suleimenova, president of AYALA Foundation. — Thousands of children pass through the intensive care units of perinatal Centres across the country every year. The medical equipment has been in use for several years, plus the Foundation’s doctors’ knowledge and skills in caring for newborns are constantly updated. The result is clear to every parent: the opportunity to hug their children saved locally in Kazakhstan, with the support of all our sponsors and partners.”

Of the 30 years of Kazakhstan’s Independence, our AYALA has been working for 15 years. During this time, more than 2.2 billion tenge were spent on improving the work for saving nd caring for children in Kazakhstani healthcare institutions. The Foundation’s contribution to reducing the infant mortality rate was noted by the RoK Ministry of Healthcare, which signed two Memorandums of Cooperation on the “Breathe, Baby” and “Controlled Hypothermia” projects, supported the idea of launching a free online platform for skills improvement training of neonatologists, training from February 2021 more than 100 doctors.

The Foundation’s plans for the coming years include active work to reduce childhood disability.

“Unfortunately, the number of children with disabilities in Kazakhstan is growing rapidly. Over the past 5 years, this number has doubled and exceeds 100 thousand, or the population of a small town. It is very important to save a child’s life, but it is even more important to leave him/her functionally healthy. Therefore, we provide children’s intensive care units with such equipment and nursing technologies that help reduce childhood disability from birth, said Aidan Suleimenova. — As the automatic hypothermia units appeared in our country. Since 2017, with the help of doctors trained by the Foundation, they have saved the lives and intelligence of more than 200 children. Since last year, we have been actively involved in preserving vision in premature newborns with retinopathy. We held a number of meetings with the Ministry of Healthcare and joined in the launch of the Protocol for medicine treatment of this disease. Purchased 4 laser units for retinal coagulation and two ophthalmoscopes. We are planning to film a series of free video courses for ophthalmologists. We are actively working with sponsors to purchase 6 retinal cameras and 11 more ophthalmoscopes All this should lead to a significant reduction in visual disability in newborns with retinopathy over a 3-year period.”

AYALA CF allocates 100% of the funds collected from sponsors and through private donations to its projects, providing administrative expenses from the funds of the founders. Transparency and full reporting are another strength of the Foundation. The website ayala.kz contains all financial reports since 2007 and , KPMG audit reports since 2016. This allows the Foundation to set and maintain high standards of effective charitable activities in our country for 15 years.

“Working in charity requires not only emotional involvement and dedication. Every year we hold a strategy session to determine the main goals of the Foundation and then follow an annual agreed plan with weekly reporting from each employee. We are open to new ideas, enjoy learning and improving our skills in communications, project management and even sales. Because the Foundation is, first of all, a professional organization, which we see now and in the future among the best NGOs in our country,” noted Aidan Suleimenova.