05.10.2026

QAGANAT customers help save the lives and sight of premature babies

In an age of online transfers, crowdfunding platforms, social-media appeals and street fundraising, the good old donation box can seem like a thing of the past. We pay for purchases by card and transfer money with a couple of taps on a smartphone. The figures bear this out: according to the Fintech in Kazakhstan 2026 study published on the National Bank’s website, the share of cashless payments in Kazakhstan rose from 67% to 88% between 2019 and 2026. And yet, even though many Kazakhstanis no longer carry a wallet or cash, donation boxes still serve their purpose. Because the most important thing has not disappeared: the desire to help. One example is the Qaganat food-service chain, which has hosted AYALA Charity Foundation donation boxes for the past 16 years.

The Qaganat food-service chain has been operating since 1996 and celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Today it comprises 24 canteens in Almaty, Astana and Karaganda, serving more than 25,000 customers every day.

In 2010, Qaganat began working with AYALA Charity Foundation, which since 2007 has equipped public multidisciplinary hospitals, perinatal centres and maternity hospitals with intensive-care and diagnostic equipment for premature newborns. AYALA’s first donation boxes were placed in Qaganat canteens. In the very first year, they raised more than KZT 1.4 million.

Over time, the number of boxes grew, and there are now 20 AYALA donation boxes across the Qaganat network. QR codes were added in 2023, making it even easier to contribute: customers can simply scan the code with their phone.

‘For us, charity is not a one-off campaign or something tied to a particular date. We believe help is especially valuable when it becomes systematic and leads to a tangible result. That is why we value our partnership with AYALA Charity Foundation so highly,’ says Chinara Bugimbayeva, CEO of the Qaganat food-service chain.

What the donation boxes have helped achieve: a first breath

Throughout these years, the donations have come from ordinary people: office workers, schoolchildren, students and pensioners. Everyone has their own concerns and their own means, but they are united by a desire to help. Thanks to the generosity of Qaganat customers, the boxes have raised KZT 46,693,789 over 16 years.

Anyone who has ever dropped a coin or banknote into one of the boxes will be pleased to know that their donation became part of a major charitable programme. Together with funding from AYALA’s other partners, these contributions were used to equip public hospitals and perinatal centres with equipment for paediatric intensive care under the Let’s Breathe Life project.

To most people, medical equipment is simply a collection of wires, screens and metal structures. But every one of these devices gives a tiny patient the chance to breathe, receive the treatment they need and fight for life. It is this equipment that helps doctors care for babies born too soon. The smallest of them can weigh as little as 500 grams at birth.

One example is Zhanaozen City Children’s Hospital. In 2015, AYALA provided the hospital with an anaesthesia and respiratory system and phototherapy lamps worth KZT 10.5 million. The equipment was funded by donations, including contributions from Qaganat customers.

The babies cared for with this equipment are now 11 years old. They go to school, play sport, make friends and dream about their future. Most likely, they have no idea that among the people who once helped them take their first breath were Qaganat customers.

‘First of all, I would like to thank every customer who chose not to walk past. Perhaps someone once put a very small amount into a box and has long since forgotten about it. But it is precisely these small acts that add up to something much bigger. Behind every piece of medical equipment and every hospital that received it are thousands of people who, at some point, simply decided to help,’ Chinara Bugimbayeva said.

What the donation boxes have helped achieve: the chance to see the world

Since 2021, Qaganat customers have been helping babies not only to survive, but also to see. Donations from the boxes also support I See the World, a project launched at the initiative of AYALA Charity Foundation and ophthalmologist Assel Sharipova. The project helps doctors detect and treat retinopathy of prematurity in time — one of the most common conditions affecting babies born prematurely. Without timely diagnosis and treatment, retinopathy can lead to complete loss of sight.

Over the five years of the project, AYALA has provided perinatal centres across Kazakhstan with 13 retinal cameras, as well as ophthalmoscopes and lasers. A retinal camera enables a doctor to detect the earliest signs of retinopathy and begin treatment in time.

Retinopathy is treated with laser surgery and, in some cases, with an injection of Lucentis into the eye. In 2024, using donations collected through Qaganat boxes, the Foundation supplied 10 vials of the medicine to the perinatal centre in Semey. Ten babies received treatment, and all of them avoided sight-related disability.

‘Lucentis has been enormously helpful in treating aggressive forms of retinopathy, when the disease progresses rapidly and the eyes of premature babies need to be prepared for emergency laser surgery. Every vial increased the babies’ chances of preserving their sight and helped the neonatal ophthalmologist carry out surgical procedures with favourable outcomes. Thank you to everyone who helped us make this possible,’ said Assel Sharipova, PhD, a consultant ophthalmologist of the highest qualification category.

Support under the project is directed first and foremost to regions where there is an acute need for equipment to diagnose and treat retinopathy. One such region is West Kazakhstan. Last year alone, 260 premature babies there were at risk of developing retinopathy.

This year, AYALA plans to provide the Regional Perinatal Centre in Oral with an ophthalmic laser and ophthalmoscope worth KZT 13,379,000. The project is being funded in part by donations collected through Qaganat boxes. In the coming months, the equipment will become operational at the perinatal centre, enabling children to receive prompt ophthalmic treatment in Oral itself, without having to travel to other cities.

‘I would like to offer my heartfelt congratulations to the entire Qaganat family and to the chain’s CEO, Chinara Bugimbayeva, on this anniversary. Over 16 years of cooperation, Qaganat has become more than a partner to our Foundation — it has become a true friend, united with us by a shared desire to help children. And every Qaganat customer who has ever made a donation through these boxes is part of this collective effort too. Thanks to you, paediatric intensive care units have received the equipment they need, and premature babies have been given the chance to see the world, grow up and live full lives,’ says Aidan Suleimenova, Founder and President of AYALA Charity Foundation.