Little Heroes: Creating Opportunities for Vulnerable Children and Families in Northern Kazakhstan

When Nursultan, a young boy with cerebral palsy, attends communication courses, his mother, Zhanna, joins him—not to wait while he learns, but to participate in her own skill-building courses. Both mother and son are honing new talents with the help of Batyr, a civic organization and member of USAID’s Social Innovation in Central Asia (SICA) Institutional Development Program (IDP).

Batyr (“Hero”) opened in 2012 to champion the rights of vulnerable groups in Kazakhstan’s Aqmola region. The organization supports people with disabilities and their families through skill-building and social inclusion opportunities. In 2021, Batyr joined IDP, hoping to maximize its performance and develop modern methodologies to help children like Nursultan connect with a broader community. Previously, Nursultan communicated by arranging paper letters to form words. Now, this sociable student is practicing his typing and communication skills through Batyr’s computer literacy training. Using a computer, Nursultan can express his thoughts more readily.

With SICA support, Batyr purchased new computers so more children can participate in the course. “Following Nursultan's example, 25 children have already started learning how to communicate with the help of computers,” says project coordinator Aisulu Rakhmetova.

As interest in Batyr’s courses grew, so too did the organization’s capacity. SICA’s IDP experts helped the organization identify strategic goals and the steps needed to achieve them. When Nursultan, a young boy with cerebral palsy, attends communication courses, his mother, Zhanna, joins him—not to wait while he learns, but to participate in her own skill-building courses. Both mother and son are honing new talents with the help of Batyr, a civic organization and member of USAID’s Social Innovation in Central Asia (SICA) Institutional Development Program (IDP).

Batyr (“Hero”) opened in 2012 to champion the rights of vulnerable groups in Kazakhstan’s Aqmola region. The organization supports people with disabilities and their families through skill-building and social inclusion opportunities. In 2021, Batyr joined IDP, hoping to maximize its performance and develop modern methodologies to help children like Nursultan connect with a broader community. Previously, Nursultan communicated by arranging paper letters to form words. Now, this sociable student is practicing his typing and communication skills through Batyr’s computer literacy training. Using a computer, Nursultan can express his thoughts more readily.

With SICA support, Batyr purchased new computers so more children can participate in the course. “Following Nursultan's example, 25 children have already started learning how to communicate with the help of computers,” says project coordinator Aisulu Rakhmetova. As interest in Batyr’s courses grew, so too did the organization’s capacity. SICA’s IDP experts helped the organization identify strategic goals and the steps needed to achieve them.