Bringing Bingo to Kazakhstan

A few weeks ago my English club decided they wanted to do something fun for the residents of a local retirement home.  We were hoping to have Tuesday to plan more details, but the retirement home decided Tuesday (the 25th) would be the best day to visit.  As a result, I ended up coming up with the plan for our time.  Back in high school our Key Club would go to a retirement home each month and play Bingo.  We all had such a great time that I wanted to try it here, but wasn't sure how it would be received.  I had nothing to fear.

Ten of us arrived at the retirement home for about an hour of Bingo.  People began trickling in and were very confused by the cards we gave them.  We also caused a little bit of a problem by asking them to come closer to the front instead of sit in their normally assigned seats in the cafeteria.  However, it wasn't long before everyone was playing and having a great time.  New people continued to come through the doors as they heard the laughter taking place.  Many of the staff even asked to play.  So many people played, that we ran out of cards (having only brought 45).  We had small prizes for the winners of each game.

It was fun to watch my English club members as they interacted.  They were nervous at first and didn't really know how to begin conversations with the people they met.  However, towards the end, they all seemed really comfortable.  When we left we had several people asking if we would come back again.

When I asked my English club how they felt it went, they thought it was great.  They thought everyone enjoyed their time.  They asked if we could come back again.  When I suggested we try to do this on a monthly basis, all but one was excited about the opportunity.  Looks like I will need to print off some more Bingo cards.  :)

See more pictures on Interlink's Facebook Page

Ray of Hope

A few weeks ago our staff worked together to come up with possible names for our new club for families of children with special needs (primarily for those with CP).  We voted and narrowed down the list to three names, which were voted on by mothers and children who attended our training earlier in the week.  The name that was chosen "Ray of Hope" seems to express perfectly what we hope our club will be to the families who join us.  When hopelessness seems to surround them, we want our office to be a place where they are encouraged to hope for a bright future.  Another great thing about the name they chose is that it works well in all three languages (Kazakh, Russian, and English).

On Monday and Tuesday we hosted our first training.  Sandra, a Physical Therapist Assistant working in Shymkent, shared some theory and some practical exercises with the six mothers who came to our training.  They learned about normal stages of development that lead towards walking.  They were also able to have individual time with Sandra, to develop exercise routines that will allow their children to mover closer towards the dream of being able to walk on their own one day.

One of my favorite stories from the day was a child who came into the room happy.  However, when he saw the equipment (which he was familiar with) he immediately began crying.  After we played some games (while exercising) he seemed to realize that he could have fun while participating in physical therapy.  He also seemed to be challenged by an older boy who was there at the same time, but was further along in his physical development and worked hard on his exercises.  Towards the end of his time there he looked toward the standing frame (asking to stand for a while) which is one of the things that he tends to scream about doing at home.  I was so glad to see the change in his perspective related to the equipment and hope this will last.  I think having an iPad also helped act as a motivator for him.  :)

Another fun experience from the two days was the time I had with one of the boys whose mother has taught him English.  We rolled, bounced, and threw a ball back and forth while practicing English (and doing his exercises).  I was extremely impressed with his ability to make changes to sentence structure based on what he heard and even add new vocabulary.  His mother has really done a great job teaching him.  He even promised to work on teaching me Russian when he comes.

Through February, families will be able to come to the Ray of Hope Club and give our facilities a try for free.  Starting in March, we will begin requiring people to fill out an application and join our club.  It will be fun to see which families choose to be a part of the Ray of Hope Club.  Thank you for all your encouragement.

Getting Ready

Each day we continue to do a few more things to get ready for our new club for children with disabilities and their families.  We have found someone to make the special matts that we need.  We have also ordered flooring that will keep the children warm and comfortable and allow them to sit directly on the floor.  We are moving furniture and setting up the rooms to be functional and fun.  It is fun to see it all come together.  Check out the video below to find out more.  Our plan is to begin with a training on February 17-18th. 

Extending New Years - Eating Pineapple

One of our previous receptionists collected some money from her new co-workers at New Years in order for us to buy some gifts for children with disabilities.  It was fun to have some extra money to buy some toys and other things for the foster children I work with.  We bought a Russian scrabble game for the older children.  We were also able to purchase a tent/tunnel play area and a doctor kit for the younger children.  The laughter as they played was priceless.  It also gave them an opportunity to learn what the items in their medical kit were.  This might allow them to be less scared the next time they see a doctor.  

Additionally, we were able to buy some fruit to enjoy together.  Over the last several months,  I have realized that although they might have eaten pineapple before, they don’t know what it looks like.  As a result, I took whole fruit (pineapple, apple, orange, and banana) and cut the fruit in front of them giving them some to try.  They all really liked pineapple and now realize what it looks like before it is cut.  

Throughout the activity I continued to make statements that required them to correct me (pointing to the apple I would say “this is a pineapple, right”).  Coming into the activity they knew what an apple and banana were, but didn’t know the names for pineapple and orange.  It was so fun watching them learn new things.  

One of the best parts of the activity was watching the caregivers response.  They were really confused at first when I took out an entire pineapple, a knife, and a cutting board.  However, as I started making comments and asking questions, they realized I was using it as a learning experience.  They were able to see the value of the activity and also seemed to really enjoy it.  

I am so thankful for the donation that made all of this possible.  The children learned so much in one day and had fun at the same time.  

The Never-Ending New Years

I thought you might enjoy hearing about the New Year's activities that never seemed to end for me.  New Years is a huge holiday here.  It is the holiday where you have a decorated tree, put up lights, and Santa gives gifts.  Offices have New Year's parties and everyone celebrates with family.  It has been about five years since I have been able to celebrate New Years with my Kazakh family and this year was the most fun yet!

Before I started celebrations with my family, we were busy with celebrations at the office.  We had several different parties for different groups of people (see more on our Office Blog).  On our last day of work, we had an office party.  Some of our staff planned out games and activities for us.  We spent a fun three hours eating horse, making ice-cream sundaes, and laughing together.  I am so thankful for the staff I get to work with each and every day.

On the 30th I made fudge and pumpkin muffins for the upcoming festivities. Then, on the morning of the 31st I went to my Kazakh family's house and made a chocolate cake.  We waited at their house to hear from my Kazakh mom to let us know she was done with work.  Then, we drove several hours to the city of Shymkent, where my mom's parents live.  Her family was gathering to bring in the New Year together.

Upon arrival, we were given tea.  If you know anything about Kazakhs, you know that tea means a small meal (or big), not just tea.  A couple hours later, we enjoyed a traditional Kazakh feast of noodles with horse meat.  Afterwards, we had tea again.  (it was around 9-10pm by this time).  We put all the food away and visited with each other until about 11pm, when it was time to begin preparing for the New Year.  We started setting the table for the traditional meal that is eaten at midnight.  The table was crazy ... it was about 20 feet long and was covered.  There was no room for anything else.  We brought in the New Year together (toasting, watching a speech by the president, and eating food together) and then went outside to watch fireworks going off all over the city (we were on a hill overlooking the city, so we were able to see everything).  At 3 am we finally went to bed.  We had to move the table out of the way, to make room for all the mats where the girls would sleep in the living room.

The next morning we woke up and had another meal around 11 am.  Then, around 1pm, it was off to the village where my dad's family lives.  There, we went to four houses (two of which provided us with full meals while we just had tea and salads in another).  Around each table we toasted the New Year and we each spoke our blessings upon those seated at the table with us.  At this point I think I had had about 5 full meals in 24 hours and we weren't done yet.

The next day, my cousin who was married in the fall came to town and we had horse for lunch again. Then, my immediate family headed back to Taraz.  The next day we hung out together as a family because one of my Kazakh sisters was heading back to Astana, where she studies.

We had seven days off work for the holiday, since it fell near a weekend.  This allowed me to enjoy time with my family, but also enjoy several days of rest on my own.  I was even able to have some friends over to play games over the break.

I was blessed to be able to spend this special time with my Kazakh family this year.  Although I miss family and friends in the States, it is so fun to have a family here to celebrate special events with.  No matter where I live, I will always be missing out on something with my family.