My Story, or a Letter…
My name is Tuyak Kazkenovna Eskozhina. I have worked in public education since 1965. My professional career began immediately after graduating from a teacher training college. In the years that followed, I graduated from KazGU and worked in virtually every area of education: as a primary school teacher, Kazakh language teacher, deputy principal, university lecturer, teacher at professional development courses for educators, and senior specialist at the Ministry of Public Education. For the past 20 years, I have been managing the work of the “Nur” Children’s Home. In total, I have devoted 53 years of my life to public education.
In August 1998, my husband and I opened the “Nur” Children’s Home. By that time, I had gained considerable experience in leadership positions and suggested to my husband that we establish an educational institution. We sold our apartment in Almaty and decided to invest the proceeds in our new endeavor. We wanted to create not simply an ordinary school, but an educational institution that would also benefit society and help address a real social problem. In those years, the number of orphans and children deprived of parental care had increased dramatically, and we decided that our institution would become a “ray of light and hope” for them.
The first status we received upon registration was “Nur Non-Governmental Boarding School.” We initially planned to combine charitable and commercial activities in order to make the institution financially self-sustaining. However, immediately after opening, the number of orphans and children deprived of parental care referred to us by local akimats, the police, medical institutions, and other organizations responsible for matters concerning minors was so great that we decided to temporarily suspend the admission of children on a fee-paying basis. My husband and I believed that raising orphaned children would ultimately have a positive impact on the reputation of our institution and help attract additional resources for its development.
During our first year, we moved into a former boarding school building in Talgar. The building, constructed in the 1960s, had been abandoned and was in very poor condition. All the systems, including sewage, heating, and water supply, had been dismantled or fallen into disrepair. The doors and window frames were broken, most of the windows had no glass, and there was not even linoleum in the rooms and corridors. Almost all the money from the sale of our apartment was spent within six months on renovating the premises and dining room, as well as paying for utilities and heating. In total, we spent 3 million tenge — at that time, equivalent to approximately US$35,000.
Wanting to attract philanthropists, we approached journalists and asked them to cover our work in the media. Many people responded, eager to help orphaned children! Among them was Kanat Chabdenovich Koybagarov, director of Imanali LLP. He immediately offered us ongoing support and, at a general meeting of his employees, proposed that they finance our boarding school. His team agreed, and employees of Imanali LLP began donating part of their salaries to support us.
This prompted us to change the status of our institution from “Nur Boarding School” to “Nur Non-Governmental Charitable Family Children’s Home” and make the upbringing of orphaned children our primary mission. With regular financial support, we were able to devote ourselves entirely to caring for and raising orphaned children.
At that time, we had to share the building with Talgar Secondary School No. 2. We occupied the second and third floors, while the school was located on the first. That year, the school decided to move its primary classes into the building. As a result, all utilities — heating, water supply, and sewage — belonged to Secondary School No. 2, while our access to them was limited. We had agreed to share the cost of diesel fuel for heating, but we had no way of controlling how it was used. They also disconnected our water and heating without prior notice. All of this led to constant conflicts with the administration and technical staff of Secondary School No. 2.
A year later, the district education department, together with the akimat, proposed exchanging our premises for an abandoned kindergarten building, explaining that non-governmental institutions should not share a building with a public school. They promised to help us formalize the documents for the new building. Because of the ongoing disagreements with the administration of Secondary School No. 2, we were forced to agree. We left the first building, where we had invested more than 3 million tenge in renovations, without any compensation, and moved once again — this time to renovate another abandoned building.
Ultimately, thanks to the selfless help of many people, we were able to restore the building once again and provide the children with good living conditions. Enormous amounts of money were spent on replacing the roof, replacing all the window frames, restoring the heating and sewage systems, and renovating the interior. We also built a bathhouse. Last year, a gas heating system was installed. However, the akimat did not keep its promise to help us formalize ownership of the building. To this day, the building remains on the balance sheet of the Talgar akimat, while we continue to occupy it under a lease.
When we asked for the premises to be formally transferred to us, the akimat suggested putting the building up for auction and having us purchase it. When we moved in, the building was abandoned and its book value was only 540,000 tenge. Today, following all the renovations we have carried out, its value could exceed 20–30 million tenge if it is appraised for auction. We are a non-profit organization and receive no funding from the state. We currently have no permanent sponsor, and Imanali LLP has gone bankrupt. Where could we possibly find such an amount of money?
Over these 20 years, many people and organizations have helped us, each according to their means, and always from the heart. I am deeply grateful to all of them. Without their support, we could not have raised our children or provided them with a decent education. According to data from Talgar Secondary School No. 49, where our children study, 640 children were raised in our home during this period. Our graduates have completed or are currently studying at universities and colleges. Among them are military personnel, entrepreneurs, bank employees, teachers, and doctors. I am proud to have celebrated 45 weddings of our children!
Looking back, I can say that our institution, the “Nur” Home, has truly established itself. This is confirmed by public recognition and the awards we have received, including:
- The Talgar District Maslikhat medal “Honorary Citizen of the City of Talgar” — 2012;
- The Gold Medal “Birlik,” personally presented to me by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev at the 20th Session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, Astana — 2013;
- The “Altyn Zhurek” National Award, October 27, 2013, in the category “For Helping Orphaned Children”;
- Nominee of the national “Mereyli Otbasy” competition — Best Family in Kazakhstan.
Everything we have accomplished over these 20 years was done sincerely, with the belief that the future of our country depends, among other things, on the children we raise. I can proudly say that our children have grown into independent, responsible, and worthy citizens of Kazakhstan. In virtually every respect, they are self-sufficient. The one painful issue they continue to face is the lack of housing.
We are doing everything we can to help them. We received 82 sotkas of land from the akimat for the construction of two five-story residential buildings and developed a preliminary design. However, we do not have the funding needed for construction. Therefore, we are appealing to you with a request to finance the construction project for housing for our former residents.
My husband and I are both over 70. We have lived a happy, sometimes difficult life, giving almost everything we had to society. Throughout all these years, I never asked the state for anything. I relied only on myself, like-minded people, and my family. But time takes its toll. We have grown old, and it is time to think about rest. My husband and I would like to pass our work on to our children and spend the remainder of our lives in peace.
Therefore, I am appealing to you with a request to provide us with an apartment and grant me a decent pension. I believe I have earned it. I hope for your understanding.
On the eve of this great celebration, I would like to congratulate you on the 25th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s Independence and express my heartfelt gratitude for the work you are doing for our country. I sincerely believe that Kazakhstan will become a prosperous nation.
Respectfully,
Tuyak Kazkenovna Eskozhina