Three Months to go
Can you believe it, I only have three months left in Kazakhstan. Well, I can’t say that the time has flown by but I can say the time has been filled with some great experiences. I am ready to head back to my “real” life in the states but I am sure it will be difficult saying goodbye to all of my new friends.

No final decisions on where I will land when I return to the US but it is looking like New York or Dallas. Stay Tuned for my latest job news.

The Weather Is Freezing
Well, I have finally experienced a REAL winter. For the past few weeks, the temperature in Uralsk has been hovering around -35. Luckily this week, it is about -15 to -20 and snowing. I realized that this was the coldest weather that I had every experienced when I was walking to work and my eyelashes froze together.

You would think that the cold winter weather would keep us inside but I joined 8 other volunteers (and 6 local friends) for the annual sin cleansing cold plunge. Yes, we did the plunge in -35 degree weather. And yes, it was really cold. I lost feeling in my feet and hands almost instantly but I still managed to drink my shot of vodka and take a bite of a salty pickle before I put my clothes back on. It was still a great time but I much preferred the -5 weather that we had last year.

I knew this was my last chance to plunge in Uralsk so I couldn't let the weather stop me!

Back in Uralsk
I arrived back in Uralsk after a fantastic visit to the states. I definitely feel refueled after my month home. I had a great week in Dallas reconnecting with friends and colleagues and seeing my new niece for the first time not to mention seeing my sister for the first time after a year. I also did some preliminary job interviews. Then I was off to New York for more visiting, hanging with my family and doing a few more interviews. After New York, I headed to Kentucky to spend time with my Mom, Dad and other family members. It was a great and relaxing visit. I ended my trip back in Dallas with my mom, sister and a few friends. I also had a nice stop in Amsterdam on the way back to Uralsk.

Now I am on my final 4 months in Uralsk and the last mile of my Peace Corps Volunteering.

Home for the Holidays
I am heading home on Dec 8 and will be there until Jan 2. It will be my first time home in nearly two years and I can't wait.

Launch of Pushkin Hotel Website
I wanted to invite you to visit the newly launched Pushkin website at http://www.pushkinhotel.com.

I would also suggest that if you are planning a visit to Uralsk, you should consider staying at the Pushkin - especially for the adoption couples. The Pushkin is the nicest hotel in Uralsk and the management provides great customer service. They also provide high speed internet service and free laundry service. In the past, people complained about the mostly italian menu but it has improved and there are so many more restaurant choices in Uralsk that it isn't an issue.

Enjoy the site.

Secondary Projects that Make a Difference: Helping the Zhas Dauren Orphanage
Sue and I wrote the following story to chronicle our work with the orphanage. I thought I would share it with you. In the story, it seems like Sue and I did all the work but really it was a joint effort between multiple NGOs, donor organizations, volunteers and friends. I hope you enjoy it.
---------------------------

When Sue and I arrived in Uralsk, Kazakhstan in the spring of 2004, we knew we would be spending the majority of our time working with our NGOs to help business leaders but we also knew that we wanted to focus our secondary projects on helping the kids at the local orphanages. We had no idea how our internal desire to help the kids would turn into such a comprehensive series of programs and touch our own hearts in so many ways.

So here is the story as we saw it or at least how we would tell it on this day.

Project One: Foster Care Program
Sponsored By: Phillip Morris
Implemented By: Women’s Union

It all started during our first few weeks in Uralsk when Sue arrived at her new organization – Business Association of Women. During the first meeting the director talked about a new project that they had started a month prior and told Sue that they needed the help of an American to work with the children. We realized that this could be the starting point for accomplishing our goals for working with the orphanage in Uralsk.

The program is similar to the foster care system in America. During the first year there were 14 families with 20 children, seven of these families were somehow related to the child, but did not have money to house, feed, or clothe the children for the entire year. The second year 18 families participated along with 25 children. The Women’s Union of Hope, paid each family $12.00 every week to ensure that relatives could stay together during the summer, and to help the families who only wanted to give a child a family setting, but did not have the monetary means. Both years the program consisted of taking the students to the movie theater, cafes, out for ice cream, and picnics in the park. The end of the year finale was held in the main park where the families, students, sponsors, and Union of Women played games and picnicked. Leaving the children looking forward to the next year when they would have another chance at living the life of a family.

As Sue was helping to launch the foster care program, I began to talk with BG Kazakhstan about a computer training program to help the students at Zhas Dauren.

Project Two: Orphanage Computer Training Program
Sponsored By: BG Kazakhstan
Implement By: IBC Group

The next project that we launched was a training program focused on helping orphanage kids ages 15-17. We developed a 10-month computer training program for students at the Zhas Dauren Orphanage in the West Kazakhstan Oblast in order to help the students learn valuable computer skills and prepare for the university. The students were transported from the Orphanage to our training facility two days each week for their lessons. The program allowed us to teach 40 students, hire a project manager, project administrator and three trainers.
The first year of our orphanage training program came to an end on May 20, 2005 during a graduation ceremony held at the IBC Group training center. All 36 orphanage kids that completed the BG computer training project attended the event. Three representatives from BG Kazakhstan joined us for the press conference and certificate ceremony. It was great to see how happy the kids were to receive the certificates. We were also able to offer fully paid, four year university scholarships for two of the kids. Additionally, we recognized 8 students who excelled in the program and on the final exam, and we selected one of the eight students for a summer internship at IBC Group. The event included interviews with the press, certificate and scholarship ceremony, performance carried out by the kids, and many speeches. I think it was great ending to a solid and impactful program.
I have pasted a note from one of the sponsor mothers of a student that participated in the class:

My name is Donna from New Jersey and I have a beautiful two year old daughter adopted from Almaty. I am also the Sponsor Mom to Sholpan who resides at the Zhas Dauren Orphanage and has taken the wonderful computer classes that you have been involved in arranging. Sholpan has told me that the classes have recently ended and I just wanted to write you a heartfelt thank you for this wonderful, wonderful program !! Sholpan has enjoyed every minute of the classes (she's always so excited to tell me about them) and is extremely grateful for everything that she has learned. Thanks to these classes, Sholpan e-mails me regularly which has been amazing for us because we are extremely close and love to communicate with one another. Sholpan was also so very excited to learn how to conduct herself during a job interview and how to write a resume. Thank you for teaching these precious children the skills that they will need in the world to survive on their own.

It was great to know that the class meant enough to the kids to share it with their sponsor families in the States.

Projects 3 and 4
Project Three: British Gas Orphanage Computer Training Program (Year 2)
Sponsored By: BG Kazakhstan
Implement By: IBC Group

Based on the results and positive feedback from the initial computer training project, BG Kazakhstan and IBC Group decided to expand the project for the 2005/2006 academic year.

The program was expanded as follows:

1.To include Kazakh and English language training in the program; The program was expanded from two to three days each week.

2.To provide scholarships to an institution of higher education for two graduates from the program

3.Provide internship opportunities to three graduates of the program (one at BG in Astana, one at IBC and one at Karachaganak Petroleum)

Our first orphanage programs, in partnership with BG and the Phillip Morris, were a catalyst for a series of programs designed to help the Zhas Dauren Orphanage. Soon after we launched these programs in the summer of 2004, Sue and I began meeting with American Adoption couples traveling to Uralsk. Typically these couples found Sue and I through my website (www.terryyoung.com) and would contact us via e-mail prior to their arrival. For several months, we met with couples almost every week and gave them tours, joined them for dinner and discussed the orphanage and Uralsk. We quickly realized we could not keep this up for two years but the couples truly needed this information and support, so we designed a program focused on helping the couples acclimate in Kazakhstan and learn as much about KZ culture as possible.

Project Four: American Adoption Family Project
Sponsored By: IBC Group
Implement By: IBC Group and World Partners

We had many local friends who also felt inclined to share their own culture with the American guests. Thus, they were willing to have Americans visit their homes and cook traditional food such as, bisparmack and manti. The more time that we spent with the Ameirican couples, the more we realized that this could be a fundraiser for the orphanage since the couples wanted to talk about life at Zhas Dauren and the baby houses. Therefore, through the funding of IBC Group and the execution by Sue the American Adoption Project was formed. The focus of this program was:
•To reduce the stress of being in a foreign country and increase the couples enjoyment while being in Kazakhstan.

•To create a sustainable fundraising program for projects at Zhas Dauren.

•Educate couples about Uralsk and the country of Kazkahstan where they would be able to later share their knowledge with their adopted children.
Through these programs, Sue began to make regular visits to Zhas Dauren and meet with the teachers, Director and students. She began to teach English to the students at her office and invited several of them into the city for special outings and visiting her house. At the same time she was befriending the students, she was also being introduced to their sponsor families in America through email. Many Americans found comfort in having a fellow American working with their children acting as a correspondent of information. One of the major connections Sue made through being a facilitator was Donna Tagliaferro, one of the kids sponsor mom.

Projects 5 - 8
Project Five: Zhas Dauren Online Gazette
Sponsored By: Phillip Morris
Implement By: Union of Women, Hope

As many of these sponsor families had questions about Zhas Dauren, this spawned an idea of taking the Russian Zhas Daren Newspaper and converting it to an electronic English version which Americans who sponsor students or who have adopted from Kazakhstan could read. Using a contact made through email, the Director of World Partners used his mass email list of 280 people, to distribute the newsletter himself.

As Sue earned the trust and close friendship of Miss Tagliaferro, she became inspired by all our efforts and decided to raise money in the US to help build a Zhas Dauren Website. Over several months she raised $500 for the development of the site.

Project Six: Zhas Dauren Website (www.zhasdauren.kz)
Sponsored By: Donna Tagliaferro
Implement By: IBC Group

The website projected was created at IBC by pairing an experienced designer and US Peace Corps Volunteer Becky Long with four kids from the Zhas Dauren Orphanage. The kids spent two weeks in intensive training to prepare for the site development then the team designed, developed and launched the new site in two languages. Now, we are outlining the next phase of the website that will include a content management system, poll and several other new features.

Based on the success of our programs with BG and in response to the strong partnership developed between IBC Group, BG and US Peace Corps Volunteers, BG invited me to speak at a conference on Corporate Social Responsibility. This conference was attended by all of the main donor organizations and corporations across Kazakhstan. I presented our successful programs that had been developed for the Kids of Zhas Dauren and sponsored by BG.

Project Seven: BG Sponsored Corporate Responsibility Conference
Sponsored By: BG Kazakhstan
Implement By: IBC Group

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel with some extremely interesting presenters. One presenter discussed a project where she helped orphanage graduates by placing them in a workshop and teaching them technical skills. As soon as I heard the case study, I knew we could offer a similar program by placing the graduates in our business incubator at IBC. I put the idea in my back pocket for the time being while I thought through how to turn it into a reality.

Luckily our relationship with BG continued to flourish and they decided that the President of BG Kazakhstan would visit IBC and meet the kids. First of all, I think it is unusual to have your sponsor at your facility three times in two month and have the President taking a vested interest in social programs but I must say, it was a pleasant surprise. This visit and passion from the kids inspired the President of BG Kazakhstan, Larry Andersen, and he asked us to prepare a new program to help the graduates of the orphanage. He realized the kids that were graduating from the orphanage did not have a well developed support group and this was a time when the kids got involved in high risk behaviors. Obviously this was the catalyst for introducing a new program focused on placing Zhas Dauren Orphange graduates in our business incubator for technical training.

Project Eight: Business Incubator Orphanage Graduates Project
Sponsored By: BG Kazakhstan
Implement By: IBC Group

We knew the skills the students gained in the computer training programs were beneficial, specifically for students that plan to pursue a university education. However, in recent years only about 15% of Zhas Dauren graduates had integrated well into their new community and many lacked the technical and professional experience required to be competitive in the labor market. Difficulties often arose since the new graduates no longer lived in the supportive environment of the Zhas Dauren family -- 15-20% had difficulties finding permanent residence and 60-65% got involved in activities that resulted in trouble with the law. IBC Group and the director of Zhas Dauren orphanage noticed that graduates who do not attend a university upon graduation have an especially difficult time finding suitable work. Given that only about 40% of Zhas Dauren graduates attend a 4-year university, there was great need to provide assistance to the remaining 60% of the graduates. Based on this information, we created a new program to help these graduates. The program worked as follows:

•Provides 10 participants with 6-month training internships (two 6-month intervals with 5 participants each)

•Provides these 10 participants with business and life skills training 1 day per week

•Provides a small computer training facility for participants to use during weekly trainings

•Assists participants with job placement after completion of program

The program began in September 2005 and will finish at the end of October 2006. The program will focus on three main goals:

•Provide orphanage graduates, who are not pursuing a university education, with the required technical trade, business and specific computer skills necessary to succeed in finding employment in the West Kazakhstan Oblast

•Provide IBC Group’s incubator clients with additional skilled employees upon completion of the program

•Encourage spirit of entrepreneurialism by supporting small businesses and creating jobs in the WKO

While developing the incubator program with BG, Becky, another U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer working at IBC, and I had contacted other companies that were doing similar programs. During those discussions, we talked with Phillip Morris and realized that they might be willing to sponsor a similar internship program in Uralsk. Sue decided to pursue this program and immediately began negotiating an additional program for three Zhas Dauren graduates to develop skills and find employment in Uralsk.

Project 9 and 10
Project Nine: Phillip Morris Kazakhstan Orphanage Project:
Sponsored By: Phillip Morris
Implement By: Union of Women, Hope

This project was implemented two years ago through the older orphanage, House of Youth, in Almaty. Thus, all Phillip Morris Kazakhstan needed was an organization willing to pursue the finding of graduates from the local, House of Youth, and working with the Uralsk PMK office to set up a similar type program. Also, Sue needed to correspond with the organization, International Women’s Club, to find the financial sponsorship for the program. These two organizations agreed on the setup and outline of the practicum and then the amount to be paid to each participant. The highlights of the program are as follows:
• Provide orphanage graduates with necessary technical skills to find jobs
• Improve business and life skills of participants through the interaction of working with business professionals
• Improve business-related skills (negotiation skills, collecting data, submitting data, reporting on their observations)of orphanage students by having hands on experience in a business environment

The financial contributions by both groups allow the students to have a nice starting salary. Participants will be given 7,000 tenge every month through the Trainee Merchandisers program, by the Almaty International Women’s Club. In addition, Phillip Morris Kazakhstan will also pay students 8,000, tenge per month through their payroll.

During the interview process and meeting the students that live at the House of Youth, Shanrak, the idea of hope was integrated into the young adult’s minds. Taking the negative aspect of being an orphan who will not amount to anything but a prostitute or drug dealer into the positive light and showing them that there are options they can choose other than what some people feel is the “destiny of an orphan”.
In seeing how sometimes one just needs to have hope either through opening doors of opportunity or giving students the needed resources, we realized the importance of expanding the sponsorship program to the students still living at Zhas Dauren.

Project Ten: Expanded Zhas Dauren Sponsorship Program:
Sponsored By: World Partners
Implement By: Union of Women, Hope

Therefore, expanding the sponsorship program will give hope and a positive outlook to students at a younger age. Enticing these students ages 7 and 8 to set goals including entering college or the Universities because they will have the possibility to fund such activities. The sponsorship program backed by the American NGO, World Partners, Kazakhstan NGO, Zhana Zhol, and other Uralsk participants. Each organization agreed on the following aspects to make the program sustainable and beneficial for the students after and during their life at Zhas Dauren:
• Have parents pay $30.00 to the program: $25.00 will go to the students; $5.00 will go to the orphanage for projects.
• An in host country national will write regular letters to families letting them know what is happening with the money they are sending, such as, projects at Zhas Dauren.
• Let the students, upon leaving Zhas Dauren, go with the Life Skills teacher to learn how to operate their bank account, with the bank setting a limit on the amount they are able to withdraw.
• Let students choose if they want a family who will write letters or a family that just wants to send money.

As the program started in 2000 and is now being redone, we hope that it will last at least another five years with the following goals in place.

• Getting the sponsorship program to become an active of the kids development at the orphanage.
• Expanding the program to let all children have the same opportunity to have the benefits (role model, bank account started, support system, etc.) of a sponsor family.
• Get the sponsor families more involved with the orphanage with the increase of communication from a country staff member.
• Expand students practice with the English language, for students who will write letters.

Through this long process of expanding programs with the orphanage our relationships kept increasing with sponsor families in the states. One family decided to donate $500 to IBC to support such progress.

Project Eleven: Internship
Sponsored By: Donna Tagliaferro
Implement By: IBC Group

We decided to use this donation and some of the revenue from the American Adoption Family Project to provide a 12 month internship at IBC Group for one Zhas Dauren graduate. We selected the graduate that received a 4 year scholarship to the University but did not receive funding for his housing and food. We calculated a stipend that would provide him enough funds for housing and food for one year. During his internship, he will work across all three of the IBC divisions with a primary focus on supporting our internet division.

Reflection on the past two years:

Being able to watch young adults grow through experience, needed love from new friends, and hope in the future has been a priceless experience for me. I have witnessed a young girl; timid, shy, meek, and withdrawn, blossom into a beautiful young woman who has a new spark of confidence in her eyes. I have laughed with young ladies learning how to cook rice in my kitchen only to have it come out not tasty and clumpy. I have been mauled on regular visits to the orphanage, which honestly, was my main reason of going. Sometimes, I needed these children just as much as they needed me. We are from two very different worlds, but similar in more ways than one. I have been blessed by this wonderful opportunity of working with Zhas Dauren during my Peace Corps experience.
Sue Scholten

There are many moments that will stay with me for many years to come like the day that the kids graduated from the computer training program and they prepared a speech for BG in three languages and performed traditional Kazakh dances. I won’t forget the smiles on their faces when they received their certificates and put their new BG caps on for the first time.

I will also remember the day when we took the winners of the scholarship to lunch with BG and one of the kids looked at me and said “I will remember this day for the rest of my life”.
Terry Young

I am sure that all of these programs are making a positive impact on the kids and graduates of Zhas Dauren and changing us in ways we haven’t even understood. When we finish our assignment in Kazakhstan, I know we will always remember the kids of Zhas Dauren and the organizations that helped make a difference in their lives.

Computer Crash
If anyone is waiting for an e-mail, I just wanted you to know my computer crashed. Not sure when it will be working again but for the interim I have lost all my contacts info and e-mails.