For many, the happy sounds of children playing on an early spring morning in Issik, a village nestled in the northern slope of the spectacular Tien Shan Mountains, would be an uplifting reminder of their own youth. For the mothers gathered here today, however, these sounds represent an achievement of unimaginable significance. “Before attending programs at Kamkor,” one mother explains, “my son would not speak at all. After three weeks here, he is able to talk with others.” For the mother of a special needs child, this is a huge success. Due in part to a grant from the BOTA Foundation [7], an additional 35 children will be given the same chance over the next eight months.
Several children attending programs at The Association for Children of Special Needs (Kamkor) suffer from disabilities that affect their ability to communicate with other children, teachers, and even their family. According to the association’s director, nearly four per cent of school age children in Issyk suffer from similar disorders, but most are unable to access specialized healthcare services in the city, which is several hours away by bus. As another mother explains; “if we take our child to the city for therapy a couple times a week, we cannot work.” Therefore, parents like these have to make tough decisions about how best to provide for these children.
Kamkor, in partnership with the BOTA Foundation, will address this gap by providing integrated services to children and parents, including psychological, speech, massage, and play therapy. The current project extends these services to children of poor families and offers training in hands-on skills to parents so that they are better able to keep their children active and engaged in the home. Also, the program will send two staff members for additional technical training in Almaty.
Kamkor’s staff hopes that this opportunity will help them to replicate successes made with children like Tanya, a special needs child facing a lack in specialized healthcare services in her region. Tanya has suffered from epilepsy since birth, but doctors were unable to diagnose her condition. “She did not like to communicate with others or be touched. Our doctors couldn’t examine her because she was so afraid to communicate with them; she would not let them examine her.” Since attending these programs, Tanya has become much more outgoing and is even able to function in the classroom. “Now that doctors have been able to diagnose her problem, we can take preventative measures against her epilepsy.”
Kamkor facilitates programs for children like Tanya out of two small rooms in a rented building. It cannot afford to hire a permanent staff, but relies on part-time staff who also work out of schools and their homes. But the work is rewarding. The Association’s director, Boukeyeva Sholpan, pulls a mother and son aside. “Her son, “Nurlan,“ could not communicate with other children or pay attention when he came here. After a month in the program, he realized that he enjoys drawing. Although he could not say a word when he was first brought here, now he says, “look mama, look what I have drawn.” "Now how can you not work with a child like that?” asks the director.
