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Issue 009, March 2014: A Budding Community and A Simple Gesture

A Budding Community

The last of several New Year’s celebrations till next year, Nauryz celebrates the first day of spring or Equinox and the beginning of the year in the Persian Calendar. This holiday is widely celebrated in Central Asia as a day of significant cultural celebration, traditionally marked by hospitality and street parties.

This year we held our sixth annual Nauryz celebration at the Social Village where we invited all of our clients, students, volunteers and partners at Salem to celebrate with us.

The celebration is the first outdoor event of the year and always includes plov, the very popular local rice dish, and tea. This year we just barely had enough to feed all of our guests.

Along with delicious food and tea, no party would be complete in Central Asia without dancing, singing, games and of course speeches! Our director Tim made his first public speech in Russian, and we were treated to some cultural delights with dances and songs by the kids from one of the orphanages that we regularly visit.



There were also the yearly favorites, including tug of war, arm wrestling and more dancing.

It was great to see everyone having a great time together in the Spring sunshine, dancing and enjoying the atmosphere. Events like this are a great reminder of the growing community at Salem Social Village, showing how far we have come and our potential for the future. 

This month, our featured number is:



Find out why below in Village by Numbers.




Village People
 
 
Name: Victoria
 
From: Baizhansai a town set in the mountains about 150km from Shymkent

Time on the team: 1 1/2 years

Role: Community Care Manager


Interesting Fact: When she was in school she put on a gas mask to scare a friend, but ended up giving quite a fright to the director of the school! 


 




Village by

Numbers




The estimated total number of guests at our Nauryz party - record-breaking!
 
A Simple Gesture

International Women's Day on the 8th of March is a very big deal here. We like to use it as an opportunity to show value and love to those in this city who often feel neglected and lonely. This year, we had two women's day celebrations: a party for our Social Club for peope with disabilities and some special home visits.
 
Home visits are a regular activity we do, simply visiting and helping people who are otherwise isolated and in need. For these women, who don’t have anyone else to celebrate them on this important holiday, this particular visit by one of our team and some of our student volunteers was priceless. We also gave each of them a small gift, but one of our elderly clients, seven years blind, was so moved by this simple gesture that she couldn’t stop touching the new robe on her shoulders and exclaiming how nice it felt and how grateful she was. 

 


Social club was a little different. All of them love to get out and have fun since many of them are confined to their homes so much of the time. Some have never had the opportunity to get out for Women’s Day until now. The girls were very surprised when the young men who volunteer at the Social Village began serving them – not a cultural norm here! After serving them tea and cookies, they organized some games and riddles, gave all the girls gifts, sang them songs, and presented a brief history of Women’s Day.

What a privilege to be able to bring a little sunshine into the lives of these ladies who may have felt utterly forgotten if not for such a simple gesture.


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The Salem Social Village in Shymkent, Kazakhstan is run by Salem Union, a local non-profit non-religious charity organisation which works to care for the needy and influence a generation of future leaders

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