ASTANA – Volunteering in Kazakhstan is gaining momentum and has developed distinctively in each region of the country, taking into account economic and climate conditions. Executive Director of the National Volunteer Network (NVN), Tatiana Mironyuk, who participated in research on volunteering and developed several methodologies for social projects, spoke with The Astana Times about her volunteer experience, its development in the country and what one needs to learn to help people.

Volunteers play a crucial role in community development, healthcare, education, environmental conservation and disaster relief.

According to the NVN data, there are over 3,500 volunteer organizations in the country launching more than 1,000 projects, including 542 social, 100 environmental, 87 cultural, 64 medical, 63 in sports, and 45 in other fields.

“I have been involved in volunteering for over 18 years, making it difficult to pinpoint why I initially started. I was young and didn’t fully grasp the concept, but I simply had a strong desire to help and contribute to something meaningful,” said Mironyuk.

In 2013, she became the head of the Shanyrak volunteer center in Temirtau (a city in the Karaganda Region), which prioritized social initiatives and assisted children and teenagers from disadvantaged communities. After four years, she received an invitation to join NVN, where she has been working for the past six years.

“Despite the advancement and stable work, volunteering in rehabilitation centers remains a priority for me. It brings me great pleasure to have the opportunity to help children in a psychoneurological dispensary,” she said. 

Mironyuk explained that the NVN is a voluntary association of individuals and legal entities that aims to promote, support and develop a culture of volunteering among citizens, civil society institutions, businesses and government agencies.

“It serves as a platform for any volunteer initiative or group of people to promote volunteerism, recommendations, establish rules in this field, set the standards of state support for volunteerism and offer training programs,” she said. “All volunteer organizations and initiative groups in the country are self-sufficient, and we unite, help and collaborate with them purely on a partnership basis.”

Mironyuk emphasized that volunteering is free, gratuitous and should be done for the good of society. 

“Volunteering is built upon these three pillars which are immutable. I would also include the principle of refraining from causing harm, because it holds great importance to me. I aspire for the next generation to avoid our mistakes, take into consideration our experience, and progress by advancing the development of this sector,” she said.  

Mironyuk pointed out the significance of volunteer awareness in this field. It is crucial for volunteers to have a clear understanding of why they do it, what motivates them and the benefits they seek from volunteering. 

“A volunteer is a person who has their own principles, desires, and opportunities, such as believing in their ability to make a difference, creating positive change, being accepted by a group, or seeing it as an opportunity for career advancement. It is important to understand what motivates you and acknowledge the need for personal gain, regardless of how self-serving or materialistic it sounds,” Mironyuk said. 

“If you are drawn to volunteer work because you like the T-shirt given at a particular event, then go ahead and get that T-shirt and enjoy what you do. Finding personal enjoyment and recognizing one’s own accomplishments are important aspects that volunteers should derive from any activity they participate in,” she added.

Mironyuk also advised novice volunteers to explore various opportunities. In her opinion, individuals new to this field should reflect on their interests and preferred directions to determine what they enjoy. 

“There are numerous options for individuals to showcase their skills and contribute, such as working with animals and shelters, assisting children, supporting the elderly and people with disabilities, among other areas. It is important not to limit oneself to a single organization or area of focus. Instead, individuals should search within themselves to identify what truly matters and brings them joy. Once they discover their passion, their impact will multiply,” she concluded.

Source: Astana Times

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The United Nations on March 22 opened its first conference on water in almost half a century, aiming to address challenges concerning what UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as the “world’s lifeblood.” Activists from Central Asia participating the conference expressed hope that the gathering can mark a transformative moment.

“We must do something. There is no option to not act now,” Meerim Seidakmatova, founder of the Young Environmentalists group at the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University, said during a panel discussion hosted by Columbia University’s Harriman Institute on March 20.

Cholpon Aitakhunova, another panel participant, described the conference as historic. “I really believe … this [the UN conference] is something more inclusive; this is something more participatory.”

Ahead of the conference, UN agencies released a report that warned of a looming global water crisis unless nations immediately address overconsumption and pollution. Water scarcity is projected to affect upwards of 2.4 billion people around the globe by 2050, more than double the number in 2016, the report states. The three-day UN gathering aims to finalize a Water Action Agenda that promotes climate resilience, expanded access to clean drinking water, transboundary cooperation and sustainable development.

Central Asia is among the regions most threatened by stressed water supplies. A recent study showed that dwindling resources are causing the rapid degradation of agricultural land in the region, costing the economies an estimated $6 billion. Land in Central Asia, the study added, was five times more productive in the 1980s than it is now. A different study said the region faces a drinking water crisis, noting that 80 percent of rural residents in Tajikistan lack access to regular supplies of clean drinking water.

Lyazzat Syrlybayeva, a Kazakhstani water management expert, said political will in Central Asia has been building to address transboundary issues. “In general, over the past few years regional water cooperation has been strengthening,” she said. “All countries in the region understand the importance of cooperation.”

Seidakmatova, Syrlybayeva, Aitakhunova and other female activists from the region were attending the UN conference under the auspices of Women in Water Management – Central Asia and Afghanistan, an initiative supported by a variety of international organizations, including the OSCE, the Stockholm International Water Institute and CAREC, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program. The initiative enables young activists and experts from Central Asia to gain global experience and build connections, better positioning them to play active roles in decision-making and water governance in their home countries.

“Women are among the stakeholders that need to be involved,” said Aitakhunova, a research fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. She quipped that having at least one woman in the room during negotiations on any given water-related issue can raise the chances of a successful outcome. In Central Asia, “when women are present at the table,” men “tend to be less confrontational, and more cooperative, more diplomatic.”

Source : Eurasianet

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