May 2012

A.I. Tasmagambetova
President of Saby Charitable Foundation

Every modern society has its own history of charities.

For instance, in England it began about 400 years ago and had deep roots and existing traditions. The culture of philanthropy in USA was formed more than a century ago. And it did not happen by chance. As we know, charitable organizations and people who participate in their activity are parts of spiritual structure of society. Easing sufferings of people who are in need and supporting them financially, they not only help deal with physical sufferings, but also help to negate such emotions as fear and anger, hate and indifference. It is those emotional settings that ultimately develop moral standards and lead to systematic degradation in the society, forming a vicious circle at the end of which there are more and more unhappy and desperate people. So the universal importance of love and compassion to your fellow human being, which is the basis of the any charitable organization’s activity, helps achieve tangible results and actual success stories.

In Kazakhstan, after the country gained the independence, charity movement had to begin from scratch. We had to lay the ground and develop the national organized charity traditions. We only had the universal principles of charity such as benevolence, empathy and compassion as our starting points. So many things were done intuitively, without knowing technical procedures and simply following the dictates of our hearts.

I am happy to note that the present-day Kazakhstan charity already has its own historical roots. In this respect one of the first organizations that initiated the official charitable activity was the Saby Foundation, which has been established for over 10 years now.

During this time the Saby charitable Foundation has grown from a group of like-minded people to the large organization that is able to accumulate considerable resources for various charity and social projects. Nowadays they are carried out in all the regions of Kazakhstan.

Our Foundation does not focus on specific beneficiary directions, because we try to work with all social groups that are in need of support. Our charitable assistance is not provided by the principle “from the powerful to the weak ones” or “from the rich to the poor”. It comes from the possibility to help those who are really in need of support at present time.

But our Foundation has the main principle: efficiency. We fully realize that the support and help must be timely. Because the people who attract our attention are exposed to emotional discomfort and may at any moment lose belief in themselves and the people around them, losing hope of a normal life in the society.

As a result of the work of the Saby Charitable Foundation, some 250 000 people were given help and support when they really needed it. Among them are 210 000 children and adults with serious illnesses, 35 000 physically challenged people, 5 000 orphans.

We appreciate our past and think of the future. We have high goals. We are not used to await someone to offer us; our aim is to generate ideas to help needy people. Our Foundation has new projects ahead, the realization of which will ensure our beneficiaries new opportunities for life improvement.

From the bottom of my heart I thank our friends, philanthropists, sponsors, partners, big companies and small firms, organizations and private persons for invaluable support, trust and cooperation!

With best wishes, most sincerely yours,
Aselle Tasmagambetova

Dear friends, dearest veterans!