Almaty Marathon Builds a Large Soccer Field at the Special Boarding School in Yessik

Each participant pays an entry fee. For 9 consecutive years now, some portion of these contributions has been spent on sports infrastructure for children in special child care institutions. They are boarding schools for children with disabilities or from problem families, hospices, orphanages, special children development institutions, children’s clinics and many others. Thanks to our runners, we build children’s playgrounds, soccer fields, climbing walls, purchase special and exercise equipment.

Now, we are launching a series of journalistic stories to tell you about each of the five charitable goals that we have implemented in 2020.

The first story will tell you about the Regional Special Boarding School for Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Yessik.

The school hosts about 200 children. Its students not only attend classes, but also live here. Children of different ages attend the school. They are very fond of playing football and the ball. The students missed a large upgraded soccer field. They had to play the ball on bare ground, which is rather unsafe.

“Our children have some developmental disorders. For example, they cannot always immediately feel pain. This makes it even more dangerous to fall on stones and bare ground during the game. And, of course, we cannot prohibit active games outdoor. This gives not only a pleasure to them, but this is also one of the ways to develop the body,” School Principal Sarsekova Anar Bilyalovna comments.

In addition to sports, the students are fond of creativity. Children’s art works are regularly exhibited at city and regional exhibitions. Moreover, the students practice their wood carving skills in a carpentry shop.

In late 2019, we received a request from the school administration to build a large soccer field in the schoolyard. We started its construction already in the summer of 2020.

Today, the school has a large sports field with goalposts for playing soccer, which is fenced with a net, has an artificial soft and safe lawn and markings.

Unfortunately, the children were unable to attend the solemn commissioning of the finished facility due to the quarantine. But we hope that upon returning to the school, they were happy and pleased to immediately start playing the ball.

“The students can not only spend their free time on the new field, but we also plan to arrange soccer tournaments between them, conduct physical education classes and festive events. We are looking forward to the resolution of the pandemic situation and will be glad to see guests at our school. On behalf of the administration and the parents of the students, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to this act of kindness!” the School Principal thanked participants and partners of the Almaty Marathon.