The Almaty Marathon shares interim results of charity projects

This year, Almaty Marathon organiser - ‘Courage to be the First’  Corporate Fund in cooperation with the AYALA Foundation is implementing projects worth KZT 106,241,284 in Shymkent and Turkistan Region. The organisations purchased equipment for the ‘I See the World’ project to prevent infant blindness and paid 50 per cent of the ‘One Day Clinic’ project for early diagnosis of fetal anomalies.

The Almaty Marathon, the largest running event in Central Asia, unites sports enthusiasts and implements charity projects. A portion of the proceeds generated by entry fees is annually donated to projects helping children with special needs. For just 12 years, the Fund has implemented more than 30 charitable projects worth over KZT 277 million in Almaty and Almaty Region.

In 2024, the Central Asia’s largest running event raised a record 79,000,000 tenge for charity and adopted a new strategy. Now the Almaty Marathon organiser is collaborating with other foundations to scale the charity. The AYALA Foundation is our first partner which specialises in helping children with special needs. For 17 years, AYALA has become a leader in neonatology in Kazakhstan by supporting 242 children’s institutions.

At the end of the last year, our organisations began working on two innovative projects — ‘I See the World’ and ‘One Day Clinic’.  The objective of the projects is to reduce the infant disability rate in Shymkent and Turkistan Region, which are regions with high birth rates in Kazakhstan. The problem is still urgent with approximately 3,500 children born annually in the country with congenital diseases. The number of children with disabilities has doubled since 2010.

KZT 106,241,284 has been allocated for the implementation of the projects. Thanks to the support from participants and partners, our organisations have already spent KZT 79 million (68.52% of the goal) on the projects and now share their interim results.

I See the World (KZT 26,700,000)

Medical professionals estimate that approximately 36% of premature infants are affected by retinopathy, which can potentially result in blindness. Despite the fact that Shymkent is among top three cities in terms of birth rates in Kazakhstan, there is no ophthalmological screening for premature infants and the necessary equipment for objective diagnosis and documentation of retinopathy. The ‘I See the World’ project will allow Shymkent ophthalmologists to examine newborns in a timely manner, detect the disease at early stages, perform laser correction and prevent vision loss. 

As part of the project, on 24 December 2024 the Almaty Marathon helped install a retinal camera at the Municipal Perinatal Centre in Shymkent to diagnose and treat retinopathy in premature infants.

The project also sponsors the training of an ophthalmologist from Shymkent, who attended the training course ‘Retinopathy of Premature Infants’ organised in Almaty by Assel Sharipova, a leading neonatal ophthalmologist.   After completing the training, the ophthalmologist started working with the installed equipment in Shymkent. 

The project will help more than 24,000 babies over a 10-15 year period.

One Day Clinic (KZT 79,541,284)

Congenital anomalies and chromosomal abnormalities, including Down’s syndrome, are among the most common causes of infant disability.  Many of these cases could be prevented or diagnosed early if pregnant women had access to modern prenatal diagnostic methods.

The ‘One Day Clinic’ project will help install innovative equipment — a FISH microscope in Turkistan Region to diagnose fetal abnormalities in pregnant women and provide timely treatment. This will ensure a 40 per cent reduction in the infant disability rate in the region, which is the leader in terms of birth rate. 

The microscope has already been purchased. The modern equipment will be installed at the Regional Perinatal Centre No. 2 in Turkistan Region already this spring.

Over the course of the next 15 years, the microscope will assist up to 30,000 pregnant women in the region.

By taking part in any running event organised by “Courage to be the First” Corporate Fund, you can support charitable projects to reduce infant disability. Furthermore, runners can donate any amount to charity when registering for a run. Today you can already register for the Almaty Half Marathon, Almaty Marathon.