BOTA Foundation 2010 Annual Report - IREX

I. Introduction
The BOTA Foundation leadership and staff are pleased to provide you with the first annual report of our
achievements and accomplishment in 2010, a pivotal year in the Foundation’s efforts to assist vulnerable children
suffering from poverty in Kazakhstan.
Approximately 15%, or 625,900 children, aged 0 to 18 in Kazakhstan suffer from poverty. These children and
families, disproportionally rural, often lack the opportunity to access the health, education and social services
necessary for their positive growth and development. Kazakhstan requires long-term solutions to many of the
challenges facing vulnerable children
Maternal mortality in Kazakhstan remains disproportionally high compared with other middle-income countries
at a dangerous 23.3 per 1,000 live births. Approximately 45% of children in Kazakhstan lack access to
early childhood development opportunities, hindering their ability to successfully succeed in school. With
over 79,000 children and youth in institutionalized care, and one of the highest teenage suicide rates in the
former Soviet Union, young people require additional interventions and support systems to thrive into adulthood
and realize a prosperous future. Over 150,000 disabled children and their families in Kazakhstan struggle
daily to access key social, medical and education services for integration into society.
Through its three programs, the BOTA Foundation has begun to provide high-impact sustainable assistance to
impoverished and vulnerable children and their families. The programs target the following key sectors, all of
which are crucial to ensuring that each child has a right to a healthy, safe and prosperous future:
1. Maternal and Child Health, facilitating access of mothers from impoverished backgrounds and their
children to available healthcare facilities
2: Early Childhood Development, promoting access to state operated early childhood services and
creating new centers and programs through NGOs
3: Child and Youth Protection, promoting alternatives to institutionalization and access to services and
social integration for disabled children and youth
4: Livelihood Development, assisting poor youth develop skills to improve the economic and social
development of themselves, families, and communities
Over the course of 2010, the BOTA Foundation has made significant investment in each of these strategic areas
and will continue to improve services to its beneficiaries and partners in the future. We look forward to
continuing this important work on behalf of impoverished and vulnerable children and youth in Kazakhstan.
Regards,
Dr. Zhamilya Nugmanova
Acting Chair of the Board of Trustees
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