Zhas Kazakh ethno camp, located
on the territory of the Burabai resort, received 200 Kandas children from eight
countries of the world this year. A two-week educational and entertainment
program was prepared for children from the U.S., China, Iran, Russia, Mongolia,
Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Belarus. They learned horse riding, archery,
traditions, the Kazakh language, playing the dombyra, as well as national
sports and applied arts. The exciting summer holiday was organized by the
Otandastar Foundation.
“The project has another objective.
By inviting children in Kazakhstan, some of whom came to the country for the
first time, we would like them to get an education here in the future.
Therefore, most of the children who arrived at the camp are high school
students. Today, our staff has conducted a survey, according to which four out
of five children interviewed, expressed their willingness to study in
Kazakhstan in the future,” noted Abzal Saparbekuly, President of the Otandastar
Foundation.
Imanbek
Kniyazuly from Mongolia has come to Kazakhstan for the first time. The boy
has dreamed of visiting his historical homeland since childhood. In a short
time spent in the summer camp, he learned to play the national instrument dombyra.
He also made friends from different countries, together they performed at the
closing of the ethno camp to demonstrate their love and respect for the national
art.
“I’ve made a lot of new
acquaintances and friends from Iran, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and China.
Kazakhstan is a beautiful country. During these two weeks, we had lessons of the
Kazakh language, history of Kazakhstan, and archery classes, it’s really
interesting and exciting here. We’ve also learned to play the dombyra,” said Imanbek
Kniyazuly, camp student from Mongolia.
Dana Dzhumabayeva
came from neighboring Russia. She quickly mastered playing the dombyra as
well. It took her a couple of days to learn the chords of famous folk songs and
kuis. And now she plans to diligently learn to play the musical instrument of
her ancestors.
“I really like playing the
dombyra because it is the Kazakh national instrument. I used to play the
guitar, and I was looking for something similar. I really like the dombyra, its
beautiful sounds and chords. The children here are so nice, everyone is
sociable and friendly. I really like the camp, everything is very beautiful,
comfortable, and nice. I like it here,” said Dana Dzhumabayeva, camp student
from Russia.
All participants of the project
are talented children in their own way. To get into the camp, each of them
passed a special competitive selection, first of all, for knowledge of the Kazakh
language and history.
“I’ve made new friends and
certainly learned a lot about Kazakhstan. I went through a Kazakh language
competition and thanks to that I am in this camp now. I took part in the
contest in the Altai Republic, and four out of 100 people were chosen,” said Aisha
Okhtaubayeva, camp student from Russia.
It should be noted that the
summer ethno camp for Kandas children has been open since 2019, when there was
already a large number of children. Then, the coronavirus pandemic started, and
it was closed for two years. The camp resumed its work in 2022 and received
twice as many children this season. It is also noteworthy that many of the
children who visited the camp for the first time dream of returning here the
following year, but already as volunteers.
