Since the foundation began
Mission
1289
families received a home through the Senim program
44
families received grants and support under the Orkendeu program
200+
children took part in KZHMB educational and cultural initiatives
20+
volunteers on our close-knit team
100+
partners, and tens of thousands of people, united around the culture of asar
Our job is not just to help in the moment. We create chances for a stable future, where every person has a shot at a decent life, room to grow and strong people around them.
Our projects
The Senim program — a home where a new life begins
Senim is the foundation's core program. It helps families in hard circumstances get a home of their own.
For many of them it is the first safe home in years. A place where children can grow up in stability, and where parents finally feel solid ground under their feet.
The name means "trust." Trust between people, mutual help and the culture of asar are what the whole program rests on.
Senim supports a family at every step:
from the first review and document check,
to finding the right home, closing the deal and handing over the keys.
Every family goes through a careful selection against clear criteria. We look at how much help is needed, and just as closely at the family's will to change, their readiness to take responsibility and move forward.
What the program covers:
Targeted help for families
Support for families in difficult situations: parents with many children, single mothers, families without a home of their own, and people who have lived through a crisis.
Buying a home
We raise funds to buy apartments and houses across Kazakhstan. The foundation guides the whole process, from the property search to the final paperwork.
Full support for the family
Our team stays close after the keys change hands: we help the family settle in, connect them to other programs and support the changes that follow.
Transparency and trust
Every stage comes with open reporting, and the families' stories show how people, together, can change a life.
Senim is about more than walls and square meters. It is about safety, dignity and a chance to start over.
The Orkendeu program: from dependence to standing on your own
Orkendeu picks up where most charity projects stop.
We are convinced that help should not end with a home. Real change starts when a person can provide for their family, keep growing and build a future that lasts.
The program works on social adaptation, professional growth, employment and small-business support for the families in our care.
Our goal is to help families leave the crisis behind for good, not just for a while.
What the program includes:
Professional training
We help participants learn in-demand trades, take certified courses and pick up skills that let them enter the job market with confidence and earn more.
Start-up business grants
We give targeted grants to launch or grow a business. Participants use the funds for the equipment and tools they need, from sewing machines and appliances to gear for beauty work, baking and other small trades.
Employment and mentorship
We help people find steady work, introduce them to employers and business owners, and open the door to mentorship and professional growth.
Guldana
How a mother of 10 turned an old shack into a school for 50 pupils
Read the story →Sandugash
A mother of 8 who started her own farm and grew her flock to 50 sheep
Read the story →Asemai
From homemade ready meals to a steady income of 500,000 tenge
Read the story →Umida
From a home craft to her own brand and jobs for mothers of large families
Read the story →Asem
A family's turnaround: from cleaner to business owner
Read the story →Ken Zhurek Myn Bala — "A hundred children equal a thousand"
KZHMB is the foundation's teen development program, made for children from vulnerable families.
It is not really about lessons. It is about raising a whole person.
We help teenagers grow strong in knowledge, and just as much in character, discipline, responsibility, communication and the ability to adapt to life.
At its heart is Abai's idea of tolyq adam, the complete person: balanced, well-rounded and steady whatever life brings.
So in KZHMB, children:
build leadership;
learn discipline and hard work;
take on practical, real-life tasks;
do sport and reading;
take part in camps, gatherings and team games;
learn to answer for themselves, their family and their future.
In three years, more than 250 children from across Kazakhstan have gone through the program. KZHMB participants win scholarships, lead at school, launch their own projects, learn a profession and start to change their families' lives.
Our goal is to raise a generation that can become a backbone for society.
A hundred children. Equal to a thousand.
A hundred children. Equal to a thousand.
Alina
From a shy girl to a mentor and senior manager
Read the story →Sulu
Taught herself Chinese to HSK 3 and organized a trip to China for her family
Read the story →Mukhammed
A home and the camp helped him open up, make friends and set goals
Read the story →Alua
A creative talent that led to a Sham School scholarship and a film role
Read the story →Akezhan
Jiu-jitsu and football, a scholarship, and a return as a mentor
Read the story →Ibrahim
A safe home gave his brother with autism freedom, and gave Ibrahim room to grow
Read the story →
Истории семей
How a mother of 10 turned an old shack into a school for 50 pupils
A mother of 8 who started her own farm and grew her flock to 50 sheep
From homemade ready meals to a steady income of 500,000 tenge
Over time, the foundation grew into a structured organization running projects in housing, education, family development, children's initiatives and social support.
Today Asar-Ume is more than charitable help. It is a community of people, businesses, volunteers and partners who create real change together.
About the foundation
Asar-Ume was created to carry on the tradition of asar, a culture of mutual help where people come together to support one another and a shared future.
News
Questions and answers
The Asar-Ume Charity Foundation (founded in 2019) is a Kazakhstani public organization that helps low-income, large and vulnerable families going through a hard time in life. The foundation is built on the asar tradition of mutual help, bringing together the efforts of people who care.
To get help from the Asar-Ume Charity Foundation, you can submit a request by writing to the foundation's official email or filling out the form on our website.
The Asar-Ume Charity Foundation directs the donations it collects to support low-income and large families going through a hard time in life.
The main programs the funds are distributed to are Senim, Orkendeu and Ken Zhurek Myn Bala.
The main programs the funds are distributed to are Senim, Orkendeu and Ken Zhurek Myn Bala.
Yes, there are many ways to help the Asar-Ume foundation without spending money. The organization actively brings in volunteers and partners to support its projects.
The Asar-Ume foundation selects families for help (first of all for buying a home) through strict, multi-level criteria, to rule out fraud and make sure the public's money reaches those who truly need it.
Priority goes to large families with five or six or more underage children. Single mothers receive special attention.
Special circumstances: a family with fewer children can still pass the selection if it includes a child with a disability or other serious aggravating factors.
No property: the key condition is that the family must not own a home or any other registered real estate. Hidden property cancels the application automatically.
The foundation looks closely at the parents' diligence and honesty. It matters that the adults want to change their lives, to study, work or build a business of their own, rather than simply relying on being supported.
Foundation representatives visit the rented housing or temporary dwelling where the family lives in person. They assess the real situation, the floor area and the living conditions, and even ask neighbors to confirm that the applicants are honest. A detailed check of one family usually takes about two weeks.
Priority goes to large families with five or six or more underage children. Single mothers receive special attention.
Special circumstances: a family with fewer children can still pass the selection if it includes a child with a disability or other serious aggravating factors.
No property: the key condition is that the family must not own a home or any other registered real estate. Hidden property cancels the application automatically.
The foundation looks closely at the parents' diligence and honesty. It matters that the adults want to change their lives, to study, work or build a business of their own, rather than simply relying on being supported.
Foundation representatives visit the rented housing or temporary dwelling where the family lives in person. They assess the real situation, the floor area and the living conditions, and even ask neighbors to confirm that the applicants are honest. A detailed check of one family usually takes about two weeks.
The foundation regularly publishes text and visual breakdowns of income and spending, including audits. The published reports openly show the amounts spent on buying homes as well as the foundation's internal costs. For example, the salaries of staff (directors, operators, managers) and the cost of running charity events.
Project
The Orkendeu program: from dependence to standing on your own
How a mother of 10 turned an old shack into a school for 50 pupils
Guldana is a mother of ten and a teacher at heart. Before she found Asar-Ume, the whole family was crammed into a shack of just 50 square meters. Space was tight and daily life was hard, but she never gave up teaching and raising children.
With help from the foundation and caring Kazakhstanis, the family finally got a spacious home of their own. Guldana did not stop there. She turned the old 50-square-meter shack into classrooms under the Orkendeu program, adding desks and chairs and making a place children actually want to come and learn in.
It started small. Neighbors saw how she worked and began bringing their own children, and word of mouth did the rest. Guldana started with ten pupils. Today around fifty study at her school.
Project
The Orkendeu program: from dependence to standing on your own
A mother of 8 who started her own farm and grew her flock to 50 sheep
In 2023, life for Sandugash's large family was full of worry and uncertainty. A mother of eight working as a kindergarten teacher, she faced a shortage of money every day. The family lived on a low salary and kept moving from one rented house to another.
With support from the foundation and caring people, everything changed. Sandugash received a six-room house with a 15-sotka plot of her own (about 0.15 hectares).
Once she had stability, she kept going. She learned about the Orkendeu program, wrote and defended her own business plan, and chose a reliable, familiar path: livestock. The land let her set up a proper farm right in the yard of her new home. She began small, and today she keeps and raises 50 sheep herself.
Project
The Orkendeu program: from dependence to standing on your own
From homemade ready meals to a steady income of 500,000 tenge
Key achievement: she scaled up her home production, widened her range and reached a steady income averaging 500,000 tenge a month
Before she had a home of her own through Asar-Ume, Asemai looked for any way to provide for her family and dreamed of her own business. A gifted cook, she took her first steps in a field with real demand: homemade semi-prepared meals.
Getting a house from the foundation changed everything. The family found stability, and Asemai got a full, spacious kitchen that became her production floor. In the Orkendeu program she started treating her craft as a real business. Now she had room to store ingredients, the ability to prep in large batches and, above all, confidence in the days ahead.
Project
The Orkendeu program: from dependence to standing on your own
From a home craft to her own brand and jobs for mothers of large families
Key achievement: a mother of seven created jobs, hired two employees and is moving confidently toward opening her own workshop under the Umida brand.
A home of her own through Asar-Ume gave Umida's family stability and safety. The larger house let her set up a sewing area, and the Orkendeu program helped her outgrow a simple home hobby. Umida thought bigger. Not as a source of income for one family, but as a social project that can change other women's lives. Two women now work under her and earn a living. Her current turnover is 250,000 to 300,000 tenge a month.
Umida is moving steadily toward a full production workshop under her own brand. Her goal is to show that being a mother of many is no barrier to work, and to give steady jobs to as many such mothers as she can.
Project
The Orkendeu program: from dependence to standing on your own
A family's turnaround: from cleaner to business owner
Before she met the foundation, Asem's family lived in hard conditions. She raised her children alone and, despite a congenital shoulder defect and a disability, worked as a cleaner in two places at once to cover the basics. They lived in cramped quarters, and every day was a struggle for a decent life.
With support from caring people, the family received a spacious home in the center of Oskemen. The four-room house was not just a roof over their heads but the start of a new chapter, one with safety and confidence in tomorrow.
Under the Orkendeu program the family also received professional cleaning equipment. That let Asem start her own business and reach a new level of income. Today she earns more than 500,000 tenge a month, and the work she loves has become her independence.
Over time she began running training sessions and personal growth consultations, helping others believe in themselves. One more big dream came true as well: the umrah pilgrimage.
Today the family lives in comfort, has a steady income and makes plans for the future. Her story shows how support, hard work and faith in something better can change a person's life completely.
Project
Ken Zhurek Myn Bala — "A hundred children equal a thousand"
From a shy girl to a mentor and senior manager
Story: When Alina first came to the KZHMB camp, she was very shy, withdrawn and unsure of herself. For a full year she took an active part in the mentoring program. She gained her first professional skills at Shoq Doner (a partner company of the foundation), where she rose to administrator. Today Alina is a senior manager at the homegrown brand OZGE, running key business processes and leading a team. In 2024 she returned to the project as a mentor.
Result: growth in leadership, a strong career start, and a graduate returning as a mentor.
Project
Ken Zhurek Myn Bala — "A hundred children equal a thousand"
Taught herself Chinese and showed her family China
Story: Sulu is a lively, quick and driven girl from Astana. From her first days at the KZHMB camp, her bright energy and natural leadership set her apart. While still a camper, she began learning one of the hardest languages, Chinese, entirely on her own, without tutors.
For her results and persistence, the foundation's partner, entrepreneur Ulugbek Sharipov, awarded her a trip to Shanghai. The most important part came after she got home: Sulu set her heart on showing this wide world to her family. Together with her mother and sister, she worked and saved for about three months, then organized the trip to China herself, by bus through Khorgos.
Today Sulu has learned Chinese to HSK 3 level. She proved that with discipline and the support of those close to her, nothing is impossible.
Result: growing independence and financial responsibility, and gaining international experience.
Project
Ken Zhurek Myn Bala — "A hundred children equal a thousand"
A home and the camp helped him open up, make friends and set goals
Story: Getting a home of their own was a turning point for Mukhammed's family. A place of their own gave the boy calm and confidence in the future, and once the daily worries were gone, his energy went into growth.
The program and the camp session opened him up in a new way. He became far more sociable, learned to connect with people easily and to work in a team. He set clear goals, made new friends and came to value the people around him.
With the foundation's support, Mukhammed understood something important: even small help can change someone's life completely. The experience made him kinder and more responsible, and stirred a real wish to help others.
Result: opening up, teamwork, and a desire to help others.
Project
Ken Zhurek Myn Bala — "A hundred children equal a thousand"
A creative talent that led to a Sham School scholarship and a film role
Story: Alua grew up in a large family raising nine children. She was creative from childhood, but it was the KZHMB camp that let her talent come through in full and gave her confidence. After the session she opened up, carefully completed the year's tasks and learned to get along easily with all kinds of people.
Her drive and results brought a breakthrough: Alua won a scholarship to Sham School, a respected school of creative industries for gifted young people, founded by director Kuanysh Beisekov. Wins at academic olympiads followed, along with a part in the feature film Kunes and twelve creative workshops.
Result: unlocking her creative potential and winning an education scholarship.
Project
Ken Zhurek Myn Bala — "A hundred children equal a thousand"
Jiu-jitsu and football, a scholarship, and a return as a mentor
Story: Akezhan is a young man with an iron will and plenty of energy. At the KZHMB camp he stood out for his drive, leadership and athletic ability. He trains seriously in jiu-jitsu and football, played for the well-known Dinamo club and won prizes more than once.
In 2023 his family received a home from the foundation. His goal was clear: to win a scholarship. With the help of the foundation's partner Askhat Abzhanov, founder of the Zhana Urpak leadership school, he got the scholarship and finished his first year with honors. Today Akezhan is one of the leading young men in the project. He came back as a mentor, to set an example for the younger ones.
Result: an education scholarship, growth in leadership, and a return to the project as a mentor.
Project
Ken Zhurek Myn Bala — "A hundred children equal a thousand"
A safe home gave his brother with autism freedom, and gave Ibrahim room to grow
Story: Getting a home of their own was a major turning point for Ibrahim's family and changed daily life for good. In the larger house everyone got their own space, and the household became easier to run. The enclosed yard was a real relief for Ibrahim's younger brother, who has autism: now the child can play outside freely, jump on the trampoline and use the swing without extra attention or sideways looks.
With a safe foundation under him, Ibrahim focused on himself. After the camp session he proved a very responsible participant and completed all the year's tasks well. He set an ambitious goal and taught himself Chinese, deeply and on his own.
His persistence and results did not go unnoticed. For his drive, the foundation's partner, entrepreneur Ulugbek Sharipov, awarded him a trip to Shanghai. Young as he is, Ibrahim is not afraid of work and already helps his family.
Result: building discipline, a strong drive to study, and an international learning trip.
Project
The Senim program — a home where a new life begins
From a shack to a home of her own: the story of Zhadyra and her six children
Before help
Iskakova Zhadyra Orazkhanovna is a mother of many from Astana, raising six children alone after a divorce. Her youngest daughter has a disability related to Down syndrome. The family lived in a shack with no basic amenities. To provide for the children, Zhadyra worked as a cleaner washing stairwells, and later took a job as a bus conductor. Through it all she kept going and kept caring for her children.
Iskakova Zhadyra Orazkhanovna is a mother of many from Astana, raising six children alone after a divorce. Her youngest daughter has a disability related to Down syndrome. The family lived in a shack with no basic amenities. To provide for the children, Zhadyra worked as a cleaner washing stairwells, and later took a job as a bus conductor. Through it all she kept going and kept caring for her children.
After help
With support from Asar-Ume, Zhadyra's family received a home of their own with everything needed for a comfortable life. Zhanbol, owner of the Zhanpresso coffee chain, and the blogger Medet took part in making it happen. The new home gave the family safety, warmth and confidence in the future. Today Zhadyra and her children live in decent conditions, and the children have a place to grow up in a comfortable home.
With support from Asar-Ume, Zhadyra's family received a home of their own with everything needed for a comfortable life. Zhanbol, owner of the Zhanpresso coffee chain, and the blogger Medet took part in making it happen. The new home gave the family safety, warmth and confidence in the future. Today Zhadyra and her children live in decent conditions, and the children have a place to grow up in a comfortable home.
Project
The Senim program — a home where a new life begins
One roof for all of them: the story of Snezhana's family
Before help
Snezhana is the eldest daughter in a large family. After the tragic death of their mother, the family found itself in a very hard situation. The children lived in a shack without proper conditions, and the future of the younger ones was especially uncertain. Given the circumstances, there was a real risk that the brothers and sisters could be sent to different orphanages. Through all of it, Snezhana tried to hold the family together and care for the younger children.
Snezhana is the eldest daughter in a large family. After the tragic death of their mother, the family found itself in a very hard situation. The children lived in a shack without proper conditions, and the future of the younger ones was especially uncertain. Given the circumstances, there was a real risk that the brothers and sisters could be sent to different orphanages. Through all of it, Snezhana tried to hold the family together and care for the younger children.
After help
Thanks to a caring local businessman who covered part of the sum, together with a shared fundraiser, it became possible to buy an apartment in a residential building in the center of Taldykorgan. The new home preserved the most important thing, the family's unity. Today all the brothers and sisters live together in safe and comfortable conditions, supporting one another and making plans for the future.
Thanks to a caring local businessman who covered part of the sum, together with a shared fundraiser, it became possible to buy an apartment in a residential building in the center of Taldykorgan. The new home preserved the most important thing, the family's unity. Today all the brothers and sisters live together in safe and comfortable conditions, supporting one another and making plans for the future.
Project
The Senim program — a home where a new life begins
A home for Marina's family: what people can do together
Before help
Marina raises several children on her own. The family lived in the village of Akadyr in the Karaganda region, in a shack, in very hard conditions. One of the children has cerebral palsy and needs special care. Marina has lost one leg, but even so she kept working and caring for her children. She worked at a buffet in the railway station, took night shifts and did everything she could to provide for her family.
Marina raises several children on her own. The family lived in the village of Akadyr in the Karaganda region, in a shack, in very hard conditions. One of the children has cerebral palsy and needs special care. Marina has lost one leg, but even so she kept working and caring for her children. She worked at a buffet in the railway station, took night shifts and did everything she could to provide for her family.
How we helped
The family's story first caught the attention of the Otzyv foundation. They opened a fundraiser and collected about 800,000 tenge.
Later Asar-Ume joined in. With support from our sponsors and caring people, we raised the main part of the sum needed and solved the family's housing problem.
The family's story first caught the attention of the Otzyv foundation. They opened a fundraiser and collected about 800,000 tenge.
Later Asar-Ume joined in. With support from our sponsors and caring people, we raised the main part of the sum needed and solved the family's housing problem.
After help
Today Marina and her children live in a home of their own. The family now has comfortable and safe conditions, and the children have their own space to study, rest and grow.
For Marina this home is more than a roof over her head. It is a chance to leave the hard years behind and give her children a calmer, more decent future.
Marina's story shows how, working together, people can change the life of a whole family.
Today Marina and her children live in a home of their own. The family now has comfortable and safe conditions, and the children have their own space to study, rest and grow.
For Marina this home is more than a roof over her head. It is a chance to leave the hard years behind and give her children a calmer, more decent future.
Marina's story shows how, working together, people can change the life of a whole family.
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Office
62a Abai Avenue, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan
Working hours
Monday to Friday
09:00 - 17:00
09:00 - 17:00
Phone
We build lasting support for families, children and teenagers through housing, education, personal growth and a culture of mutual help.
Asar-Ume Charity Foundation ©2026
