How a mother of 10 turned an old shack into a school for 50 pupils

1 june 2026

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.