Capital: Astana
Area: 2,724,900 km²
Population: 15.2 million (July 2005)
Ethnic groups: Kazakh, Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek, German
Official language(s): Kazakh
Religion(s): Russian Orzhodox, Sunni Muslims
Currency: 1 tenge = 100 tiyn
SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country
Sara Nazerbajeva, the wife of the Kazakh state president, was on an official state visit to Germany in 1992 when she went to see SOS Children's Village Diessen on lake Ammersee. She was immediately impressed by Hermann Gmeiner's idea. The national SOS Children's Village association in Kazakhstan was founded in 1994 and the first children were able to move into SOS Children's Village Almaty in 1997. Almaty lies on the border to China and Kyrgyzstan and was the Kazakh capital at the time. Since 2000, also a SOS Kindergarten, open to children from the SOS Children’s Village as well as to children from the neighbourhood, is part of the SOS Children’s Village. In 2004 a SOS Youth Facility was set up in Kutaisi for the youths who have outgrown the SOS Children's Village. There is also a holiday camp in Capchagay near Almaty where the children and mothers can relax in the summer months.
The country became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Its social and economic situation is very poor and many children live in great poverty. Therefore, in 1998 it was decided to build a second SOS Children’s Village in the new capital Astana. This has been operational since July 2000. In the same year, also a SOS Kindergarten started its work in Astana. Youths, who have outgrown the SOS Children’s Village, live in a SOS Youth Facility since January 2005. The third SOS Children’s Village of Kazakhstan was constructed in Temirtau, a poor industrial city near Karaganda, and went into operation in February 2004. In the same city a SOS Playbus was set up in 2006.
In 2007 SOS Children's Villages Kazakhstan started to operate Family Strengthening Programmes, which enable children who are at risk of losing the care of their family to grow within a caring family environment. To achieve this, SOS Children's Villages Kazakhstan works directly with families and communities to empower them to effectively protect and care for their children, in cooperation with local authorities and other service providers.
At present there are three SOS Children’s Villages, two SOS Youth Facilities, two SOS Kindergartens as well as five SOS Social Centres in Kazakhstan.