More than four thousand Kazakhstanis, whose houses had been damaged by floods, received the targeted financial aid within the Aid Card Project.
The Aid Card is the joint initiative of Bulat Utemuratov Foundation, the Red Crescent of Kazakhstan and ForteBank. The Project aims to provide timely support to people affected by natural and man-made disasters. Total amount of the aid provided in 2022 exceeded 400 million tenge.
This year’s floods affected several areas at once, including usually arid regions. Thus, in the Mangystau region, the water damaged 174 houses in 13 settlements. Over a thousand people were forced to get out of their homes in a hurry, leaving behind all their belongings. The well-renowned Bulat Utemuratov Foundation allocated 104 million Tenge to support the Mangystau Region residents. Average amount of aid was 600 thousand Tenge per a family.
“The rain was short, but very heavy. At 3 a.m. the water was already in the house. There were eight of us including young children, schoolchildren and elderly parents. We stayed in the house till the last, the water rose about a meter high outside, and it was scary to go out. In the morning we were evacuated by the rescuers. All this time we have been living in housing provided by the local Akimat. We cannot return to our house; we had to remove all the floors, the electricity does not work, and there is still a strong smell of damp,” said Raikhan Tanatova, a resident of the Rakhat District in Zhanaozen.
The state of emergency was declared twice this spring in the Turkestan region. First, water entered 180 houses in 6 villages of Kazygurt and Saryagash districts. At that time, 1,115 people received help as part of the Aid Card Project. Two weeks later, heavy rains caused flooding of 141 more houses in the villages of Kakpak and Sharbulak. According to Ulanar Kalbirova, a resident of Kakpak village, she began to fear a repeat of the situation, “We had just started putting the house and yard in order when the floods started again, we had to pack up and go into town to our daughter. I cry every time when I see what our house has become. We used to grow raspberries and corn in our yard to sell, and now there won’t be any harvest.” Total amount of aid to the Turkestan region was more than 195 million tenge. The residents used the money to buy building materials and furniture.
Earlier this year, floods affected more than 1,000 residents of the Aktobe, West Kazakhstan and Pavlodar regions. Bulat Utemuratov Foundation allocated more than 110 million tenge to help rebuild damaged houses and buy basic necessities.
The Aid Card Project has been underway since 2018. During this time, more than 12 thousand Kazakhstanis have become recipients of financial support.
