Neighborhood Facelift

Today Gulnasip Apai takes great pleasure in walking in the courtyard of her apartment building in the second microdistrict of the city of Kulsary. The courtyard – once covered in garbage – now has a charming, clean playground for children. Converting a standard gray courtyard into an inviting public space for recreation was made possible by the “Our Public Spaces” project, implemented by EFCA with the financial support of TengizChevroil in the city of Atyrau and Zhylyoi region of Atyrau oblast. Gulnasip Apai heard about the project from her neighbor. The housewife decided to participate, and her mini-project “Beautiful Neighborhood” won a grant. But it wasn’t easy for her or her supporters. A number of residents from the neighborhood refused to participate in the construction of the playground, claiming it would never be successful.

“I wanted to forget about the whole thing. But my mother’s heart wouldn’t let me – I wanted to do it for my children and grandchildren. I had dreamed of a clean and pleasant place to rest, with a nice playground, and I couldn’t quit what I had already begun,” said Karina Gulnasip, head of the “Beautiful Neighborhood” project.

Gulnasip Apai decided that the most important thing was to get the project off the ground – help would come. Disbelief and indifference could be overcome by showing a positive example. The grandmother organized a clean-up day. Joined by her initiative group, Gulsanip Apai cleaned the courtyard of garbage. Every day brought out more and more participants. Children and adults alike joined the clean-up. More than 130 people joined in to support the construction of the new playground, including sponsors.

Success is contagious. It spawns new initiatives. Residents of the second microregion not only cleaned up their courtyard, but they also took the initiative to renovate their common stairwells. The project ended only to see the start of a new project: a children’s football field. The local government, taking note of the citizen’s initiative, joined in to help the neighbors create a football field in their new courtyard.