Public hearings held as part of the “For those who are always there!” project

Astana, Kazakhstan - On November 27, 2015, a public hearing was held in Astana as part of the "For those who are always there!" project. At the hearing, deputies and many representatives of the legislature were invited. The hearings were attended by the deputies of the Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Reform of the Majlis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan! This is Olga Andreevna Kikolenko, Svetlana Romanovskaya and Galina Alexandrovna Baymakhanova. Despite their busy schedules, they came to our event, actively participated, and became our supporters. In the video "Moms Forever!", we turned to the male deputies. However, we were supported by female deputies.

Olga Kikolenko is very familiar with the issue of guardians. She spoke about the experience of European states, using the example of Germany. Olga Andreevna also shared information about all events for disabled people and their guardians in Kazakhstan. She also shared the immediate plans regarding legislative changes in the social situation of disabled people and their guardians and promised to defend the promotion of our organization’s project.

"... in 2018, a guide for guardians under 18 was introduced, but they didn’t look into the duration and experience of childcare. With that, we must seek legislative review. As for the legal status of the guardian —  that really is not mentioned in the legislation. In the ministry, the absence of benefits after the age of 18 is explained by the fact that a disabled adult receives a disability pension. If you receive guardian status right now, you become a guardian not only for children with childhood disabilities, but also for people with disabilities of groups 1 and 2. We need to start with some kind of category. But there is a problem regarding the violation of citizens’ constitutional rights. Lawyers need to solve this problem constitutionally.

Deputy S. Y. Romanovskaya frankly said that she was not aware of the problem in question. She was very impressed by the "Mom's Forever!" video. Svetlana Yurievna urged parents and guardians of disabled children to follow all relevant issues and to actively send information to deputies. She gave her personal contact information (cell phone number and personal email address) and promised to uphold the rights of the disabled children's guardians in Parliament.

"... I am an NGO worker with 20 years of experience. But over the course of my five years of parliamentary membership, I have not received a single NGO appeal. You are the first non-governmental organization that has addressed me. When implementing such projects, one must always refer to the deputies. Every child has the right to a full life. This should be taught in society and talked about more often. Nobody will do it for you. We must be active and put forward initiatives. This requires painstaking work. The more signatures there are, the greater our chance of reaching the intended result.”

Deputy G.A. Baymakhanova talked about the experience of the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan in solving the social problems of the unprotected strata of the population. She also stressed the need to prevent phenomenа such as disability. As an individual, Galina Alexandrovna promised maximum support in resolving the problems of the guardians of disabled children.

"... Our credo is social justice. Society should work not only toward rights, but also toward the prevention of disability. We deputies will do everything in our power. We must take all of the opportunities that our state provides. The budget must be social. A strong state must prevent social dysfunction.”

The "For those who are always there!" project is being implemented within the framework of the Initiative to Support Effective Governance with the support of USAID and the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia in partnership with the NGOs Children with Disabilities in Astana and Adaptation of Children with Special Needs - North in the city of Petropavlovsk.

Informing deputies and involving them in providing assistance and support in the legislative definition of guardian status is the main achievement of our public hearings.