Eco-volunteer from Atyrau: always be responsible!

Damir @zaidullayev, an active volunteer of NVS and UNICEF projects, will tell us his story of volunteering in the field of ecology.

Damir is 16 years old, now he is studying in the 11th grade in the city of Atyrau. He devotes most of his free time to volunteering. She also studies Asian culture and loves to listen to lofi music.

How his volunteering journey began

Started volunteering in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemics. Somehow, I sat and studied my lessons, and at one moment I decided that I needed to do something more interesting, somehow help society in this difficult time. Coincidentally, my older sister Aruzhan sent me a post on the @kz_nvs profile that they are announcing the recruitment of volunteers for the second stream of the Inclusive Society program, it seems that this was the fate that awaited me. After I applied and I was approved, this project began my small but interesting journey in volunteering.

I think that my first volunteer project "Inclusive Society" I will never forget. He gave me great motivation and opened big doors to the volunteer world. During this project, we shared information about inclusion through social networks and I discovered a new world for myself. I learned so much that I started to share it with everyone and started to study this topic deeper, I understood a lot! This project got me started and I will always remember it as something warm to my heart.

After this project, I started participating in other projects such as BeGreen, GenU, AsylMura and became an eco-volunteer of the Atyraueco team . Then he became a KhanAcademy volunteer Qazaq, Univero, Nobel Fest. All these volunteer projects have one thing in common - they bring value to this world and change it for the better, and I am glad that I am a part of these changes.

On the importance of eco-volunteering

As we all know, the problem of environmental pollution affects the entire planet. Plastic and various wastes are killing our planet, it all started from people, and as a person who worries about the environment, I wanted to help improve the environment by at least 1 percent. We all know that Atyrau is one of the most polluted cities in Kazakhstan and somehow, I saw a post that there are eco-volunteers in Atyrau and they collect garbage every week and do RSO every month. I immediately wanted to try to be a volunteer in this direction. At the beginning, you see a picture of how the streets are full of garbage or playgrounds have become a dump, then your heart breaks. But when you see the picture after the work of Atyraueco volunteers, you are proud of them and your work. I love it. The reason for choosing this area of volunteering is to change the state of the ecology of my city and continue to green, clean the city from garbage.

Volunteer projects you are currently involved in

At the moment I am a KhanAcademy volunteer translator Qazaq, I also do volunteer work in projects @ kz _ nvs . Now I started volunteering at the educational company Univero.cc. And the project that I am very proud of, and in which I am a volunteer, is Bauyrmen Bailanys !

What principles do you follow?

Do your job with high quality and always help others. Benefit your country and people. If you need any help from me, then I always respond and do my best to make the result exceed expectations. Also, the principle of honesty is very important to me and is always appreciated in volunteering.

What do you wish for a new volunteer?

Don't be shy and always be responsible. Invite other people, create a team, I assure you, there are a lot of like-minded people who will be ready to help you. Be always open to cooperation, take on each project, and remember that in the eco-direction the result may not be visible at first, but over time you will see that the city has become cleaner, and you have become the main reason for this. Volunteer and set a goal, I believe you will achieve it. Go volunteers!

Alexandra Krashinina

@alexandra.krashinina