Summer Camp in Temirtau

Visiting some of our Company’s social projects in Kazakhstan, we came across so many heart-warming sites that it is hard to single out one. But a highlight was definitely ArcelorMittal’s Children’s Summer Camp on the shores of Temirtau’s man-made lake.

500 children aged 6 to 14 – mostly workers’ children from the nearby steel plant – gather at the camp each summer for fun, fun fun. On the first day we visited, within ten minutes the children and their counsellors arranged a show for us and put on an astonishing display of dancing. Enthusiasm and an impressive amount of talent moved everyone to a wild applause.

So delighted to have an audience, they invited us back the next day to watch them perform a fun celebration of Neptune Day, only one of the many days they enjoy as part of the camp’s activities.

The Neptune event is a wildly imaginative play that culminates in a massive water fight when King Neptune himself says all is okay! The happy shrieks of the children are clear evidence that this is an awful lot of watery fun.

“Transforming tomorrow here in Kazakhstan is most evident when you look at all that is available for children, says M. Rajendran, Director Corporate & Social Responsibility. “It makes me think of the old saying: From little drops of water… Taking care of children, and giving them a summer is the first step in offering a future.”

And it’s true; there is so much for children here. But words alone cannot do justice, you need to see the activities here for yourself. Since you cannot all be in Kazakhstan, here is the next best thing, something that tells 1,000 words – pictures! Enjoy…

Photographer: Fabien de Serres