First leisure centre for the retired opens in Astana
ASTANA. June 8. KAZINFORM - Mini-Center named "Kuishi Dina" has received its first visitors. Recreation has been organized for retirees and veterans, informs the astana.kz web-site. People will be able to read books and newspapers, play chess, checkers, dominoes and discuss the latest news over a cup of tea. The centre will carry out all sorts of tournaments and will celebrate birthdays and holidays.
"All day long the old people are sitting in their apartments, there is no communication, except the TV. Here they gather for leisure, play chess, checkers, the dombra and the guitar, enjoy bingo and dominoes, " said Maken Kairov, chairman of the veterans' organization called "Kuishi Dina. "
As stated by the retired people the opening of the center is thanks to Maken Kairov, a head of the veterans' organization. The basement area has been given by "Astana Zhil Service". All guitar and dombra lessons will be provided free of charge by the visitors themselves. The events will be taking place three times a week for two hours a day - from 4 to 6 pm. 25 people can visit the center every day. Only in the Almaty district of Astana there live 23,000 of the retired.
"It will bring people together, there will be communication, and there will be interest in life," says the pensioner Tatyana Levchenko.
"Taking care of us, the elderly and veterans, is a nice thing. Definitely, we will be holding tournaments of chess and checkers and will be talking about the past and present life, " says the pensioner Galymbek Dosanov.
Only in the Almaty region four such centers will open their doors. But even today elderly people of other districts of Astana have come to have a look at it. They hope that a leisure center like that in the near future will be working in their residence area.