A Dirty Weekend in Shymkent? All in the name of charity

The name says it all. Tracy, a Hong Kong lawyer who started the club, tells us that she made the name up to catch people’s attention and inspire action. Well, it certainly does that! The Dirty Weekenders is a group of Hong Kong professionals who put their spare time to good use, by getting their hands dirty working to fight poverty around the world.

Tracy and Grace recently spent a week with us in Shymkent on the group’s behalf. A couple of months beforehand, in Hong Kong, The Dirty Weekenders had sponsored and loaded two forty foot containers worth of goods for Kazakhstan. The focus of the containers was kids and youth.

Tracy and Grace dropped in to Shymkent to help us at the other end as well. Containers were opened, goods labelled, trucks arrived (some even on time!) and in a whirlwind week, 10 different organisations working with young people around southern Kazakhstan received computers, a trampoline, toys, bunk beds, TVs, clothes, books, exercise equipment—all manner of helpful items!

Their highlight was a visit to a local charity helping kids in a village outside of Taraz. The director started the work out of her own home. Since then it’s grown to care for 200 kids. The NGO depends on the generosity of others. In particular, they need toys. Tracy and Grace’s response? Blog. The next day, toys were already being donated by they friends in Hong Kong!

Thank you Tracy and Grace for taking the time to get your hands dirty in Skymkent. Thanks to the Dirty Weekenders for caring for the kids of Kazakhstan.