“Dear Joost van der Meer,
We would like to congratulate you with the tenth anniversary of AIDS Foundation East-West! We thank you and your great team for invaluable help, professional approach and trust relationships! Thanks for all six years of partnership and for all the work your organisation has done in Kazakhstan. We wish AFEW further prosperity, and may AFEW exist for another 100 years!

Kind regards,

Staff of Public Foundation “Doverie Plus”
Roza Oleynikova, head
Almaty, Kazakhstan”

We would like to thank our partners in Kazakhstan for appreciation of AFEW’s activities in this country. Though left in circumstances, when the funds to continue building innovative HIV prevention programmes like Client management and Harm reduction, and helping the most marginalised populations of Kazakhstan are scarce, we hope to carry on fulfilling our mission – reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS in the region.

On Saturday 10th July, in Almaty’s Family Park, the Vienna Express ended its tour of Central Asia with a spectacular dance show.

An opening speech was given by representatives from the Almaty Region Akimat (Town Hall), who explained to the more than 500 spectators about the aims of the Vienna Express and the issues of drug use and HIV in Kazakhstan.

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On Saturday 26 June (International Day against Drug Use and Illicit Trafficking), the Vienna Express arrived on the central square of the city of Taldykorgan in Kazakhstan, where a huge crowd of local people took part in a mass dance event organised by the local authorities. AFEW representatives mingled with the participants and collected their wishes about the HIV response and universal access for the AIDS2010 conference in Vienna.

The arrival of the Vienna Express bus in Taldykorgan early in Saturday morning was hard to miss: the bus was plastered with banners and the campaign slogan, and inside our young volunteers danced to music blasting from its speakers!

Even at such an early hour the centre of the city was unusually packed with crowds. A large stage and tables hung with banners and balloons stood at the ready. Clearly something interesting was afoot and hundreds of people had gathered to await the action!

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