For the first time in the history of Kazakhstan and the CIS, Aruzhan Amanbaeva won The Social Impact Award 2021 with her business project The Soul Education.

It was not easy to become the leader of the international competition - 38 countries and 1600 entries took part in the competition. Participants from Mexico, Tanzania, Canada and the Dominican Republic shared places in the final with Kazakhstan.

Aruzhan Amanbaeva is 19 years old, she is a student of the Kazakh-British Technical University, a young entrepreneur and the founder of The Soul Education school.

The idea with the school "The Soul" came to Aruzhan back in 2018. As a 11th grade student, she became the first qualified sand therapy teacher in Kazakhstan. This therapy helped his brother Aruzhan, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome in childhood. The therapy develops the musculoskeletal systems, vision and attention. Learning about this, other parents with special children began to turn to Aruzhan.

On this path, Aruzhan was accompanied by her team and professional mentors from many countries. They studied the connection between the brain and sand therapy, which resulted in the project's mission: to build an inclusive, safe, trustworthy ecosystem for all children, where they can develop, learn and improve their health.

“It is a great honor for me to represent Kazakhstan for the first time among 38 countries, where more than 1600 entrepreneurs from all over the world took part. I am still overwhelmed with emotions. At the time of the announcement, I was sincerely happy for my colleagues from other countries, but when Kazakhstan and I were announced, I could not believe my eyes. Project participants from all countries, who have become close friends to me, started calling me and congratulating me,” says Aruzhan.

“For the first time Kazakhstan is with us and it was able to prove its great importance in world business with The Soul project,” the organizers of the project noted.

The Soul Education is the only online and offline school in the CIS countries for children with psychological and physical disabilities, representing a course of sand therapy to improve health. Within the framework of the project, Aruzhan is actively involved in inclusive education, psychological work and therapy for children with special needs.

In the next 3 years, Aruzhan and his team plan to enter the CIS market and develop the school and the application "The Soul" at the international level, which will be able to unite professionals and parents with special children. In the application you will be able to pass:

1. Online screening tests

2. Receive reliable and updated information about disorders and diseases

3. Receive online lessons from teachers

4. And most importantly, support from parents from all over the world, where they share their stories and victories that inspire and motivate parents to believe in the best and not give up.

“I want to help and take care of the children of our country and the whole world. After all, if we want to take care of the future, then first of all we must take care of children. But only with your support and faith, only together we can make this world a better place, where everyone can find their place” - says Aruzhan.

The EO Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (EO GSEA) is the most prestigious international competition for students who own and operate a business while attending college or university. A high-quality support network of over 15,000 like-minded leaders from 61 countries. EO helps entrepreneurs reach their full potential through life-saving networking, experience sharing and collaborative learning. EO has been helping entrepreneurs achieve transformational growth since 1987, and its network of members is committed to learning and helping each other succeed.

EO & GSEA Global Partners: National Geographic, Disney +, Junior Chamber International (JCI), etc.

Video excerpt from the award ceremony: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eVOxrvvqni_RtRNrfBGcafzjMoDN64me/view?usp=sharing

Link to the list of winners of the competition: https://gsea.org/2021-global-finals-winners/#14b/