MASP – International Association of Social Projects – is a non-profit organization created in August 2002 by a group of young people from Italy and Kazakhstan working in the social sphere. MASP’s mission consists of supporting and promoting human development in Kazakhstan with a particular emphasis on the education and the defence of human rights and dignity of people in every aspect.
Our activities
The value of the individual is at the centre of all our projects, and each one is carried out by "working together" with the people they support.
MASP is attentive to reality and needs that unexpectedly emerge. In fact, each project is conceived and implemented by acting on existing needs and not from predefined ideas. Across the years, MASP has thus had different priorities, since there have been various changes in society that needed responding to. Nowadays, MASP is working in three particular areas:
MASP Artisan House
In 2019 the social enterprise MASP Artisan House was created, craft house, where talented young people with special needs and young people who are in difficult situations work. The impetus for undertaking this activity rested on the belief that every person has talents that can and should be discovered and valued, regardless of the situations that they face.
Presently, we have seven girls with various diagnoses, such as Down syndrome, ASD and hard of hearing, working in our craft house. Essentially, the girls produce textile products that are then sold in our Centre, in four stores in Almaty, through online sales and small craft markets. Our girls are very good at their work and have very high motivation. By purchasing these products, you can support the social enterprise MASP Artisan House and the MASP Association!
The experience of the Mystery returns to the crowd, to the people-people.
Small steps
The initiative "Small Steps" was launched in 2022 after various events, such as the economic crisis and some social unrest, made it more difficult for some of our activities to take place. We wanted to try to respond in small steps to the provocations that reality presents to us with passion and determination. This initiative includes the following activities:
Training and assistance in finding work for young people in difficult situations and for young people with disabilities through some courses such as cutting and sewing, boiled wool, woodwork, and baking.
Collection, repair, and distribution of used clothing; visits and financial support to families (thanks to the “Remote Support” project in collaboration with the AVSI Foundation).
A craft house where talented young people with special needs and people with difficulties work
We need your support, be it big or small! If you want to help us support this project, you can donate here!
MASP and AVSI
MASP operates in Kazakhstan, so, since it is not an NGO of a European country or of a country in preparation for EU accession, it will never be able to use funds provided to European countries. Because of this, MASP conducts its work in a slightly different way to NGOs in European countries.
In 2012 MASP became one of the founders of AVSI, an Italian Foundation. Within the AVSI network, MASP has a history similar to those of local associations born in Russia, Lithuania, Romania, and Albania. Among these similarities is the huge juxtaposition between their annual budgets and those of other associations in the network, since they are both NGOs, and historically linked to in the countries in which they operate.
Thanks to the project "Distance Support", introduced by AVSI, MASP continues to support many children and families in need in Almaty and in the Almaty region by organising weekly visits to provide them with material help.
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