Some changes begin quietly, in places so small they barely appear on the map. For 17-year-old Balausa, from the village of Zhasorken in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl district, one simple idea turned into something that reshaped her entire community.
“I’m from a village of just 1,765 people,” she says. “We didn’t even have a bus stop. Every day, we stood in the rain, waiting for the bus in the open air. And one day I thought: Why not change things?”
In 2024, Balausa joined Beginit by inDrive, an initiative that empowers youth with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to drive positive change.. Her Beginit project was to get a bus stop put in – a necessity for her neighbors, especially the children who travel to school every day.
“Over the years, there had been several accidents. Children hit by cars. That’s not something you can ignore. Nobody else wanted to take on the work, so I did.”
When the bus stop was finally built, she remembers being overwhelmed with emotion. “I didn’t even know what to say. I just thought: I did it.”
But for Balausa, it wasn’t only about the stop itself. It was about proving that young people’s voices matter. That change is possible — starting with your own street, your own village. “If something isn’t right — fix it. It’s all in your hands.”
Her project, “Safe Way To School”, was based on an idea developed by the Urban Forum. Through Beginit, each of 37 finalists had the chance to bring this vision to life in their hometowns. For Balausa, that experience was transformative.
“Before the project, I was shy, unsure of myself. But by the end, after the training, after stepping out of my comfort zone, I found confidence. The shyness was gone. I had changed. I grew — not just in experience, but inside.”
Now she dreams even bigger,of making a difference everywhere she can.
Thanks to Beginit, Balausa took her first step toward leadership. And as she says herself: Big changes start small — with one idea and the will to act.
