"Kazakhstan Foundation for Peace" on behalf of the Acting Chairman of the Fund Mr.Kazybek Shaikh has provided sponsorship for special athletes participating in the opening of the Special Winter Olympics of Kazakhstan (February 23-24, 2012 Astana).

Special Olympics is the world's largest program of sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Special Olympics movement began 40 years ago at the initiative of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s sister. In 1957 she led the Kennedy Foundation. The Foundation has two main goals: to find protection from mental retardation by identifying its causes, and to improve ways of treatment of society with citizens who have intellectual disorders.

The motion started to take effect. The first International Special Olympics Games were held in 1968 at Soldiers Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA. That year is considered the founding year of the Special Olympics movement.

Currently, over 3 million people in 170 countries are trained for 33 summer and winter Olympic sports at local, national and international level.

Special Olympics Kazakhstan is a unique sports organization, bringing together 12,560 students of orphanages and correctional boarding schools, and other children into a big family. 16 branches have been set up in all regions; sports clubs for 18 summer and winter sports are working, free training are organized at the stadiums, swimming pools, bowling centers, the racetracks. Tournaments are held annually at local, regional levels and republic Special Olympics Kazakhstan. According to the rules of Special Olympics International, none of the athletes pay for their participation in training and competitions, coaches and judges work as volunteers.

Since 1991 national teams, under the flag of Kazakhstan, have successfully participated in 10 World Special Olympics Games (WSOG). 261 athletes have won a total of 279 different medals.

Winning medals at the European and the World Special Olympics, the athletes of Special Olympics Kazakhstan strengthen the authority of Kazakhstan in the international community positioning it as a country in which democratic principles and social justice are developing.