Umut apa or Umit apa (literally, "Mother Hope") was a renowned charismatic

healer Healer may refer to: Conventional medicine *Doctor of Medicine *Health professional Alternative medicine * Faith healer * Folk healer * Healer (alternative medicine), someone who purports to aid recovery from ill health * Spiritual healer F ...

from

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. She was the leader of a "healing commune" in Berezovka village of Pavlodar Region, close to

Pavlodar Pavlodar ( ; ) is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Region. It is located 450 km northeast of the national capital Astana and 405 km southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irtysh River. , the cit ...

city. Umut apa is said to have restored health to tens of thousands of people between 1991 and 2005. Her commune came to be known as a holy land, and attracted pilgrims from other countries including

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The visitors would worship Umіt apa's ashes, pray in her mosque and receive treatment in Umut apa clinic. Her youngest daughter Bakhit (literally "Happiness") continued her activities. In 2014, a sum of 29 million

tenge The tenge ( or ; kk, теңге, teñge, ; Currency symbol, sign: ₸ ; ISO 4217, code: KZT) is the currency of Kazakhstan. It is divided into 100 tiyn ( kk, тиын, tıyın also transliterated as ''tiyin''). History After the breakup of th ...

was allocated towards improving the road leading to the commune. At the request of the local residents, a joint meeting of Akimat and Maslihat (the local representative bodies) passed a resolution to name the village "Umut Apa Aul".

References

People from Pavlodar Region {{Kazakhstan-bio-stub