In an exclusive interview to El.kz, 10th-grade student from Astana, Aizhan Baitlessova shared how she created the digital platform ONESOUL, which helps to preserve life stories and family memory through QR-code access and why the project matters for every generation.

Several years ago, Aizhan lost her grandfather, to whom she was especially close. She began thinking  how to preserve the memory of a person for family members who never had the chance to know him.

She started to collect photographs, video recordings, and memories, organizing them in digital files for younger relatives.

“It hurt to realize that my brother and sister would never know what kind of person he was. And I started looking for a way to preserve this memory and tell his story through photos and videos,” Aizhan explains.

From a family idea to a tech project

Her parents supported the idea and helped helped highlight its practical value. After that, the team started the app’s development.

Today, ONESOUL functions as a mobile platform, also accessible on computers and tablets. Users can create a digital memorial page that brings together a person’s biography, photographs, videos, and important life dates.

The technical solution connects the physical world with the virtual one. Each memorial page is assigned a personalized QR code that can be placed, for example, on a gravestone. When scanned, it opens the person’s life story as well as a family tree, allowing users to trace generational connections up to the traditional concept of zheti ata (seven ancestors).

The platform turns family data into a living archive that preserves memories, key life moments, and intergenerational bonds. Users can build a family tree, mark family relationships, and receive reminders of commemorative dates - helping to maintain traditions and honor ancestors.

In addition, ONESOUL includes a calendar of anniversaries and memorial dates, audio recordings of prayers in Kazakh and Russian, and cemetery maps with navigation. Users can plan grave maintenance and order monuments and flowers through the platform, combining spiritual and practical value in one service.

Digital memory and security concerns

The team paid special attention to data protection. Only relatives who receive access after activating the QR code can manage a memorial page. All information is stored in a secure system without advertising or third-party access.

According to the developer, security was one of the most challenging tasks during product creation. To implement the project, the family involved a professional programmer, with whom they built the platform’s technical architecture.

Despite its recent launch, the service has already gained its first users, who have begun creating their own memorial pages.

Why society needs digital memory

Aizhan believes that such services are linked to the natural digitalization of life. Today, people store photos, documents, and memories online, and memory of loved ones is also gradually moving into the digital space.

“It’s more of a social startup. It has its own mission, as well as a commercial model that will support the app’s future development. I hope the app can help people cope with loss and maintain a sense of connection with their loved ones,” she says.

Support and the startup’s first steps

Before the official launch, almost no one knew about the development. Aizhan shared the idea only with her parents and the project team. After the app was released, she received support from classmates, teachers, and relatives.

The team is currently awaiting a response to its application to Astana Hub and is exploring partnership opportunities with various organizations. The plan is to strengthen the project in Kazakhstan and then enter the international market.

Project with a social mission

The creator sees ONESOUL primarily as a social startup that must also have a sustainable growth model. In the coming years, she envisions the platform as a large-scale digital memory service available to users in different countries.

The story of ONESOUL shows how a personal experience can grow into a technological solution with social significance. The schoolgirl’s project effectively offers a new way of preserving family history combining respect for ancestors with the possibilities of the digital age.