Alpine Update #1
December 2002 - January 2003
The Alpine Update is a short email sent out at the end of each month to review the past months activities of the Alpine Fund and to present future events. For information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe to this update please see the end of this email.
Since this is the first Alpine Update it will start with an overall situation report of the Alpine Fund and describe some of the activities of the past fall.
The Alpine Fund started in fall of 2000 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan with the support of UNICEF and a mission to help disadvantaged youth through the use of mountaineering and education programs. Since then we have found support from the Swiss Agency for Development and private donations to continue our work. Over the two years we have developed close relationships with several children's homes and have expanded the work with youth in the south of Kyrgyzstan by opening an office in the city of Osh.
The Alpine Fund also is a registered organization in the United States and has a board of directors and advisors that helps set overall policy.
The primary mission of the Alpine Fund is to help vulnerable youth find success in life by giving them new experiences, new choices and skills for employment.
The Alpine Fund currently runs four programs:
Clouds at Their Feet - This program brings to the mountains kids from at-risk groups, such as orphanages, street shelters or problem families. They climb, hike, set up camp, and learn new skills and important environmental lessons. Currently this program trains approximately 25 kids at Voenna Antonovka Orphanage two times per week and works with the Uch Korgon children's home near Osh.
Alpine Clubs - This Alpine Clubs gather volunteer-students from various universities; the volunteers then work at several children’s institutions. A guiding principle of the clubs is to match the children in need with their own peers, who serve as teachers and mentors. Currently this program sends and English language teacher and an ecologist to train youth at Voenna Antonovka Orphanage.
Alpine Guides - As youth leave their teens they need even more support, we take those with a desire to succeed and give them extra climbing, computer and English lessons. With this training they have hope to find employment. Currently this programs works with 6 youth that have left the children's home and now study at a technical school. They meet each Sunday for English and guiding lessons, then climb on indoor climbing wall in the afternoon
Alpine Mountain Camps - These camps not only teach about nature, but give critical life skills as well. At the camps we give lessons on HIV/AIDS, narcotics and tolerance. As our mountain guide said, “Give me kids from any background and they will come down from the mountains friends.” Our next camp is planned for the second week of January 2003
The Alpine Zone - The Alpine zone is not a program, but is a very important part of the mission of the Alpine Fund. If we want to find work for our kids in the tourism industry, we have to help build the tourism industry. Towards this goal the Alpine Fund supports a web page - The Alpine Zone - which is becoming a portal for information for mountain sports and tourism in Kyrgyzstan.
Main Events of Fall 2003
Tourism Competition
As proof that what we do works, the kids from Voenna Antonovka shocked everybody except themselves when they placed first in the annual tourist competition held in Bishkek. In this competition there is a series of mountain related events, including first aid simulations, best camp area, a foot race, rope skills and other categories. In each group boys and girls must compete in each event, the total scores of all events are then added up and a winner is chosen. There are two categories, the "A" and "B". The "A" groups are mostly adults, the "B" groups are mostly school and university groups. The Alpine Fund kids where in the "B" category and were by far the youngest and smallest participants. But in the end their hard training paid off, when the scores were tallied the kids from Voenna Antonovka Orphanage placed first. They were awarded a certificate and given prizes. This for all of us was a great moment and we could not be prouder of the kids.
With the support of the MBAEC (Masters of Business Administration Enterprise Corps), the Coalition forces of the Gamci Air Force Base and the American Councils for Education alumni in Bishkek, the Alpine Fund held a sports day fundraiser. We invited 30 kids from the Voenna Antonovka orphanage as special guests as well as individuals from Bishkek for a day of sports. The day was marked by tug of wars, balloon tosses, basketball, volleyball, an obstacle course and more. In the evening there was a dinner at the Asia Mountain Guesthouse where we raffled prizes given by local companies. By the end of the day we raised almost $400 for the Alpine Fund.
Alamadin Hike
As part of the "Clouds at Their Feet" program we brought 20 kids from Voenna Antonovka Orphanage, Technical School 18, and other youth to the Alamadin Valley near Bishkek for a five day hike. They had a great time climbing summits, practicing how to use a compass and sliding down a steep slope near the camp. These are kids that have trained twice a week every week for quite a while now so that they are in shape for a serious mountain hike. The results are evident as they already are prepared for the mountains, know how to set up a camp and take turn in leadership roles.
United Nations Bishkek Global Mountain Summit
Although it does not seem commonly known, the year 2002 was in fact the official UN Year of the Mountains. The final closing summit was held in Bishkek and the Alpine Fund was there. At the summit was an exhibition hall where organizations from Central Asia and around the world had booths where they presented the work of their organization. Our booth showed pictures of our kids, our goals, and showed a film of our work. At the booth we had the kids present that we work with and they described their experiences in the mountains.
The Alpine Fund was fortunate to have three volunteers help us this summer and fall. Kirsten Nielsen became part of our office during the summer as part of her internship with the University of Denmark as left much too soon, we wish she could have stayed. Danfung Dennis, a student at Syracuse university spent the summer at our summer camps and could not have been better with the kids. He then went and climbed Peak Lenin and later moved to volunteer in our Osh office, going on several trips with the youth there. Danfung returned to the US in October. Rasmus Jorgensen was a student intern from Denmark that spent four months working in our office. He was the main organizer of the Sports day and the exhibition at the UN Global Mountain Summit. He returned to Denmark in December. The Alpine Fund misses them already and thanks them for their work, we couldn't do it without you.
Winter Camp Fundraiser
When the employees and friends of Midwest Mountaineering, an outdoor store in Minnesota, heard that we needed to raise $500 so that we could hold a Winter camp for our kids they set and met the goal of raising the money. Tracy Fredin, of the Global Environmental Institute of Hamline University took the lead and started calling. The employees of Midwest Mountaineering, both current and former, have a long standing tradition of gathering for a beer club on Monday nights. At the beer club the final money was raised by asking, simply asking, and they pulled together to raise the final dollars. The Alpine Fund in Bishkek was told that night that there was funding for a winter camp and preparations have begun to have a camp in mid-January.
Peace Corps Returns to Kyrgyzstan
After being pulled out of Kyrgyzstan in Fall of 2001 the Peace Corps has returned to Kyrgyzstan. The Peace Corps volunteers have a primary site where they work, but also need to find a secondary project. Ryan Schuchard, a Peace Corps Volunteer based in Bishkek, has agreed to focus on building the information base of the Alpine Zone by using the resources of the volunteers that live in the regions. Ryan also will be helping out with the Alpine Guides program. he is also very interested in working on building the sustainability of the Alpine Fund, a very daunting task indeed. So thanks to Ryan for being there and taking initiative.
Russian Version of the Website
As of a few weeks ago the Russian version of the website is up and running. This has been a long goal to get this started and it already looks great. The web designer is Farida Abdulhafizova, a student of the American University in Kyrgyzstan. Farida spent one year in the US on a US government exchange program and also teaches English to the 9th grade class for the Alpine Fund at Voenna Antonovka Orphanage. Look to see further improvements and additions to the Russian website.
The Alpine was seen a few places in the news this fall, Burt Herman of the Associated Press wrote a very good article that appeared in the Moscow Times and Raymond Linsenmaye wrote an article for the UN news service. Thank you to both writers for taking the time to write articles that support the work we do.
January Events
The main event for the Month of January is the winter camp which will be held starting on the 6th of January. The Alpine Fund will rent winter cabins and hold mountain hikes and lessons. Visit the website for more information.
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Thank you for your interest in the Alpine Fund, we are working hard to make this idea grow and welcome all that want to bring together youth and mountains. I look forward to your comments, suggestions, ideas, criticisms, proposals and most of all, your energy. I met with the treasurer of the Alpine fund a few nights ago and we had a long discussion, with the central point being what exactly is the Alpine Fund? And the answer is that it has still not yet formed to maturity. We are looking for growth, both in size and in prospects, to have the fund be a true collaboration of individuals, to see it be even more international, and to give it stability. This will come over time, and the Update will keep you informed of the progress.
Thanks for your support, and we hope to see you in the mountains,
Garth Willis
Editor - Alpine Update
Alpine Updates are available online at www.alpinefund.org/update
Contact information for the Alpine Fund
USA
The Alpine Fund
PO BOX 583192
Mpls. MN
55458-3192
Kyrgyzstan
The Alpine Fund
Erkindik 2 Room 262
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
720000
tel - 996 (312) 22-76-98
fax -996 (312) 66-55-67
General email - info@alpinefund.org
President - garth@alpinefund.org
web site - www.alpinefund.org
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