At 24 of February the concert devoted to the kids and old babushkas was held at American University of Central Asia by the Unity Fund club. On the concert participated kids from Voenno-Antonovka, Uchkun, ARDI Center for Disabled Kids, Putnik, Umut and babushkas from elderly house. The title of the concert was “My Dream …” every kid had to tell their dream and Unity Fund members would try to help realize dreams, or to find people who could help their dreams come true.  Alpine Fund also did not ignore such event and helped with transportation for kids from Voenno-Antonovka Orphanage. When kids from different orphanages had arrived and the room which was decorated with sparkling stars, bright balloons made us to feel the spirit of miracle. Girls from Voenno-Antonovka Orphanage were excited they said that they have never danced in such huge public before, they dance New Year dance, they were shy but they did great. Tania’s dream is to be a painter, so one the good painters of Bishkek agreed to give painting classes for girls. In the end of the concert every kid who participated realized their dreams, at list got the present.  Of course we could not change the lives of kids, we could not find their parents or relatives, but we tried to change their lives and give hope that dreams come true. And Thank you for those who helped and supported us! 

p.s all collected money was given to the boy who needed kidney surgery.

Little red hair boy is walking on the street of the capital without goal, no plans but he has a dream, dreams that are simple and difficult to realize. Not because his faith is weak, but because nobody cares. I want to go abroad; I want to have home, with al clean pillow said Jenia, he is 10 years old say people when they see them, but in reallity he is 19. He is just short, not because his parents were short, because he eats not enough. When he was 5 years old his parents left him and his sister.
Since that he went through different life difficulties. Jenia: Well, I tried couple times to go abroad but policeman caught me every time and used to bring me back to KG. I tried to go to the Russia, Kazakhstan. The craziest trial was to go to the abroad was crossing the river between KG and KZ. I am short boy, I am skinny and the water flows very fast, couple days I thought how I can pass that river. I was full of hope and dreams that I will start new life, in other country. That I had an idea how to cross the river, I didn’t wanted to tell other boys on the street, because on the street you cannot trust anyone. All I needed is ropes and bricks, yes, I attached bricks to the leg with ropes, as farther I went I had to be heavier, because the speed of river increasing, so I stopped couple times and attached more bricks to my leg. When I got to other side, I felt weak. But the idea of new life made me feel strong, I stand up, looked around, later realized that had to walk a lot in order to get to the capital, where I was caught and send back to the KG. Well, kids on the streets are those who do not chose to be on the street, we are those whom people don’t care about, and society often forget that we are also human beings, who wants to have good future, who has dreams, yes we still, smoke, and drink because we have no chose. All I do is I smoke glue, I drink, I steal, I want to work, but I don’t have documents, and because I look too young, I cannot get job. My life is as that river, that I have to cross in order to meet changes, changes that can be bad or good, but my dream is strong as that bricks attached to my legs, as fast will flow river as stronger I will become.

Greetings to all Alpine Fund friends from Abdybek and belated Happy New Year!  For me it will be interesting to share with you as I have spent last year. Last spring and summer I have received a lot of useful experience from the Alpine Fund. I participated on various events and campaigns in the mountains. I successfully passed the state examinations of the second year in electro-technics, the SMALLPOX, the technical mechanics, and has entered the third year. I had a good English language teacher Emmy from January till July 2011 at the Alpine Fund. After our English courses fnished Alpine Fund has paid me courses at the Tracking Union of Kyrgyzstan. At that organization I could receive the general concept about tourism, safe travel, preparation for camping, studied equipment and practiced gained knowledge in Ala-Archa gorge.

Courses lasted week, next week I have passed examination. In September I have received the certificate from the Tracking Union of Kyrgyzstan.  That was to improve my knowledge in mountaineering to continue to work with our kids and share experience with them.

Also after Arianna eje came from their trip to Europe they brought me laptop from Gaetan, former volunteer of the Alpine Fund. Thanks to this laptop I submitted many of my works without difficulties of going to internet café to work etc. Third year courses considered the most difficult courses. This year there were many term papers, schedules of designing of systems and I have asked Alpine Fund printer to take home which have helped me a lot.

Many thanks for monthly stipend which I get from the Alpine Fund.  Thanks to that stipend I have more time for studying.  I think if I would not get stipend then I need to work to earn some money to cover living expenses and if I work then I have no time for education.  After each semester I show my examination scores to Arianna eje to prove that I study well. Last semester I had “A” at all courses I took.

I am very interested in further studying at Kyrgyz Slavic University. I have begun studying the Auto CAD program where I can develop projects, make the design documentation etc.  If I want to apply to Kyrgyz Slavic University then I need to learn to work on auto CAD.  One week ago I have handed over all semester, modules, test works and two examinations perfectly and now have winter holidays. 

 

Abdybek, Alpine Find intern

 

 

December 28 there will be a New Year party at Voenno Antonovka orphanage.  Kids and teachers will celebrate whole day since there are many classes and for each age program is different. I remember last year I sold handmade by kids Christmas cards at the air base to raise money for presents.  Unfortunately this year due to lack of the time we make them presents but to fill up this gap we will organize 3 days overnight trip to the Alpine Fund cabin.  Kids have holidays from December 28 to January 10.  Many of them will leave the orphanage to spend some time with their relatives but as I confirmed with Galina Nikolavna (assistant of director) about 50 kids will spend holidays at the orphanage.  Of course we cannot take all of them to the mountains but the rest will go next time.

We will let kids ski while it is warm during the day and will go for ice skating in the evenings when there are less people and we can get some discount   I am sure kids will like our present and we will have fun spending our holidays together.  They already know all our games so need to think of new ones.

Follow our blog to get the exact plan and teaching material of coming trip!

Thank you for your attention and interest in our activities!

Arianna

On behalf of the Alpine Fund I would like to congratulate social workers of Kyrgyzstan with their professional holiday today.

As we all know the situation of social workers is quite difficult in Kyrgyzstan.  Since May 1^st 2011 their salaries were raised but it is still not enough comparing to the prices for products which we have today.

In case of Voenno Antonovka orphanage many of social workers have the role of parents for those who have never felt their mother’s and father’s love and care.

I would not criticize but I would make a little remark that since I started to work for the Alpine Fund I have never heard that any of the social workers at Voenno Antonovka had courses to raise their qualifications.  May be I just missed that information but I think it would be great if time to time social workers at Voenno Antonovka could have a chance to have courses or may be attend school for social workers which exist today with support of different organizations.

I thank them for their patience and all great work they do for the kids!

Arianna

Kyrgyzstan is a developing country, and poverty is one of its main problems. The evidence of this is numerous homeless people, street kids and orphans.  Orphans are one of the most common issues of the world. Every country is trying to find a method on how to deal with this issue. Orphans are children whose parents are dead or who have been abandoned by their parents, especially children not adopted by another family. There are two types of orphans: true orphans and social orphans. True orphans are children who have no parents and this can be for a couple of reasons; either the parents were deprived from their parental rights or both parents passed away. Social orphans are the type of orphans who have one or both parents, but for different reasons they do not want or cannot care for their children. One of the reasons why there are orphans is that the parents are alcoholics and drug addicts. The parents of social orphans are not deprived of their parental rights but in fact, do not care for their children.  In this case, when children’s parents do not care about them the state takes these kids to special places such as orphanages or rehabilitation centers. Today, Kyrgyzstan has 70[1] orphanages, one of them being the Voenno-Antonovka Orphanage which has 116 children: 25 of them are true orphans, whose parents have passed away; and 91 kids are social orphans. In Kyrgyzstan, the numbers of orphans have already exceeded 20,000.[2] This was announced at a meeting held by the Director of the Rehabilitation Centre for Street Children, Alex Petrushevsky.[3] According to the statistics of orphans in orphanages in Kyrgyzstan, twelve percent of the orphans are true orphans, leaving the other eighty-eight percent as social orphans. The demographics of the 20,000 kids living on street show that there are equal numbers of Russian and Kyrgyz children, but there are no children from Dungan, Korean, or gipsy ethnic groups. There are different reasons for the existence of social orphans: parents are abroad, parents are alcohol and drug addicts, children are disabled and some young orphan girls cannot afford to have an abortion so they must give birth to their children.

Most of the social orphans of the Kyrgyz Republic were left by their parents because they do not have sources to feed their children and are unable to raise them at home. Citizens of our country try to earn money and if they cannot find well-paid jobs here, they go abroad to work. While they improve their financial condition, their children remain in orphanages. Usually parents leave their children to their grandparents as a tutor, but grand parents are not able to feed them, so they send them to the orphanage. There is no exact number of kids whose parents are abroad, however parents do not inform any one about their location.  It shows us that the Kyrgyz Republic is a poor country because it cannot provide jobs for its citizens, and the government, for different reasons, cannot help people.  On one hand, parents want to be responsible and earn money for their kids to provide them with a better future, but on the other hand, while the parents are working abroad their kids do not get parental love and care. What is better- money or parental love?

Another reason for the existence of social orphans is that the parents are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Social orphans have one or both parents and in most cases they cannot be deprived of their parental right; though there are some cases when they are. Sometimes, parents who are deprived of their parental rights stop using alcohol and/or drugs, but in many cases, parents feel ok that their children are in the orphanage.  Such parents find it beneficial not to spend money to buy clothes, food, but instead, have more money for alcohol and drugs.  Children in alcohol, drug addicted families are exposed to violence and that’s why the Department of Family and Children Support was created, June 2008.[4] As Veber Galina Nikolaevna, who is the vice president of the Voenno-Antonovka Orphanage, tells about DFCS function, since the DFCS was created every orphanage has been controlled by the government and every child is protected.  One of the main jobs of the DFCS is to protect children from domestic abuse. In cases where parents are drunk or under the influence of drugs, they are more likely to abuse their children. In such situations the DFCS has the right to write a petition for the child to be taken from family, but first a warning to the parents is given. Whether to write a petition or not, there is a procedure they must be followed by DFCS: they talk with child, and visit the family as often as they can, if they see a serious alcohol addiction, they give a warning.  The DFCS was created to protect the lives of children in families because in most cases, kids can not protect themselves.  Most children know about their rights, but not all of them know what to do if their rights are violated.  The commission has the right to remove the child from their home and take the child to the orphanage where they would be safer than remaining in the home with abusive parents.  I had a chance to take an interview from one of the girls who were brought to the orphanage by DFCS.

My name is Saltanat, my mom used to drink a lot; she didn’t care about me and my younger sister. After a while DFCS people came to take us to the orphanage, after I find out that neighbors informed the commission about situation in our family. I don’t know what could happen, if I would stay with my mother.

Third reason is that children are born with disabilities and parents can not afford expensive medicines, nurses and tutors.  According to the statistics there are 22.000[5] invalid children in Kyrgyzstan, but there is no exact number of disable social orphans.

Finally, the biggest reason for the increase of social orphans is that the parents are also orphans. Every year, 70 orphanages release about 15 graduates. In one year 975 young people face a new life and most are not mature enough and do not have parents or any other relatives to help them. They have few options and life on the street is the easiest way to earn money; for girls it is prostitution and for boys it is crime.  The graduated girls are inexperienced and get pregnant and cannot afford an abortion, so they leave their children.

Every orphan, or a child without parental care, has the right to get free accommodation after release from the orphanage.  Maybe we cannot compare Kyrgyzstan with the Russian Federation due to such different level of economics, but still, our government should at least support young mothers and graduates from orphanages. Parizat, 22 years old: “I graduated from orphanage in 2006. I could go to study, the education is free for orphans, but I needed money to eat, to buy clothes and etc.  I got married, now I have little son well I knew that there is no help to graduates from state, so I had to survive by myself. My parents are alive, but they just can not help me, and because we weren’t in touch for a long time we didn’t feel like we are family. Nobody knows the exact quantity of the social orphans in Kyrgyzstan, but probably it increased, because the prices for everything have been increased.  Social orphans are become one of the biggest issues to solve in Kyrgyzstan. And for people there are no differences between social and true orphans, all children in orphanage are orphans. Social orphans appear because of irresponsibility of adults, parents and indifference of government to its citizens. There are different ways how to help social orphans: first of all the state should provide an accommodation for those who graduate from orphanages and do not have place to stay. Second, the state should provide its citizens by well-paid job, and the government should increase the pension for invalids and may be even decrease the sell of alcohol drinks, because alcohol is one of the biggest reasons why people leave their children. I believe that we can change life in Kyrgyzstan, but we need help, help from government and every one should be involved in changing our society.

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[1]  АКИpress-Fergana (Osh), “Department for Child Protection: the number of orphanages has increased for 2,5 times ,over the past 20 years in Kyrgyzstan,.”  07-12-2009, 16:03   http://fergana.akipress.org/news:58321/ [2] “According to UNICEF, in Kyrgyzstan the number of orphans is exceeding 20,000”.  31.03.2011 / 15:40http://www.kyrgyzpress.com/haber-1584———-20-.html[3] Ksenia Tolkaneva, “In Kyrgyzstan, the number of orphans has already exceeded 23,000”, 17/11/09 13:25,  http://www.24kg.org/community/65715-v-kyrgyzstane-chislo-socialnyx-sirot-uzhe.html  

[4]        “In Kyrgyzstan in 2008 created 56 departments of Family and Child Support” 24.kg, http://www.for.kg/ru/news/80028/ 12:05, 19 декабря 2008
[5]Aigul Ryskulova, “ The  benefit for children with disabilities are planning to raise for a thousand soms, on July 1”, 02.03.2011, http://www.azattyk.org/archive/ky_domestic_News_in_Russian/20110302/829/3462.html?id=2325479

 Third day was special day because our guide Vasia had a birthday, we didn’t have anything to present him, Ksenia offered us to make a postcard, and she just brought us one plain paper and pen, so everyone wrote wishes and drew something. We sang happy birthday song, Vasia looked happy and thankful. Third day was lazy day, as we predicted yesterday that day will be hot, and it was hot. We had to go back to the place we came from. Girls were happy that their backpacks were easier because we ate food that they carried. While we walked everybody were quite, everyone were analyzing something, and only sometimes Aziz asked me questions like when we will go again to the mountains, how often we hike and what orphanages we work with. We had a very good lunch, under beautiful, big tree. After lunch Aziz was happy because we ate food from his backpack and his backpack became lighter. So after lunch he run. When we reached place for camp, all boys fall in sleep, they looked tired, only girls can not stop talking. Ksenia and I we decided to make a tea, while were making tea she told me about her life. She said that she has sponsors who take her home; they buy her clothes and other necessary things.

During these days we had a delicious tea with herbs, so in the end we felt that we are addicted. After dinner, we were sitting and discussing different topics, suddenly came one man. I don’t remember his name, but he was nice to us, and he invited us to his yourt to eat marmot’s meat. Kids were excited, so we went their, he told us about life experience. Kyrgyz man as a real Kyrgyz was always offering us food, I was watching how kids were eating meat with potato, they loved it, and man he was telling that fat, meat of marmot is good for health. The night came fast and we thanked baike and we went back to our camp.

Second day of Unforgettable trip at Yssyk-Ata.

Usup and Ksenia were responsible for breakfast, they have never cooked before but they did really good job. Delicious rice “kasha” (porridge) was the best for the breakfast.

While we were eating some were complaining that their shoulders, back hurts, some were telling that they could not sleep at night because they heard weird noise. Ksenia thought that people from village came to kidnap her; Ania thought it was horse; every person had their own truth according to their imagination. The sun was high, we got ready to continue our trip, Vasia told us about different types of junipers, about animals. The trail was not difficult, but for those who were first time in the mountains was little bit difficult. When we walked I have known better kids, they told me about their dreams, about life in Voenno-Antonovka, about bad things they have done, but teachers don’t know about them. Second day was different because we walked only three hours and kids were more active, I think because they already started liking mountains. Our destination was lake, Vasia was telling us a lot about lakes, so we couldn’t wait when we will reach that place. WOW, it what kids said when they saw two beautiful lakes one was green and another is blue and they were intersecting. The lakes calm and first what kids ask can we swim may be I would let them but water was too cold. We set up tents and started playing mafia, telephon games.

Muras and Ania cooked potatoes with tushenka, kids liked it. Well they liked that they cooked and it was delicious. After we gathered wood and made a fire, girls sang songs, boys were teasing them. Before every one went to bad we looked to the sky and the sky was clear, so we decided that next day will be good day.