This project is made possible through the partnership of Water Charity and the National Peace Corps Association. 
Location
Bazar-Korgon village, Jalal-Abad oblast, Kyrgyzstan 
Community Description
Bazar-Korgon (which translates as “Bazaar-Fortress”) is a medium-sized town of roughly 35,000 inhabitants in southern Kyrgyzstan, in the Jalal-Abad oblast. It is an ethnically diverse town, with many people of Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Uighur, and Russian descent. This area is the hottest area of the country, located in the Fergana Valley, which is in stark contrast to the rest of the majority mountainous country. This town is known as the gateway to Arslanbob, the world’s largest natural walnut forest, which the locals take great pride in. Here the people are proud to discuss the beautiful surrounding nature, the nomadic heritage of the Kyrgyz people, national hero Manas of old, and the impact left from times as a part of the Soviet Union. People here are incredibly friendly and welcoming. All you need to do is take a stroll through the bustling bazaar, which is the namesake of the town, and you will be invited to “chai-ich” (drink tea) at half a dozen vendors’ homes.
Problem Addressed
The rehabilitation center in Bazar-Korgon hosts children with chronic conditions and illnesses/injuries that require extended supervision. About 600 children stay at the rehabilitation center each year, with a typical range of 1-3 weeks that each child stays. Communicable diseases can further jeopardize these children’s health status. The infrastructure in the building is from the early 1980s, and in very dilapidated condition.
The rehabilitation center is a large building, with four bathrooms and a kitchen facility, yet none of the toilets, sinks, or related piping is in functioning condition. The children must all use the same outdoor pit to go to the bathroom, leading to unsanitary conditions, and hardships in the wintertime.
Project Description
This project will replace the toilets, sinks, and related plumbing in the four indoor bathrooms and in the kitchen. Also, this project provides monthly educational seminars about preventable communicable diseases in order to improve the sanitary conditions at the rehabilitation center and reduce the rate of communicable disease occurrence.
The community originated the idea for the project and is fully supportive. Water Charity is covering the cost of the infrastructure materials and training materials, while the community is providing all remodeling labor. The director of the rehabilitation center had a professional come out and take measurements, and provide a detailed budget of all necessary materials needed for the remodeling job, along with related pricing for the infrastructure supplies.
This project consists of two main components: the actual infrastructure remodeling, and the training component. For the infrastructure, first, all the necessary supplies (toilets, sinks, piping, etc.) will be purchased and brought to the rehabilitation center. The project is to install 8 toilets, 11 sinks, all related piping so they function properly, and a small number of materials to provide training after the remodeling. Then, the volunteer laborers will tear out and dispose of all old infrastructure, which exists in various forms of disrepair. After this, all the new items will be installed.
The second component of the project is educational seminars. A health volunteer who works in Bazar-Korgon as well and Nicholas will assist in the preparation of communicable disease lessons in the Kyrgyz language. They will collaborate with medical staff at the rehabilitation center, teaching them the information so that they may give the presentations, with volunteers there as support.
Project Impact
This project will impact 600 resident children annually.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Nicholas Ruhly
Monitoring and Maintenance
The director of the rehabilitation and Nicholas will be on-site to monitor the progress of the remodeling and will be in attendance at the monthly training. The new infrastructure will provide sanitary facilities for the rehabilitation center for many years.
The community is providing all remodeling labor and has also pledged to help maintain the new system without cost for two years after installation. Beyond that, if small items occasionally need repair/replacement, the rehabilitation center has its own small funds that it will use for the upkeep of the infrastructure. The training piece will be easily sustainable by the medical staff at the rehabilitation center. Nicholas will provide the training information and initial materials to the staff in the Kyrgyz language, and they will reuse items, like posters and markers, for many presentations. These types of materials are very low cost and can be replaced by the center when additional supplies are needed in the future.
Comments
This project builds skills and capacity within the local medical staff at the rehabilitation center. It increases their knowledge of communicable diseases and how they are spread and allows them to better educate and care for the children who stay there. They will be able to carry on these trainings after volunteers are no longer on-site assisting. Also, with the rehabilitation center director taking the lead with this project, she is learning valuable things about doing development work and applying for aid.
Dollar Amount of Project
$1,600
Donations Collected to Date
$530
Dollar Amount Needed
$1,070
ADOPT THIS PROJECT BY CONTRIBUTING THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THE PROJECT
Donations of any amount will be appreciated. The full amount will allow you a posted dedication if that is something you would like.
This project has been completed. To read about the conclusion, CLICK HERE. We are still accepting donations, which will be used to help us fund the next project in Kyrgyzstan.
