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Back to Alpine Fund Updates
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Alpine Update #11 |
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Tourism
and Mountaineering Competition for At-risk youth in Bishkek
In May, governmental
organizations and UNICEF organized a Tourism and Mountaineering
competition for at-risk youth in Bishkek. Alpine Fund has been running its
'Clouds at their Feet' program at the Voenna-Antonovka for four years
already and all the kids and Alpine Fund
staff were really excited about having this opportunity to demonstrate
their skills and abilities in these fields to other kids and organizations.
 Alpine Fund programs such
as 'Clouds' aim not
only to educate and give more chances to these kids but also to promote a
healthy lifestyle, so physical training and trips to the mountains are one
of the most important parts of our programs and also what make the Alpine
Fund so different from other organizations working with at-risk youth. By
placing them in natural, beautiful and challenging environments we aim to
make them stronger and more confident in their possibilities, and at the
same time to introduce them to one of the biggest asset of their country
the beautiful mountains. They are so close but we are always surprised to
know how many kids never have been there.
After coming back from the treks
kids in the children's Home see the mountains in a different light, what
was before something beautiful and part of the landscape becomes now
something close to them, a new dream and the certainty that there are
peaks out there that they can reach. They are proud especially when they
tell others about their triumphs. This is why the idea of competing and
showing how much they have learned is exciting to the kids. (and to the
trainers too)
As the competition date was
approaching the training became more intense, kids didn't want to rest,
they wanted to make sure they will be the winners and for that they told
me, one has to work very hard and train as much as possible.
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The competition lasted 3 days and
there were many different tasks and exercises that they had to
participate in, from the tarzanka to team work and finding their way
in the mountains using just the compass. The Alpine Fund team did
great and they took first and second place in the different
categories winning the overall 1st prize to the best camp.
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The children were very proud and happy
to take home something like 6 diplomas and our trainers and
assistants also won second place so it was a fantastic experience
for al of us. |
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Eco Seminar with CAMP in
Tuz Village
Alpine Fund was invited by CAMP (a Swiss Cooperation
Office project) to prepare an ecology seminar that will be part of their
3-month tour-presentations in villages all around Kyrgyzstan. Suymonkul,
Alpine Fund staff, prepared materials for the seminar and he gave
the presentation in Tuz village. Teachers,
community leaders, CAMP staff
and more than 20 kids attended the presentation.
 The seminar was about promoting environmental
responsibility, encouraging children to identify
problems that affect their surroundings and also to propose and implement
solutions. This seminar was very interactive, apart from
the lecture we had team presentations, poster competitions and brain
storming sessions so the kids would tell the problems of their immediate
environment and then come up with solutions themselves.
Children were asked if they pollute their
environment in different ways, the
answer came quickly: yes. It was clear that many of them are aware of
many
problems (disposal and use of chemicals, littering, water pollution,
etc).
They came up with some very simple but effective methods of protecting
the
environment in their village: placing signs, recycling, placing garbage
cans
near the bus stops, park, and places very frequented by people, telling
others not to pollute, etc. Implementing all the solutions is, as they
admitted, not difficult or expensive. They promised that in our next
visit to
the village we would be able to notice a few changes. The teachers and
community leaders there were also very involved and very interested in
receiving more materials from Alpine Fund to include ecology as part of
the
curriculum.
After the seminar we had a park clean up, planted flowers and enjoyed a
little picnic. It was awesome to be there, meeting up with so many
active
people, young and old eager to implement changes to make the village
more
environmentally friendly. We hope that the CAMP trainers have the same
response all over the country.
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Last
bell at
the Voenna-Antonovka Children’s Home
This year
has passed by really fast, it seemed not long ago when I was present at my
first “Last Bell” celebration in the Voenna-Antonovka Children’s Home and
saw all the kids dressed up in the centre's
“best clothes”, black and white dresses, skirts, shirts, smart trousers
and most kids wearing good shoes, or at least as good as it gets there
(which doesn’t happen often). Last year’s graduation ceremony was a long,
intense and colourful affair with many guests and personalities attending,
even a minister from the government, the main personalities delivered long
speeches and gave many presents to the graduates, afterwards there
was a big concert at the village hall. Unfortunately,
this year there were not many guests or important personalities and not
much money to be spent celebrating so the graduation ceremony was kept
simple and straightforward, just a few songs, the traditional waltz
and not big presents
for the kids this time. |
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This is
an important moment in the lives of the kids, especially the ones
graduating and starting an independent life. One would expect some more
friends or relatives coming along to this celebration but not, hardly
anyone was there. The majority of the kids living in institutions in this
country are what it is considered “social orphans”, meaning that most of
them do have parents, or at lest one parent but for several reasons they
cannot look after the children |
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The most
common cause for family disintegration here is poverty; people lack money to
even feed the children let alone to provide for clothing or education.
Unfortunately poverty is also the root for problems such as alcoholism,
drugs addiction, prostitution or criminal offences and jail sentences, etc.
Most of the kids we work come from
families with
difficult
backgrounds so attending graduation ceremonies is not one of the priorities
and in many cases even if relatives wanted to attend they lack the money to
pay for the transport all the way to Bishkek. |
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Alpine
Fund staff and volunteers always want to be there with the kids in
such occasions, if nothing else to see them wearing the elegant
clothes and to share a good moment with them and admire their
performances, the songs, dances and poems. I tell them that they
look like movie stars and they like that. We like celebrating this
moment with these youth, our friends. And especially we want to be
there for the graduates that are leaving the children’s home. They
know already that Alpine Fund will be offering a friendly
advice or training if they need it in their new independents lives
but we always like to reinforce the
message. |
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The graduates, eight of them this time, were happy to
be moving forward with their lives but sad to leave the place they
have called home for the last years;
leaving behind most of their friends and the equivalent
of family for them. There it is finally, a brand
new future with many choices,
good and bad, new responsibilities and the opportunity to follow
their dreams and work towards achieving them. This is
something they are not used to, having the freedom to decide or be
responsible for their choices. That is why our work here is so
important, we want to help them during this difficult transitional period
because their future may depend on the choices they make just after leaving
the children's home and how they cope with their new lives.
They are only 15 or 16
years old, expected to live independently; after spending most of
their life in care, following a timetable and obeying rules they
lack the life skills necessary for independent living, most of them
rarely went shopping, cooked a meal or know how to budget their
money because they never had much. It is a difficult time for them
and that is why it is so important for us to be here, open and
available if they want to stop by our office, meet up, get advice on
something, or simply share their new experiences, we are their
friends. We also have English and computer lessons for the ones that
are interested. We want to help them as much as we can to take the
right choices and to be integrated successfully into society. |
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To help the
transitional period each year we organize a summer camp for
graduates, apart from a well deserved holiday in the mountains they
get seminars on relevant topics, they also have to participate in
daily tasks like cooking meals, cleaning up, organization, etc.
This year the camps were possible thanks to the financial support of
the American Embassy and to the great help of FLEX alumni who
conducted seminars on diverse life skills topics (resume writing,
critical thinking, time management, team building, leadership, etc) .
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We are grateful also to the organization PSI
for sending trainers to present seminars on HIV AIDS as this is a problem
that is becoming more serious in Central Asia.
It is fantastic having youth teaching other youth and being their role
models and friends. This approach helps the graduates from the children's
home to feel accepted and integrated into society as the trainers normally
become their friends during the camps and this friendship is in many
occasions continues once the camps are over.
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US State department
sponsored Alpine Summer Camps in Ala-Archa National Park- by trainers,
kids and volunteers.
From Ilya, Alpine Fund Trainer:
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The first summer camp was attended
by 23 children from Center for Protection of Children,
Voanna-Antonovka Children's Home, “Generation” center and Petrovka
boarding school. Alpine Fund staff left a day earlier to set up
camp so that everything was ready for the children arrival. We had an
introduction meeting and everyone introduced themselves, kids,
trainers, volunteers, national park administration, etc. We explained
the camp "rules", safety issues in mountainous area and the camp
schedule. |
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As the children were coming from
different centers it was a bit difficult in the beginning, they didn't
know each other and tended to mix only with their friends from the
same centre. The same went for trainers and volunteers but after the
initial shyness soon we were all working together as a team and all
the barriers were let down, kids and trainers were laughing,
exchanging jokes and working together, some of the common tasks were
simple, to gather firewood for the evening campfire which is like
magic always bringing people together and in that relaxed and
beautiful atmosphere children started to share stories and anecdotes,
games and song and soon we were all like a big family.
Seminars were conducted by FLEX
Alumni and PSI trainers, it was a challenge to deal with kids from
different background and different levels of education but the lessons
were informal and there were plenty of games so most of the children
love it, what a refreshing change to learn in a natural environment
and in an interactive way. Their opinions were listened to and
critical thinking was promoted. Children need not to memorize or tell
you what they think you want to hear but they must be able to
understand why what they are learning is beneficial for them and how
to apply it to real life. |
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We alternated lessons and seminars with
treks to the near by peaks and to the Ak-Sai waterfall, it is
beautiful there and some of the children have never been in the
mountains before. We saw different animals, including a snake,
mountain goats, eagles, marmots and many others. In the evenings we
all gathered around the campfire and that was a beautiful moment, the
kids faces glowing and everyone participating in conversations, songs,
games and even disco. |
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Everyone was amazed on how one person can change in just a few
days, kids were laughing at themselves and their initial behavior.
They like it there in the mountains where they feel free, happy,
healthy and powerful as they managed to accomplish so many things
together and strong looking up at the peaks they have "conquered" over
the last few days. Saying good bye to the place and to each other was
kind of sad for them and they all want to come back again. Hopefully
Alpine Fund will be able to keep on organizing these activities, not
only for the kids we work regularly with but for all at-risk youth in
this country. They need to discover themselves and their
possibilities. And i hope that thanks to the help and support of many
friends and organizations like the American Embassy we can run camps
like this more often. |
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From Salta, a
graduate from the VA Children's Home:
 On June 21, 2004, at 10:00 we went to Ala Archa.
Once we arrived there, we started to unload our stuff: clothes,
dishes, tents, sleeping bags, etc. When we got to the camp our
aunty Tanya (cook lady) cooked food for us, we ate and after it we
cheered up. Everybody was happy.
We also had classes about HIV/AIDS. We learned a
lot about HIV and I think each of us who took part in this camp will
not forget what HIV means. We also learned how to create resume and
behave during interview. We also played different games. We went
to the Alpinist Cemetery, Waterfall and pick after “Hudojnik” with
our trainer Iliya Vladimirovich. There were kids from VACH and
Lyceum #18 in the camp. It was nice to meet new kids there. We
also liked our trainers: funny American guy Chris, sociable and
smart Zarylbek, Altynai and Aselya. We found common ground with the
most of them. They all were sociable, funny, joyful, kind and good
guys, and they didn’t waste their time taking us to Ala Archa and
teaching us about HIV. We also had a group of young people who were
representatives of PSI “Favorite” organization. They told us about
how we can avoid different disease.
When we had half of the day and one night left
before departure we were divided into two groups and played KVN.
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The results of KVN were equal for
both teams, because one team was good in actor’s skills and
another one in humor skills. That is how we lived five days
in our camp. In the morning on the last day we woke up,
collected our stuff and went back to the city, to our homes.
We didn’t want to go back to the city; we didn’t want to leave
our new friends. But unfortunately we had to go back. It was
interesting, joyful and good in the camp. |
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Thanks to Alpine Fund, if not them we
couldn’t go to the mountains and learn what HIV is and how to
write resume. Hope Alpine Fund exists in the future and takes
kids to the mountains more often. I wish many many sponsors
to Alpine Fund.
(
;)
Thank you very much to Alpine Fund.
Everybody was happy with the camp.
Salta |
The Kyrgyzstan
and Alpine Fund experience - by Chris our new volunteer from
the USA
So the start to my first visit to Kyrgystan
kicked off somewhat unexpectedly. After a 4:00am arrival into
Bishkek, plans were formed to head off to the mountains for a five
day expedition with the kids--the chance to see just what Alpine
Fund has been up to for the past few years. Excellent! After
spending almost three months traveling from the West to get to
Kyrgystan, it was now time to ready my gear to full affect.
I spent the next couple of days doing just
that. Also time was spent getting to know the staff at Alpine Fund
and what they have been busy doing over the winter and spring. A
ready-crew headed up to Ala-archa National Park as soon as the gear
was loaded on Wednesday. Ala-archa is an amazing nature-preserve
found about 30km to the south of Bishkek, the capital. Here can be
found many rapidly descending streams dropping down through the feet
of endless monolithic granite peaks dusted with snow, many over
4500m. Nature is in control here, unquestionably so.
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After the
gear was unloaded and camp was set, it was time for Sergei,
the camp cook, to fire up the mess. That night we had
delicious ukhar fish soup, liepyoshka (Kyrgyz seasame) and
katama (Georgian fresh onion) breads with fresh local cheese.
This meal was to be the model meal for the rest of our stay at
the camp. |
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The next
morning the group of twenty-three kids and four facilitators
arrived at camp to embark upon a five day learning experience
that would add a new perspective to many of the kids’ lives.
The most-enthusiastic and ever-ready group of facilitators had
many challenging games and activities pulled together for the
group, requiring creativity and physical abilities as well as
teamwork and leadership.
Every
afternoon the group would go for a hike that would take us up
into the heights overlooking the valleys and waterfalls. We
would behold the sight of marmots, eagles and twenty-some
mountain goats, as well as a cemetery for fallen alpinists.
Crossing feeble bridges and climbing up narrow gorges over
torrential waters was part of the every-day camp experience
for the kids during our wilderness treks. |
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The evening
activities included camp chores, as well as volleyball,
football, and dancing and camp chores, which were all mutually
shared by the children and staff. The remainder of the
evening, the kids and staff settled down in front of the fire
with a cup of tea and some story-telling and/or singing. Then
lights out. |
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Visits to Children's Homes and working at
Alpine Fund - By Yulia our new Program and Marketing Assistant
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During my Future
Leaders Exchange (FLEX)exchange year
(2001-2002) in the USA I did community service. I volunteered in the
Children’s Home. I and other students cleaned the rooms where Children’s
Home’s kids lived. It was a lot of work to do but at the same time we had
so much fun! One disadvantage of this event was that I didn’t have chance
to meet the kids themselves and talk to them. Here in Kyrgyzstan I had an
opposite situation. |
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On my second week of
working at Alpine Fund I, with Marga (country director), Asel (intern), Sarah
(volunteer) and Chris (volunteer) went to VACH (Voenno-Antonovskiy
Children’s Home) to interview the kids who took part in recent
Mountaineering and Tourism Skills competition.
The two VACH teams were
trained and supported by Alpine Fund, we worked with this kids all year
round and not just a quick training to get ready for this event,
performances were awesome and the teams got 1st and 2nd place in their
categories and won first place on the overall evaluation. So, this was my
second trip to the Children’s Home, but this time I met the kids and even
talked to them. I would like to share the “surprised” feelings I had to
face when visiting these kids. First of all, I was surprised by the
ethnical diversity of kids in this center. There were representatives of
at least four ethnical groups but they all spoke in Russian. The most
amazing thing was that despite of their ethnical diversity, kids treated
each other the same way and there was no division into ethnic groups. For
example, there were two friends, always going around together, one of them
was Russian and another one Kyrgyz, and they were getting along very well.
The next thing that
surprised me was the difference in kid’s attitude towards Marga (a person
they know very well) and us (who they met for the first time). The kids
immediately surrounded Marga and talked to her, but they weren’t the same
way to us. I think the reason of such attitude is that they don’t trust
new people, probably because they are afraid of to fail. The last thing
that shocked me was the farewell scene. We had to catch the public
minibus; some kids were waiting with us. One guy saw Sarah’s nice watch
on her wrist and he started almost begging her to give it to him as a
present. This scene was sad but understandable at the same time.
Generally during the
interview the kids weren’t very talkative, they had the same things to
say. Although some of them had very interesting ideas and plans. I
enjoyed the trip to VACH very much because I felt that Alpine Fund is
really needed in this Children’s Home and that the kids think that Alpine
Fund trainings, events and trips to the mountains were some of the best
things that happen to them there.
Yulia@alpinefund.org |
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My volunteer work at Alpine Fund - by
Aselya our new volunteer
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After the
disintegration of Soviet Union, everything had changed. Economical,
political, social problems were beating people from every side.
People, who used to be under the care of party, could not face market
economy. They just were not ready for a market economy. As a result
there were many broken families and a lot of children were left to
themselves. |
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Sometimes, walking around Bishkek, I see
so many street children and I always wonder why they are on the
streets, is there anyone who helps them? The answer to this question
is YES there are people who help to these children.
Alpine Fund helps to at-risk group children, through their activities
children get more educated about environment, mountains, AIDS, drugs,
gender equality, etc. It is not just words from a brochure or a
newsletter. I saw it; I know it because I have been working as an
intern at the Alpine Fund for already three weeks. It is a short time
but in these three weeks I received so much information about youth
mountaineering in Kyrgyzstan.
I really like working here firstly
because of the people. Marga (country director), she is open, she has
realistic goals and she has clear plan what to do and how to do it.
Seeing her I always wander why she does it, and the only answer is
that she loves children and she wants to help them. Also at the Alpine
Fund you can meet a lot of volunteers, Erika is one of them. Once we
had to go to Osh bazar to buy food for a trek. Every time we bought
food our backpack was getting bigger and bigger. At the end the
backpack was so full and big and Erika managed to carry it all. It is
amazing because she is here as a volunteer, and she is doing it for
nothing, just to help the children.
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Another challenge for me was
when I went with Marga to the round table ”Hospitable
Kyrgyzstan”. For me it was the first time when I went to such
a round table as a translator. At the beginning I was nervous.
But later I was fine. Government officials delivered speeches
and tour operators immediately reacted to these speeches some
positively but most of them negatively. |
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For example tour operators were
complaining about facilities at the Manas International
Airport, about new decree concerning the Torugart Pass, and
about the condition of Ala-Archa National Park. Overall the
round table went well and discussions were continued during
the coffee break.
In
conclusion I would like to wish Alpine Fund all the best, have
a lot of volunteers, have a lot of money so that Alpine Fund
will be able to help at-risk group children, and the last wish
would be to have less vulnerable children meaning that family
ties will be stronger and children will be in their families
with their parents instead of been in the streets.
asel@alpinefund.org |
All the way from Scotland - A Volunteer's Story by
Erica
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The plan was formed on a cold rainy day in
February. We had been variously thinking, dreaming, and
talking about a small NGO in a little know country called
Kyrgyzstan for weeks, but our interest in Alpine Fund did not
wane. We decided we had to go.
I had recently graduated with a degree in English and History,
while Es had taken his BSc in Ecology. We were both working
jobs that we had started off enjoying and come to find we no
longer much liked. It was easy to long for a way out and a
fresh start.
The possibility of working for Alpine Fund
emerged through one of Es' hobbies. In fact, more than a
hobby, climbing and mountaineering had been Es' life long
love. |
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While most people the world over may know
little of Kyrgyzstan more and more outdoors enthusiasts are
regarding its unspoiled mountain environments with awe. Es led
an expedition to the Kokshaal Tau in 2002, a remote area on
the Chinese border. Later, on his return to Scotland, he was
flattered when an American named Garth Willis e-mailed him
with a request for the use of some of his photos. The purpose
of this request turned out to be the information page on the
Alpine Fund website.
Our curiosity soon led us to peruse the site. What we found
was of immediate interest.
On May 7th this year we finally boarded our flight in
Edinburgh. It was 6am and raining. Via a pit-stop in Moscow we
arrived in Bishkek several days later. It was the middle of
the night and we were exhausted but also exhilarated by the
thought of what might lie before us.
Over the weeks we have busied ourselves in
several areas; working on a new ecology program that can be
implemented in schools next year, leading fund-raising hikes
in Ala Archa, and putting together updated safety protocols
for rock-climbing and other activities. |
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We have met many wonderful people, not least the kids
themselves, who are some of the most lovely, bright, smiling,
friendly people I have ever met; doubly remarkable given
the difficult personal circumstances of many of them. We have
felt happy, rewarded, respectful, and also occasionally sad or
tired.
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We do not feel that volunteering has been entirely altruistic,
but hope both sides have gained from the interaction. As we near
the end of our trip we hope people like ourselves will continue
to lend their services and keep a very worthwhile organization
alive.
It is only left to say: Thank you Alpine Fund!
Erica
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Interactions and weekend treks by Es - our
new volunteer
The summer weekend treks have been a great success so far, and we
are only a few weekends into them! They have raised some much-needed
funds for Alpine Fund, and introduced many people to the mountains
who otherwise might have languished in the heat and pollution of
Bishkek for the whole weekend!
 The range of participants in the treks has been extremely varied and
has made for some interesting political and cultural conversations
along the trails. So far we have had participants from Australia,
Belarusian, Uzbekistan, USA, Germany, Sweden and Denmark! The food
has been a particular highlight of the trips, this has not come
easily however as both the treks have been preceded by late night
slaving over hot stoves and salad dishes after a long day in the
bazaar!
Last weekend we decided to look into a different form of trek,
combining half a day rock climbing with half a day hike to a
spectacular waterfall at Chon Korchak, near Alamedin. This was great
fun and a great experience for those who had not climbed before, and
we will probably be running a similar trip in the near future.
So far the treks have all been in the Ala Archa region, one
following the Adygene valley to a picnic lunch in some beautiful
alpine meadows, the other following the Ak Sai glacier to lunch at a
spectacular, 30m high waterfall!
Who knows where the next trek will be, we are currently looking for
other exciting venues. For more information or to book a place in
our next treks please contact the Alpine Fund office!
info@alpinefund.org
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New look for
our website - by Ryan our long term US volunteer
We’ve improved the website to give a deeper
look inside Kyrgyzstan, our youth and what Alpine Fund does. The
most prominent additions are background information on the youth
we work with, a simplified climbing routes section and lots more
pictures.
Our hope is to create one of the
internet’s best portals for information and images on Kyrgyzstan.
In return, we thank those who are able to use our site for staging
travel or research for considering making a small donation.
Upcoming new sections for the site include “voices” from our
youth, a showcase on the Voenna Antonovka Children’s home and a
multilingual introduction.
Suggestions or questions about the site are
welcome to
ryan@alpinefund.org. Alpine Fund thanks
you for exploring our website. |
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Please if you
know anyone that may be interested in our newsletter or in our
work and programs forward it to them. We want to spread the
word about our work and programs. So if anyone there can help
us with this we will appreciate it.
A final note from the President
Wow, after reading all that am very jealous, it sounds like
the are having way too much fun there in Kyrgyzstan. Just
reading about all that was accomplished in the past few
months amazes me, and I know that only a portion of what the
Alpine Fund does makes it onto the website. What was not
written about was all the English classes, the advocacy work
they do for at-risk youth, the simple conversations they
have with kids in the children's home, these are all moments
that pass by us unwritten but not unforgotten. The Alpine
Fund office is a place now where the kids come to, sometimes for friendship, or to learn how to use computers, or to ask
for advice.
I now work in Tajikistan and I am not there for the day to
day adventures of the Alpine Fund, so I look forward as I hope you do to each Alpine Update. I
could have only dreamed four years
ago when I started the Fund with a small grant from UNICEF
and an idea that the mountains
could help these kids, that the Fund would be so strong today.
Congratulations to everybody for
all their hard work. And thank you to all those people out
there that have taken a minute to send
us a check or to donate online, we survive by your help,
without your support we could not go on. And thanks to the Ansara Foundation that helped support Clouds at their Feet
and many other programs, support such as yours helped
keep us going last year.
And finally to the kids, thanks for being the inspiration
that keeps the Fund strong, without your enthusiasm and
belief in your own future what we do would have no meaning. Good luck to the graduates of 2004.
Garth Willis
garth@alpinefund.org
July 14th, 2004
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www.alpinefund.org
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