Alpine Update #12
November
2004
There is a lot here to read, but that is because there is so much happening!
We hope you enjoy this glimpse into the life of the Alpine Fund in Kyrgyzstan.
·
by
Marga
· Some donations just feel right....
by Karin Strom
·
Starting a new life with a real Mountaineering experience.
by Grisha
·
A wonderful opportunity to see my country and make new friends.
by Yura, Alpine Fund Intern
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Alpine Fund Fun Run Bishkek 2004 - A great Success!
by Marga -
·
Adventures and Climbing in Kyrgyzstan
by Molly Loomis
·
Busy, Productive and Interesting… working for Alpine Fund
By Yulia
·
Inspiring kids and English lessons
by Asel
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Tae kwondo Weekend at the Alpine Fund Learning Center
by volunteer Gin Lippelt from the Netherlands - and kids
·
Welcome kids to a scary Halloween party
By Yulia
·
Weekly Climbing Wall
by Ryan - Alpine Fund Volunteer
.
Shaun the Sheep goes
climbing in Kyrgyzstan to support
the Alpine Fund
.
A note from Garth Willis - President of the Alpine Fund
Rock
climbing with Afghan youth, they loved it! – by
Marga
One of the most amazing experiences of my time in Kyrgyzstan
was to participate in the “Introduction to Rock Climbing” seminar that
the Alpine Fund organized for American Councils. The participants were 40 students
-FSA/Future Leaders Exchange finalists- from Afghanistan; they stayed a month in Kyrgyzstan
as part of their transition period before going to study in the USA for a
year. Ryan, our USA volunteer coordinated the event with American Councils and helped
by other volunteers Chris and Hobi, was in charge of the rock climbing
instruction for the Afghan students.
When I met them, I was surprised by their excellent command
of English, the openness and eagerness to know more about European and
American lifestyles and by their modern looks, we met at the Ala Archa
National Park and most of them, both male and female, were wearing sporty
clothes. The big majority was absolutely thrilled by the opportunity to
try this “extreme” sport.
Some of the girls initially refused to take part but after observing the
others, hearing their comments and looking at their beaming faces they
decided to join in. And they loved it! Only a very few girls didn’t want
to try at all. The Afghan boys were impressed, earlier on they were kind
of skeptical that such a sport was “suitable” for girls, but for sure the
girls showed them girl’s power there!
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The seminar ran for two days, each day we had two
groups of 10 students; while one group was rock climbing with Ryan,
Chris and Hobi, the other group came on a hike to the Adygene Valley
with Yulia and me. “Yes, it is OK for the people responsible of the
hike to be female”, “Believe it or not, girls can perform very well
in rock climbing and other mountaineering activities, and get this:
sometimes they can be even better than boys”. This is something we
take for granted but obviously they did not. During the hike we had
very interesting conversations about their lives and the
expectations they have for this year in America. After coming back from the first hike, we sat on the
other side of the river, waiting for the others to finish their rock
climbing training. Most of the boys started making comments and
laughing when they saw a girl getting ready, I could not understand
anything as they were not speaking in English then, but shortly
afterwards they were absolutely impressed and followed with great
attention the girl’s progress, she was doing very well and the boys
even clapped and cheered after she made it to the top. In that
moment spontaneously they started singing a song for her. |
It was great to see this, not only traditional male-female
stereotypes been challenged but also how these boys encouraged the girls
to face the challenge. Some
of them, male and female alike, felt very empowered after rock climbing;
saying afterwards they felt “good, stronger and very happy”. They wished
that all their friends and families back home could see that. Some developed a real passion for this sport by the looks of it and continued
talking enthusiastically about rock climbing and mountains comparing them
to the ones in Afghanistan. The Afghan kids definitely liked the hike but
were absolutely thrilled by rock climbing. Most of them asked if this
sport was popular in the USA and wondered aloud with shinny eyes if they
could attend more rock climbing lessons during their year in the USA. And
I bet some of them will!
One question that came up several times was: “Do you have an
Alpine Fund in Afghanistan also?” The reply was “Sorry but no”. They were
disappointed: Why not? And started trying to convince us to set an Alpine
Fund there. It is imperative they said, their brothers, sisters, friends
would love to have this trainings and this will help them to feel better
about themselves and to face challenges; and we will love it there, the
Afghan mountains are just as beautiful.
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Some kids even tried to make a deal: “Open an office in
our country and we’ll become Alpine volunteers when we are back
from the USA, by then we will know more about climbing and
mountaineering and can help you to teach others”. We had to promise
we would think about it. Right now we are planning to open an Alpine Fund in
Tajikistan, in Dushanbe, where Garth, Alpine Fund founder and
president is based. This means more work but also that more youth in
Central Asia will enjoy mountain adventures, hiking and climbing, and
feel better about themselves. It is hard work but really worth it!
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And who knows, maybe one day there will also be an Alpine
Fund in Afghanistan.
Marga
A
wonderful opportunity to see my country and make new friends
–
by Yura
I
am very glad that I had such an opportunity to travel around
Issyk-Kul. When I was asked
if I wanted to go to the mountains with DNT Norway group as a trainee I
was really happy and my main concern was for those dates not to coincide
with the beginning of school. I felt so luck and was looking forward to
participating in this trek especially after listening to all the stories
Grisha told us, he was an intern with the first group. After the group’s
arrival we went to pick them up in the hotel and started the trip to
Issyk-Kul with them. That evening we arrived in Karakol.
The next day we visited Prjevalskiy Museum and other
interesting places in the city. Then we went to Jety Oguz gorge, the
people there were very friendly and welcoming, we spent the night there
and early next morning we started the trek in the Enelcheck gorge. It was
the beginning of a great adventure. I was really cold but very beautiful,
and some people prepared ahead the camp and were already waiting for us.
It was great
to get to know so many people from Norway, they were open and friendly and
really liked trekking, and they can walk for hours and seem to enjoy the
mountains as much as we do. I thought about my first treks and how Alpine
Fund introduced me to the mountains, I couldn’t imagine my life without
mountains now. It was good to see other people local and foreigner that
like the mountains so much. In this trip there was a very scenic moment
that I particularly liked, once we reached the top of one of the main
mountains we could see many different snowed peaks all around, a 360
degrees awesome view. It was just so beautiful that I wish everyone had
the chance to go there and see it.
The evenings were also interesting; we would sit by the fire and sing different songs, share stories and look at the stars. It was very similar to when we go to the mountains with Alpine Fund, sitting by the fire at night seems always special to me, the perfect moment to feel we are all one and to share all our dreams, in the dark looking at the fire one feels in peace, and it is possible to have dreams. The main difference in this trip was that I was the youngest; normally in the Alpine Fund hikes I am one of the oldest and share responsibilities for the younger kids. This past year I have been an Alpine Fund Intern and I learned so many things in the office and in the mountains. Especially that you need to plan well before the hiking trips, we have to buy all the food, prepare all the clothing, boots and all the equipment the other kids are going to use.
I learned to
be organized and responsible and also that growing up is also fun. There
are so many opportunities for us out there, like this one I just
experienced. I knew my country is beautiful and has amazing mountains but
I didn’t know that I would visit these wonderful places myself while
making new friends. I had opportunity to see with my own eyes the beauty
of my country and share it with others.
Thank you
Alpine Fund and all the others involved (DNT from Norway, NoviNomad and
Muza travels) for offering me such a wonderful opportunity and the chance
to visit so many beautiful places.
Yura
Alpine Fund Fun Run Bishkek 2004 - by Marga
A summer conversation with Mariah Quish about Alpine Fund,
its programs, volunteers and fundraising ended up with a very concrete
proposal from her: “Why don’t we organize an Alpine Fund Fun Run?” Well, that sounds great, why not?
I responded. And everything started like that, Mariah not only talked
about this but soon was very busy starting the preparations to make it a
reality and she worked non-stop contacting many different people and
organizations asking for support and sponsorship. We had some volunteers
helping to sell tickets, with and without t-shirts, other volunteers
helping with the logistics of such an event even during the day we had a
wonderful team that made things look so easy! This day will be in our
memories for a long time because it was a great day, families, friends,
at-risk youth, young and old came to participate and to enjoy the day
while supporting Alpine Fund and our programs. 
The Fun Run route was very typical of Bishkek, meaning that there were some “work in progress areas”, and the 5km when through some interesting places, from running by the main Mosque in the city to going through a little market and over a bridge that affords one of the best mountain views of the whole city.
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Of course, there were some unpaved areas, a few holes in the street best to be avoided and some other interesting challenges along the way. But hey, this is what Bishkek is like! In the morning when we were marking the route we found loads of interest from the city vendors who were up early preparing their little stalls, they promised us that they would show participants the “right way”, every local person we met was excited and wondering what this Fun Run was all about. |
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Later on that morning they had their answer, loads of people,
running, walking and even “pramming” as many of the families participating
brought their babies and took them on the route!
After the Fun Run there were plenty of other activities to be
enjoyed there, a big party which music, dances, circus performances, face
painting, eating, drinking and having fun. We had also a raffle with
prizes that were kindly donated by several businesses in Bishkek. It was a
long day for most of us but worth it and now everyone hopes for this to be
an annual event.
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We
are never tired of saying thanks to everyone who help us in this
event; to the main sponsors of the Alpine Fund Fun Run: Demir Bank,
Dordoi Plaza, Remstsa, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Kumtor and of the individual contributors.
Thanks also to Jose and the Mizar Spanish Detachment based in Manas
for supporting the event and buying more than 65 tickets without
even knowing if they could participate in the event. We are very grateful for the
help of all the volunteers that helped with this event, local and
international alike worked together and to achieve a great
success. |
Especial BIG thanks to Mariah Quish, without her enthusiasm,
hard work and initiative this event could not have been made! And to the
artist Andre Engelman for designing the logo and to Egyeny Meleshienko for
doing the graphic design. The t-shirts sold very well and everyone loved
the design.
And of course, thanks to all Alpine Fund staff that worked more hours than it is healthy! And to everyone who participated in the event directly or indirectly, running, coming along, buying the t-shirts or sponsoring a kid to run.
The money
fundraised will allow us to organize mountain more trips and educational
and fun weekends in the Alpine Fund Learning Center for disadvantaged
youth in Bishkek and surrounding areas.
Adventures
and Climbing in Kyrgyzstan
- by Molly Loomis
This past summer, with the help of the Anatoli Boukreev
Memorial Fund, Melis Coady and I had the opportunity to travel to
Kyrgyzstan for a few weeks of climbing and spending time with the people
of this amazing and fascinating part of the world.
The Boukreev Fund was created in memory of Anatoli
Boukreev, a Kazak climber, killed in an avalanche while climbing in the
Himalaya in 1998. Boukreev was well respected and admired for his
astounding physical capacity. Over the years he had developed many
friendships with climbers from the US and after his death some of those
friends banded together to create the fund; a grant program with the goal
of continuing to build understanding and cross-cultural exchange between
alpinists of the United States and Central Asia, as both Anatoli and his
American friends had benefited, learned, and grown so much by the
knowledge and experiences shared through their friendships. The Fund's
goal is not only to send US climbers to Central Asia but to bring Central
Asia climbers over to the Unites States as well. (see www.boukreev.org for
more information).
In an effort to ensure that we would in fact meet people
living in Kyrgyzstan and not just the Marco Polo sheep living in the high
mountains, Melis and I, both employed year round as mountain guides,
arranged to do some volunteering with the Alpine Fund and the Alpine Fund
assisted us with the travel, permitting, lodging, base camp manager, and
other logistics of our expedition. We were able to get approximately 500
pounds of gear donated to the program by REI, Patagonia, Cloudveil, Second
Ascents of Seattle, and the US guiding company, Alpine Ascents
International.
Much of the weight was plastic mountaineering boots and high
quality hiking boots. Patagonia, Cloudveil, and Second Ascents also
generously donated top of the line Scholler jackets, Gore-Tex shells, and
many warm fleece jackets. Their donations were hugely appreciated and I
happily surprised with these particular companies total willingness to
help.
Our
time in Kyrgyzstan felt like the experience of a lifetime. The several
different mountain ranges we visited were spectacular and really an
untouched alpine paradise. Every different place we visited provided
dreaming material for future expeditions. I hope Kyrgyz will realize what
a treasure they have and work to educate themselves on learning and
instilling in their growing tourism industry the highest standards of
Leave No Trace, despite the fact that some of these low-impact camping and
traveling ethics may go against the current long instated practices.
Unfortunately we did see that already in a short time, just a few visitors
have already heavily impact some of the most remote and most beautiful
mountain areas of Kyrgyzstan.
Although
the mountains and the climbing was incredible, I was most struck by the
generosity, kindness and respectful nature of the Kyrgyz. I have
traveled to many parts of the world and I do not think that I have ever
been in a place where I have consistently been so warmly welcomed, where
people have been so eager to share their country and their culture, and
where across the board people have treated me with such courtesy and
respect. I will not forget the odd conversations struck up with someone in
the street, the many offers to take a spin on someone’s horse, the endless
cups of chay, Kyrgyz men looking so regal in their Kalpaks, the quick
rhythm of the komus, and so many impromptu Russian lessons on the street,
trying to grasp the history of an area that has been at the center of So
much history, and learning with amazement many times how close so many of
the people I met were so directly involved in that history.
I hope
someday to return to Kyrgyzstan, although at the same time I do not feel I
could ask for more; I have already been so lucky. Prior to my departure
and since I have returned many people asked me, "Weren't you in one
of the Stans? Kyrzaka-what is that place called?" In an era where so many
people in my country immediately associate anything ending in Stan with
terrorism I look forward to sharing my experience with others and maybe
helping others understand just a bit about other Stan, and only one among
many, I came to know.
A
tremendous thanks to the Alpine Fund for all their help.
Molly
Busy,
Productive and Interesting… working for Alpine Fund - By
Yulia
As a program assistant with the Alpine Fund was involved in variety of new, interesting, exciting and fun activities, starting from treks and ending up with big Charity Action “Fun Run”. I worked with many new, professional and interesting people. And finally, I learned how to do a lot of things I have never done before.
In July I was involved in several treks. I helped to organize
them, mostly logistically, in charge of things like transportation, food,
contacting people and other necessary logistics. I even participated in
one of the trek myself to Kegeti valley, it was difficult and challenging
enough but worth to go and to see one of the most beautiful scenery, which
I have ever seen in my life (after long and beautiful tree line and Alpine
Meadows, the final point was wonderful lake).
Later in July there was another wonderful experience with
Alpine Fund. I went to help
rock climbing and trekking with Afghan kids (FSA/FLEX finalists from
Afghanistan).
It was an especially interesting experience for me, because I
knew the kids from previous experiences with them (I helped them shopping
on Dordoi Bazar and took part in some other activities during their
pre-departure orientation to USA).
The new thing for me was that I tried rock climbing myself
(challenging!!!). Assisting
Marga in leading the treks for the kids was my first introduction to
mountain guiding (I enjoyed it!).
I was very happy to see that kids enjoyed rock climbing. By the end, I asked one of the
guys: “Was rock climbing
good?” and he replied: “No,
it was very good!!!” I
was twice happy that the girls enjoyed it also (although not all of them
tried), because, as you know, gender roles (stereotypes about roles) in
Afghan culture are different than here. Girls aren’t supposed to do what
guys do.
Have you ever been involved in movie production field? Probably no…me neither, but only
till this summer. In the end
of it, I had absolutely new and very interesting experience of helping
making a documental movie about Kyrgyzstan to American journalist. I helped searching for necessary
information and contacting needed people.
Entering fall season…in the beginning of September I helped
to one of Alpine Fund’s volunteers from Holland Gin to organize and
conduct Taekwandoo Seminar (interesting, ha?!) in Alpine Fund’s cabin in
Ala Archa. Participants of
the seminar were kids from CPC (Children’s Protection Center), who work in
open markets (Osh and Dordoi Bazaars). The seminar went very well, the
kids were happy and excited.
The only problem was that for some reasons CPC sent only guys for
the seminar and not even one girl (probably they decided that Taekwandoo
sport is only for guys…hm…I guess not only Afghanistan has gender
problems, Kyrgyzstan also!).
But anyways, the seminar was productive and interesting for the
kids. I still remember one of the guys (Ulan), he was very talented and
was very eager to learn English (he literarily made me teach him English
during the seminar). Two FSA/FLEX alumni helped conducting the seminar and
did a good job! Gin left back
to Holland, but his last words were:
“The Taekwandoo Seminar is only beginning of what I plan to do in
the future in Kyrgyzstan, I for sure will be back very soon and will bring
my wife!”
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And finally, big Charity Action “Alpine Fund Fun
Run”!!! The preparation
process was very busy, but interesting at the same time. It started from looking for
sponsors (Mariah, the coordinators of Fun Run did this part) and
ended up with marking (errors and signs) the route of Fun Run at six
o’clock in the morning on the day of the Run. I was amazed that a lot of
volunteers (mostly foreign people) were very willing to help. They were spreading out
tickets (with t-shirts) and advertising the event. One person created a design
for Fun Run t-shirt logo, which turned out to be very nice and
creative. The last week
before the Run was very crazy, we were running around and looking
for sponsors for raffle’s prizes, printing extra t-shirts (since we
sold out all of them), solving some administrative problems, etc.
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Finally the day of event came, we were awake since six
o’clock in the morning, running around Dordoi Plaza for last
preparation details. By 9 am people started coming, they were all
wearing t-shirts with Alpine Fund Fun Run logo, people who didn’t
have a t-shirt were buying them right at the place and putting them
on. Kids from Voenna Antonovka Children’s Home and Center for
Protection of Children also came along and participated in the
event. Soon everything was ready to start, Mariah announced
the schedule and people started running. It took 15 minutes to the
fastest runners to finish the 5km (good job!). After everyone arrived the
show started: clowns
and acrobats from the circus and also dancers from the school were
invited. There was also
face for the kids. Drinks, food and fruits. It was great fun for
everyone, kids, youngsters and adults. At the end we had a raffle
with prizes donated by different businesses and people, each ticket
had a number so buying a ticket was a great deal, not only allowed
participation in the Fun Run and all other event and a T-shirt but
also the chance to win one of the prizes we had, from a video player
to t-shirts, a night in an expensive hotel, discount coupons, and
many other things. Some lucky people won these prizes. We all hope
this event will become an annual tradition of Alpine Fund and for
Bishkek!!!
Since then we had been busy with lessons and seminars for the kids and the latest is that we are making Christmas cards to fundraise some money, they are cute and they are selling well. Let us know if you want some. Sincerely,
Yulia Tsoi. | |
Inspiring
kids and English lessons -
by
Asel
I
started as a volunteer this last summer with the Alpine Fund, but now I
have running the English classes for youth that have recently left
children's homes or that work in the local street bazaars. The English classes have started in October and the children
have shown their willingness to study English since then. There are eight
students: three of them alumni of the Voeno-Antonovka Children’s Home
(VACH) and five of them students from the Children’s Protection Center
(CPC). All students are amazing but there are two special students:
Grisha graduated this year from VACH, he is hard working and this summer he got accepted into the Physics and Mathematics school # 61 in Bishkek. It is very difficult to get into this school and not every student is good at Math and Physics but Grisha put a great effort to enter this school and even if his level was lower than necessary the School administration decided to give him a chance considering his circumstances, if in the next 6 months he reaches the standard level he will be allowed to stay in this school, if not he will have to leave. Now he comes 3 times per week to the Alpine Fund office to learn English, which would help him a lot in his life because it is almost necessary to know English today and to communicate via email with his English speaking friends. I also help him with Math and Physics so that he will be successful at school. It is hard work for him to study so much but I will do everything to help this student to achieve success.
Another student
that is amazing is Ulan, he already knew about Alpine Fund from attending
some of Marga’s lessons in the past. He participated in September’s
weekend in the Alpine Fund Learning Center, this weekend was organized by
Gin, a volunteer from Netherlands, and we invited several kids from the
CPC to attend. Ulan was one of them and he continuously was asking
questions about Tae Kwon Do, was clarifying every detail. Later we found
out that he never studied English but he was learning very fast during the
hike with Yulia. She was actually amazed how fast he can learn and how
good he memorizes the rules. After the hike, he came to me with a journal
of Economist which he found in the storage and asked me to correct his
reading. Listening him, I could not believe that he never studied English,
and I asked him where he learned to read English so well. He told me that
before he used to live in a village and at the school there was no
permanent English teacher all the time. Knowing this, students would not
study English at all, they would miss it, skip it all the times. Later
when we moved to Bishkek, he realized that he should have studied English
at school. By now it was late already, he had to work at Dordoi Market to
earn some money for living and help his family. However, last year he
attended some English lessons when Marga was teaching at the Dordoi Bazaar
and that motivate him to keep on learning more and more.
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Thanks to
the kind support of Karin Strom, who decided to sponsor the English
lesson in our office, we have been able to offer these classes three
times per week attended by at-risk youth that want to learn and
improve their English skills. These young adults are learning
steadily and are very grateful to Karin for her support, we bought a
white board, notebooks and other materials and the lessons are fun
and interactive. Having a white board is very good because some
students have problems with their eyes and cannot see small letters.
Now which the white board this is not a problem anymore we can write
as big as necessary. |
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All the students and me want to send our regards to Karin and thank her for making these English lessons a reality. We are also grateful to Alpine Fund, for helping youth and kids to improve themselves and to be more confident and for giving them extra skills that will help them in the future. From my side I promise I will
do my best to pass my knowledge to my students and help them to
learn not only English, but also Critical Thinking. |
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Asel
(Asel@alpinefund.org) | |
Taekwondo
Weekend at the Alpine Fund Learning Center – By
Gin and kids
Hello I am Gin Lippelt from
the Netherlands. And I worked as an Alpine volunteer on a sport-integrated
weekend program for kids in September 2004. I arrived in Bishkek in August
2004 and I’d like to tell you how I came into contact with Alpine Fund.
Two years ago I started a base course of Russian language, which was
provided by the company I work for. From that time I got more and more
interest for Russian. Eventually I decided to study at the institute ITV
in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Before I ever tried to understand Russian, I
had already travel experience in Central Asia. The choice for an
internship in Kyrgyzstan, where Russian widely is spoken, was not
difficult. I fell in love with Kyrgyzstan, right from the first moment in
1999. An intensive search on the Internet for companies and organizations,
which are located in this country has lead me to the Alpine Fund, via the
Kyrgyz Community Based Tourism Organization (CBT). The mission of Alpine
Fund immediately convinced me; with my sport background and present
language study, it is quite clear that Alpine Fund was the right place
where I could help directly while at the same time improving my
skills.
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As I already told you I am developing a weekend program, in which the fascinating art of Taekwondo is integrated. The children may learn and practice the basics of this sport, which fits perfectly well with the Alpine Fund’s approach to active personal development and growth trough physical educational activities and mountain adventures. Besides this I am doing research for a new internship program for students at universities in the Netherlands, interested in the Alpine Fund’s mission. |
Unfortunately I cannot stay longer in Kyrgyzstan than
September. After that I have to attend lectures at a second university.
But for me the story does not end here, it just starts.
Gin
More
about the Tae Kwondo weekend in the
AFLC by the
kids that were there.............
Here, in Ala-Archa such a wonderful, emerald, and lively nature! We are part of the nature; it gives us life, air, and many other things. In such a nature we not only to have a rest but also study Taekwondo is something that I have not expected. And, I want this to continue next summer. I want to thank Alpine Fund that it exists in Kyrgyzstan to provide us with these experiences and educational and introduce us to sports and other things we cannot imagine. And thanks to you all and to you Gin, Asel eje, Julia eje.
by Yrysbek
uulu Ulanbek
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I am not an outstanding poet But want to write something Live your life always smiling Together with Tae Kwondo by Ulan (Dordoi Bazaar) |
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My name is Abdyldaev Azamat. With Osh bazar kids we
came to the mountains to the Alpine Fund Learning Center for a weekend
training on Taekwondo and going to the mountains. I liked your entire
program. We have learned a lot of new methods of Tae Kwon Do. We want to
study more methods. We really liked your food and dacha. We also want to
study English. We liked your group: Gin, Sergei, Sasha, Julia,
Aselya. Aselya cooks very
good dishes. Azamat
I liked this place, but so sad that we were here only for two
days. Teacher Gin taught us a
lot of new useful things. I am really glad for that. But he taught us only
for two times, it would be nice if we had more classes. I will ask to have
more classes.
1) I liked the food. 2) I like the place we stayed. 3) I
liked the Taekwondo lessons. 4) I liked when we went to the mountains.
With lots of thanks to Gin baike, Julia eje, Asel eje, Adyl
baike, from Dordoi bazaar
by Akmurzaev Nurbek
I am really happy that I came to this place. I like the
water, apples and trees. I also like the trainings conducted by Gin baike,
and also how he took us to the hike. Would it be possible to repeat this
one more time? I liked the place where we stayed and the water. Would it
be possible to have these activities every month? I also like the Julia eje’s
cooking and Asel eje’s talking.
by Ashyrbaev Adilet
My name is Eshpaev Tokon. I came from Dordoi bazaar to participate in this Alpine Fund training. I really like the reason why I came here: Tae Kwondo. I have learned many new methods of this sport. The food, house, apples, pears, and strawberries – I really like it. I also like the coldness of the water and the warmth of the sleeping bags. My suggestions would be to have more classes of Tae Kwon Do. Thank you.
- I
liked Tae Kwon Do.
- The only thing I did not like is that it was only for two
days.
- It would be great to stay there for another two or three
more days.
- We liked everything but we did not like that we went for a
hike only for two hours. It would be great if it were for three or four
hours.
- Would be great to continue Tae Kwon Do classes.
- I
also want to stay here for another three or four days, not only me but
also all other children want to stay here and have a rest.
- Is it possible to make it even better? Would it be possible
to make Gin our teacher?
- Thank you for sending us to such a holidays.
I wish you to
have a true health, have a long life like the juniper.
by Joldoshev Turat (Osh bazaar)
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My name is Rahmanaliev Rasul. I am from Dordoi bazaar.
I liked this organization and taekwondo, I learned a lot of new
things. I really liked the food, beds, and house, the place itself.
There I also liked apples, strawberries, and pears. The only thing is that it
was only for two days.
I also liked Taekwondo classes. The weather was nice. I wish
to have more days like this, because two days are not enough. I
liked teacher Gin, and Adyl baike, Julia, Asel, Sasha, Sergei.
Thanks Alpine Fund by Rasul |
Welcome kids to a scary Halloween party - by Yulia
Preparations for Halloween “Haunted House” started in
cooperation with FSA/FLEX alumni and the Meerim foundation where the event
was due to take place. FSA/FLEX alumni made a scary plan for a scary day:
they distributed scary roles, planned scary outfits, created scary
make-ups and designed the scary “Haunted House” room. Alpine Fund invited kids from CPC
to be victims of this “Haunted House”. (Poor kids… they didn’t even know
what scary things would happen to them there!!!) The Scary day arrived, actually one
day before the real Halloween.
So, the plan was first to introduce the children to the historical background of Halloween (my responsibility), making it look kind of educational and a bit boring. Of course, the kids didn’t know about the Hunted House, this was a surprise!!! After I finished explaining, we divided kids into groups of five and lead them into the Haunted House room. Little they suspected what they will encounter inside. Of course, after the first group was out, the kids had already guessed what was going in there but it was fun for them anyways!!!
After visiting the Haunted House one of the little ones came
to me and asked if intestines were real or just boiled noodles and if the
blood there was real or just tomato paste? First, I was confused as how to
answer this, but then I replied by asking him if he knew how real
intestines and real old blood looked like! Now, it was the little one turn to
be confused and looked at me wondering for a while then he started running
to their teacher demanding an answer. A real answer, he meant!
After everybody got scared in the Haunted House, we played
different fun games that involved many laughing faces and loud screaming,
the kids really enjoyed them very much. After having some snacks and
drinks and taking some final photos it was time to go home. The day was
over: kids were not very scared but happy and content of having such a
scary experience! FSA/FLEX alumni were also very satisfied with their good
work and I hope not hungry either!
Yulia (yulia@alpinefund.org)