Postcard from Bishkek

I’ve mentioned before the work of Hugh Coulter in support of the private orphanage in Karakol - several times as it happens.

He was working in Karakol on a project financed by the European Union and came across the orphanage almost by accident.  Impressed by the work of the orphanage, Hugh and his family found themselves getting involved in fund raising efforts  to support the organization.

They also got involved in setting up a couple of Microcredit funds which could make targeted, short term, small loans to individuals and small businesses to tide them over a particular cash flow crisis.

Between them, Hugh and his wife Jean … indeed the whole family and many of their friends … were undertaking activities like sponsored skydiving and running tombolas to raise funds for the projects.  Hugh’s infectious humour inspired many others both here in Kyrgyzstan and back in Ireland.  Eventually they attracted the attention of Roots and Wings – a major international charitable foundation with projects in several countries that decided to offer support for the various projects.

Conscious of the goodwill of people that donated either time or money, Jean would send out regular updates so that supporters would know that they efforts were both appreciated and being put to good use.

One of the things that always attracted me to these schemes was that a lot of thought had been given to sustainability … planning for the future … but it’s a fact of life that events rarely ever go exactly “according to plan”.

Hugh was unfortunately diagnosed with, and eventually succumbed to  cancer.  Jean and the family, however, were determined to maintain their support.  After a brief hiatus … they were, after all, grieving … they arrived in Kyrgyzstan and discovered that things definitely weren’t going exactly to plan.

As a result they have, together with Roots and Wings, been rethinking their strategy.

As a result, they have started two new  initiatives on a pilot basis, targeted at helping support individual children from disadvantaged homes:  Hugh’s Bear Cubs - where the idea  is to provide scholarships for children to attend a private kindergarten on Karakol, Kinder Land, which has been identified as an example of ”best practice” in terms of early years education, and a Children’s Clothing Fund to help ensure that they have adequate clothing to see them through the difficult Winter months.

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As it happens – recent developments may well make life even more “interesting” for all of these projects in the future.

There is a proposal to close all “private orphanages” and bring them all – and the children they serve and house – under the aegis of official bodies.  This is despite the fact that the government doesn’t have sufficient funds and has difficulty in maintaining the ones that it already has … although it is true that there are several state run children’s homes which do receive sponsorship and support from a variety of sources in order to supplement the money from the budget.  It is not yet clear, however, what the effect of this on the orphanage will be  if it is, eventually, enacted into legislation.   

In the meantime, although the Microfinance schemes in Karakol are “ticking over” nicely, there have been some additional headaches as the parliament and government have turned their attention to the whole question of providing financial support to individuals and small businesses.  Many microfinance organizations have had their operating licences either suspended … or withdrawn altogether. 

This is partly a result of a controversy that arose over the interest rates that some microfinance organizations were charging – leading to charges of usury, allegations of families drowning in a whirlpool of debt.     

 Then there is the newly proposed “Foreign Agents Law” which, if enacted, will require the funds and the orphanage being under even tighter  supervision – as the bulk of their finances come from abroad.

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Hugh sometimes referred to himself as “XB10″, because when his name was printed on his business cards in Russian … that’s what it looked like.  It was typical of his self deprecating character that he found this quite amusing.

I think, however, he will be long remembered for his catchphrase: “A little goes a long way“.

That was the idea behind the Microcredit schemes … quite often, people needed just a few thousand som as a pump priming exercise.  With it, they were able to do things for themselves which quickly bore results and they were able to replay it … before planning on more grandiose schemes … which they would be better placed to complete.

It’s also the idea behind the latest schemes.  The idea of the Bear Cubs scheme, for example, is multi-pronged.  In addition to providing the children with access to educational experience – and an invaluable start to their educational career – it will enable the parents to find work and thus supplement the family income … whilst the Clothing Fund will provide each family with a little additional support but on an item of expenditure which can can be crippling for a family’s finances.

Let’s be frank … having children – wonderful thought they are – does put a strain on the family finances … and not just here in Kyrgyzstan.  Recently there have been plenty of stories in the press trying to put a figure to the cost of having a child: food, clothing, school fees, medical fees, toys and games, holidays and entertainment … and so on.

Clothing represents one of the biggest items of expense that families face – especially as winter approaches and warm, weatherproof clothing is an essential “must” – if you’ll excuse the tautology.  It’s a real practical issue – not simply a question of being “fashionable” and having new things to wear – especially  as children grow … quickly outgrowing items of clothing that, although not new, might well still be serviceable.  So the idea of creating a Clothing Fund to help dress children from disadvantaged homes should be a considerable help to those families.

 

Click here to download the latest update from the Karakol Orphanage and Micro Credit  Schemes.

 

Tags: Charity, Organizations