The organization “Kelechek – Sary-Kol” was set up on December 3, 2006, in Issyk-Kul and officially registered as a public association by the Local Justice Department on August 15, 2008.The goal of PA “Kelechek – Sary-Kol” is to help with the rehabilitation and integration of people with disabilities into society. Eighty people with disabilities are currently under its care. There are 26 children among them who are unable to attend school for various reasons. The organization is currently working on rehabilitation and protecting the rights of these children.

As PA “Kelechek – Sary-Kol” is a new and relatively inexperienced organization without a stable income to finance its work, at times it is difficult for its employees to continue to give the same level of service to the beneficiaries. At times like these the staff turns to people who can be helpful. For example, the head of the Aiyl Okmotu in Michailovsk allowed PA “Kelechek – Sary-Kol” to use a part of the old hospital building free of charge. The village residents also do what they can to help the organization. However, this is not always enough as the staff of the association need to develop their skills of managing the organization, writing project proposals which essentially yield financing for their work and building relations with government and public organizations.

“In the spring of 2009 we were invited to participate in trainings organized by the Eurasia Foundation for Central Asia (EFCA) and the public association “Leader” as part of the project entitled “Improving the Lifestyle of People with Disabilities in Issyk-Kul”, says Sonun Boronchieva, Head of PA “Kelechek – Sary-Kol”. “These trainings taught us to organize our work effectively, identify the needs of our beneficiaries, write successful funding proposals and secure contracts with partners and donors.”

The results of these training sessions became obvious: thanks to the newly-acquired knowledge the organization was granted a project to the value of 125,000 som within the framework of the program entitled “The Agency for the Development of the Village Infrastructure (ADVI)”. With the first tranche of the project the employees were able to refurbish the building. They are now making plans to buy furniture for the office and library as well as the stock and equipment essential for their work.

Spurred on by their successes the employees are writing other project funding proposals to different donors. They have already submitted the project proposal for EFCA’s program entitled “The Development of Income-generating Activities for Vulnerable Groups in Society” and are now waiting for the results.

“We would like to express our thanks to Rasul Momunaliev, Project Manager at EFCA, Alina Musaeva, Coordinator at the public association “Leader” and our trainers Nurgul Ishenbekova and Ainur Kabylova for the significant contributions which they made to the development of our organization,” says Sonun Boronchieva. “We are now able to conduct independent research, write project proposals and conduct monitoring and assessments. Our employees now have enough knowledge and skills to really help people with disabilities.”

Information about the program "Improving the Lives of People with Disabilities"