Final: The Mercy Corps (MC) project is distributing food to 60,000 children in 560 institutions; 65 schools will benefit from infrastructure repair; 25 schools will receive food security grants; 28 schools will improve their water sanitation infrastructure; and 48 schools (20,500 students*) will be provided with equipment and supplies.

Midterm: The direct distribution component of this MC project targets about 60,000 children in 535 kindergartens, boarding schools, and orphanages throughout the country. Commodity distribution began in April 2002. Through the program’s small grant component, 48 schools will benefit from infrastructure repair, 20 schools will receive food security grants, 10 schools will improve their water sanitation infrastructure, and 145,000 children will be provided with equipment and supplies. An important outcome of the project will be the strengthening of existing and the development of new community and other civil society organizations. The program will continue through September 2003.

Known for its natural beauty, Kyrgyzstan (or the Kyrgyz Republic) is a small, landlocked country in Central Asia with a population of just under five million. It is bordered by China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The Tien Shen mountain range dominates the landscape, with almost 90% of the country covered by mountains. There are two distinct demographic, cultural, and economic centers in the country – the Chui Valley in the north and the Ferghana Valley in the south. It is a poor country with a predominantly agricultural economy.

Kyrgyzstan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The country was not prepared for independence, and the social, political, and economic transition has not been easy. The living standard for most people declined due to economic restructuring, which among many changes included a reduction in assistance to children, women, and pensioners. As the standard of living declined, so did the government’s ability to pay for social programs. Foreign assistance has played a significant role in supporting economic restructuring.

Kyrgyzstan has made significant strides in moving to a market-driven economy. However, the country continues to face significant challenges involving economic transition, political reforms, and underdevelopment.

In 1998, the Government of Kyrgyzstan amended its constitution to allow for private ownership of land. An estimated 90% of farms are now privately owned, and these farms have shown significant increases in productivity. Privatization of state-owned businesses has also proceeded quickly, with 97% of businesses owned privately. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 80% of the population lives below the poverty line, giving it the highest poverty level of any former state of the Soviet Union.

Primary school enrollment and attendance is reported to be 100%. Literacy is high, with 97% of the population over the age of 15 able to read and write. Primary and secondary education is funded locally, while the national government supports higher education. Since independence, finances have not been available to support basic education. Teachers are frequently not paid, and the infrastructure has fallen in disrepair. Communities understand that there will be limited assistance from government to support education and that they must take the lead if they want their children’s educational environment to improve.

As UNICEF has found, "though literacy levels and primary school enrollment remain high, the educational system, once provided free of charge to all, is now highly decentralized and fragmented. User fees have been introduced, leading to lower enrollment and higher dropout rates among poorer children. In the mountainous and rural regions, a growing number of children cannot attend school because basic maintenance of school buildings has stopped. The highest decline in enrollment is at the kindergarten level. In 1990, around 30% of young children were enrolled in preschool. In 2000, that fell to 5%. The public preschool system collapsed with the breakup of the Soviet Union. The number of private kindergartens has grown, mainly in the urban areas, but access for rural children is almost nil. This situation demonstrates the critical importance of MC’s efforts."

Final: MC was successful in helping the kindergartens and boarding schools find a solution to their wheat storage problems and at the same time improved the economy of local businesses. Communities drew up draft agreements with either a bakery or a macaroni factory. After approval by MC, these agreements gave the flour to the bakeries or factories in return for an equal amount of bread or macaroni, delivered as needed to the schools. The distribution oil was "packaged" differently from the monetization oil, which helped to monitor the use and to prevent the distribution oil from showing up in the local market.

Under the terms of the agreement, all distribution commodities, the vegetable oil for monetization, and 50% of the wheat flour were to arrive in Kyrgyzstan by October 2001. The first shipment arrived in January 2002. The delay in commodity arrival seriously affected project implementation, as MC had planned to deliver commodities before the winter months when food is at its most expensive. Commodity distribution in late spring or summer poses a problem for boarding schools that close for the summer. Kindergartens and orphanages operate year-round. MC and beneficiary institutions are investigating how to safely store the commodities over the summer, such as processing the wheat flour into macaroni that then can be stored longer.

Schools receive enough commodities in bulk to provide each student a "ration basket" consisting of 9.3 kilograms of rice, 3.2 kilograms of vegetable oil, and 18.8 kilograms of wheat flour. The quantity of food in the ration basket is the same regardless of student age. Distribution quantities are based on the total amount of commodities divided by the total number of children, rather than on caloric content. MC monitors the use of the commodities but does not monitor, at this time, the caloric or nutritional value of the prepared meals. How long the commodities last depend on individual school use.

Kindergartens have been part of previous direct food distribution projects and are enthusiastically awaiting the commodities. The commodities were appropriate for Kyrgyzstan. However, it would be more effective if the vegetable oil for distribution were to packaged the same as the vegetable oil for monetization; i.e., in six-by-four liter cases rather than 20-liter tins. MC is researching the appropriateness and need for other commodities, such as nonfat dry milk.

The Ministry of Education envisions a key role for kindergartens in providing valuable preschool education opportunities, but resources are not yet available to support these recommendations. As the economic situation in rural Kyrgyzstan worsens, the role of kindergartens in providing at least one healthy, nutritious meal per day for young children will increase in importance.

Boarding schools and orphanages also receive commodities through the MC/GFE project. Boarding schools receive financial support from the ministry but are also heavily supported by parents. Boarding schools provide education to a wide range of students. Several schools are magnets, offering specialization in one subject area such as math, science, or art, while others provide education to refugees, displaced persons, and children of nomads. Orphanages, supported by the government, provide limited educational opportunities and simply do not have the financial resources to provide nutritious meals to the students.

The small grants program requires community and school collaboration in all aspects of the project. The participants need to identify issues that limit educational opportunities for their children. Participants then develop a proposal to address the problems and implement the project jointly. Previously, the head of the school unilaterally made decisions impacting all aspects of education. Parent committees are active in some schools, and the goal of the ministry is to involve parents in all school education programs. MC’s requirement that the school and community develop a partnership to access the small grant funds is a crucial first step to broaden community involvement in education planning specifically, and community problem-solving in general.

Over 300 community meetings had been conducted as of May 1, 2002, and that number is expected to double. Regardless of whether a school-community partnership decides to submit a proposal, the process of working together to solve common problems is a valuable development experience. According to the MC monitoring report, the communities want to make things happen, but do not know how to make them happen.

The grant committee composed of representatives from MC, other non-gvernmental organizations, and the Ministry of Education first met in mid-May to review proposals. Selection criteria have been established. As of June 25, 2002, more than 150 proposals had been received, and 18 projects had been approved. The committee will make additional awards in coming months.

Among the projects that received funding are the following:

Final: MC/GFE worked with UNICEF to implement water sanitation grants, as well as other donor organizations, - Asia Development Bank, SOROS, Peace Corps, UNHCR, Counterpart Sheriktesh and USAID. MC also plans to link with the Academy for Educational Development (AED) a USAID-funded organization, to improve education programs in the schools.

Midterm: MC/GFE plans to work with UNICEF to implement water sanitation grants. As the project progresses, MC will identify linkages to other donor organizations.

Final: As a result of the program, the ability of schools to handle problems has increased, as well as the ability to find additional food for children through their own food production. The local community can support the food programs in the future by granting land allotments to schools for small gardens.

Some individuals are providing resources to the children’s home. For example, American dentists who came to the children’s home to treat children’s teeth, also bought cows, so that children could have milk products. The boarding school in Chaldybar village provides for 40% of fresh produce for children’s meals, thanks to their own subsidiary farm developed with MC. In spring, the Sheraliev’s school children collected waste metal. The money obtained from waste metal bought goats, which will provide meat and milk.

From the interview with the director of the children’s home in village Uch-Korgon.

Midterm: Parents and other community residents will be the primary forces sustaining this project. MC’s program is very effective in community capacity building. Development of school-community partnerships is a crucial first step to broader community involvement in education planning and community problem solving. This community development component also supports the Ministry of Education’s goal to have parent committees become more involved in schools’ overall education programs.

Final: See evaluation methodology in Appendix 1.

Midterm: The sample school selection criteria for the direct distribution component were developed at a meeting attended by MC and USDA staff. Significant social, political, and economic differences exist between Kyrgyzstan’s north and south. Likewise, there are significant differences between urban and rural communities in access and availability of basic resources, information, and technology. At this time, final numbers of small grants awarded and geographic distribution are unavailable.

Final: There was almost a 2% increase in student enrollment in the data collected.

Midterm: Teachers reported that more children go to school because there is no longer a fear of starving. Also, they stated that the enrollment of handicapped children and orphans had increased due to the provision of a high-grade diet, along with the training. The number of kindergarten pupils in the village of Kysyl-Adyr, increased by 50% because there has been no increase in payment for meals.

Attendance - Since daily food allowances were improved, children’s absences have decreased. Sickness decreased and attendance increased with the implementation of the MC grant program of infrastructure rehabilitation to secondary and nursery schools to repair toilets, heating systems, roofs, and water supply system. Administrators and teachers reported that children’s health has improved due to receiving high-vitamin food.

The USDA’s grant support for major overhaul of the roof of Ak-Djar school has helped to improve conditions for studies, as dampness in classes and the sports hall had negative effect on children’s health problems. 865 children have lessons today in warm and cozy conditions. Absences due to sickness have decreased considerably.

Performance: The USDA/GFEI program has a positive effect on progress in studies of schoolchildren as reported by administrators, teachers and parents.

The MC grant we received was used to purchase irrigation equipment which helped us to grow string beans, beets, and potatoes. We sold the string beans, and used the money to purchase some other necessary foods."- Chaldybar Boarding School, Talas oblast

Many schools in rural areas stored up dried fruits and vegetables, which in the winters are used to provide children with vitamins and to make food more diverse. In the summer children harvest and dry apples for winter stocks. This food helps to save some preschools and boarding schools from closing therefore increasing enrollments.

Attending a community meeting to discuss school problems, an MC mobilizer saw community members ready and willing to take charge, combine meager resources, and work together to improve school conditions. Women offered to arrange meals for workers, men agreed to work without pay, and the Aiyl okmotu village government agreed to provide wood.

Last modified: Monday, April 14, 2008 06:13:23 PM