I need your help!
Alright, I know I haven't posted in ages- the truth is, I have been afraid to blog after some of the events that have transpired here. In America, free speech is something that we have been used to all of our lives, I now know that in Kyrgyzstan it is a privilege, not a right. I am not used to censoring myself but it will be something I have to get accustomed to if I want to speak about my experiences here. What I say does have an effect on the people, country and culture here. With that said, I will try to give you the most honest version of what I'm doing here but I will also exercise this right with caution.
PHEW! So now that that's off my chest, I have so much to write and talk about so in the upcoming week I will sit down and sort through everything that has happened here. In a very short version, IST was not what I expected (nothing ever is) but it was great to see all the volunteers- I must say that the highlight of the week was when our team, the Chui team (Me, Charlie, Rick, Annie and Laurie- a guest member subbing for Scott) won the K-13 IST Flip Cup Tournament. Who's house?! Our house!
But let me get down to business. I need your help. The K-12s and the K-13s want to join up to help our old host village Koshoi. Koshoi has seen 3 groups of trainees come and go through 3 months of training, but we want to do something to give back to our community, something permanent. We want to develop a resource center so the children can practice their language without having to resort to old Soviet materials- I am sure they don't need texts on collective farming anymore. So here is what you can do to help: search through your basements for old children's books or magazines (think Highlights for Kids or Sports Illustrated for Kids) and send any materials that you don't need. At the end of May we're going to compile our materials, present them to the secondary school in Koshoi, fix up an area of the school and designate it as a place where kids can study and learn. I know that books and such weigh a lot but the Postal Service offers something called an M-Bag which allows you to send educational materials at a subsidized price. The minimum weight limit is 11 pounds which costs $11.50. The actual conversion may be a little more but the standard is around $1 per pound. Before you do anything, call and confirm that your local post office offers this service for parcels to Kyrgyzstan. I know all you fresh-out-of-college kids are poor too, but if you forgo going out one night during a weekend, then the costs of sending these materials should even itself out. So if you do what you can, myself and these children would be infinitely grateful. Also, this is just one project that I am working on- I know there will be MANY more opportunities for you guys to help but this is one that is underway right now. You can send the materials to this address:
Kyrgyzstan
Bishkek 720000
Central Post Office
Persavich
Again, thank you in advance and after May, I will give you an update with how it all turned out.
And stay tuned- I promise to fill you all in on what I've been doing for the last month.
Quick shout out:
It is always interesting to me to learn who is reading my blog. Sometimes I feel like I'm not reaching anyone through cyberspace but it's always encouraging to get feedback. I was so surprised to learn that a K-4 was reading my blog. Cari- I can't imagine life in Kyrgyzstan 10 years ago but something tells me that not much has changed at the same time. I hadn't thought about getting Vick's at the PCMO but I'll definitely have to try it out. I have thought about compiling my experiences into a book too when I get out of here, but right now it seems too ambitious to even think about! Anyway, thanks for your awesome comments and it's because of volunteers like you that this program has existed for so long!
PHEW! So now that that's off my chest, I have so much to write and talk about so in the upcoming week I will sit down and sort through everything that has happened here. In a very short version, IST was not what I expected (nothing ever is) but it was great to see all the volunteers- I must say that the highlight of the week was when our team, the Chui team (Me, Charlie, Rick, Annie and Laurie- a guest member subbing for Scott) won the K-13 IST Flip Cup Tournament. Who's house?! Our house!
But let me get down to business. I need your help. The K-12s and the K-13s want to join up to help our old host village Koshoi. Koshoi has seen 3 groups of trainees come and go through 3 months of training, but we want to do something to give back to our community, something permanent. We want to develop a resource center so the children can practice their language without having to resort to old Soviet materials- I am sure they don't need texts on collective farming anymore. So here is what you can do to help: search through your basements for old children's books or magazines (think Highlights for Kids or Sports Illustrated for Kids) and send any materials that you don't need. At the end of May we're going to compile our materials, present them to the secondary school in Koshoi, fix up an area of the school and designate it as a place where kids can study and learn. I know that books and such weigh a lot but the Postal Service offers something called an M-Bag which allows you to send educational materials at a subsidized price. The minimum weight limit is 11 pounds which costs $11.50. The actual conversion may be a little more but the standard is around $1 per pound. Before you do anything, call and confirm that your local post office offers this service for parcels to Kyrgyzstan. I know all you fresh-out-of-college kids are poor too, but if you forgo going out one night during a weekend, then the costs of sending these materials should even itself out. So if you do what you can, myself and these children would be infinitely grateful. Also, this is just one project that I am working on- I know there will be MANY more opportunities for you guys to help but this is one that is underway right now. You can send the materials to this address:
Kyrgyzstan
Bishkek 720000
Central Post Office
Persavich
Again, thank you in advance and after May, I will give you an update with how it all turned out.
And stay tuned- I promise to fill you all in on what I've been doing for the last month.
Quick shout out:
It is always interesting to me to learn who is reading my blog. Sometimes I feel like I'm not reaching anyone through cyberspace but it's always encouraging to get feedback. I was so surprised to learn that a K-4 was reading my blog. Cari- I can't imagine life in Kyrgyzstan 10 years ago but something tells me that not much has changed at the same time. I hadn't thought about getting Vick's at the PCMO but I'll definitely have to try it out. I have thought about compiling my experiences into a book too when I get out of here, but right now it seems too ambitious to even think about! Anyway, thanks for your awesome comments and it's because of volunteers like you that this program has existed for so long!
posted by Katie P. at 12:56 AM
2 Comments:
HI-I follow your adventures. My daughter is Victoria in Bishkek-reading the blogs gives me a better idea of what is going on in her life. Please keep blogging.
Hi Harp,
I'm glad to know that you're doing OK. I was getting a little worried when you hadn't blogged in a couple of weeks.
Tru
Post a Comment
<< Home