OREANDA-NEWS. September 01, 2009. “Counterpart International” program on public and humanitarian aid funded by the U.S. Department of State, and “AUB-Charity” public foundation combined their efforts to finance repair works in two specialized child institutions. Myrza-Aki boarding school for orphans and the special boarding school for blind and visually impaired children in Osh city have done general overhaul of the sewerage system, bathrooms, toilet rooms, and washrooms to improve living conditions for orphan kids. Total cost of repair works made up over KGS 1.5 million, reported the press-centre of AUB.

Osh special boarding school for blind and visually impaired children where over 100 kids of different age live on a permanent basis lacked a proper water and sanitation system, and children had to use decrepit toilets and washstands outdoors. Due to this, boarding school inmates often used to have diarrhea, pneumonia, and other diseases that worsened their physical state and affected their eyesight. Rehabilitation of the sanitation and water supply system, upgrading of bathroom equipment, and other repair works in the boarding school funded by “Counterpart International” have significantly improved studying and living conditions for children.

“Repair of bathrooms and toilet rooms is a remarkable event for our boarding school. Now we can ensure that our kids have decent living conditions. We are so grateful to all people who didn’t stay away and responded to our call for help” – Aigul Kudaikulova, Director of the Osh special boarding school for blind and visually impaired children, said.

“I am deeply honored to be here today and to see that our joint efforts turned out to be so needed and of such a big help” – Gerald Oberndorfer, Director of Humanitarian Assistance for Europe and Eurasia at the United States Department of State, stressed. He arrived in Kyrgyzstan with the purpose to take part in the opening ceremony of the repaired boarding schools.

Interestingly enough, “Counterpart International” and “AUB-Charity” were not the only organizations assisting the boarding school. During the opening ceremony, members of Osh foundation “Our Children” gave Aigul Kudaikulova a certificate for obtaining KGS 150,000. Inmates of the school will get this sum to be able to undergo treatment in “Eye Microsurgery” hospital in Bishkek. There were even more surprises: sponsors granted stationery and hygiene supplies to all the inmates, which are vital in the view of the upcoming school year. Children, in their turn, performed dances and songs demonstrating their talents to the guests.

Myrza-Aki boarding school for orphans named after M. Razakov (Uzgen district, Osh Oblast) that can host over 300 children to live and study on a permanent basis used to lack appropriate sanitary conditions for kids. The building has not been repaired since the boarding school had been opened. Bathrooms, washrooms, and toilet rooms were decrepit. “Counterpart International” and “AUB-Charity” have rehabilitated sewerage and water supply systems in full. Partners hope the repair will contribute to better health of the boarding school inmates and improved personal hygiene.

“It is not a secret that such delicate issues as sanitary and personal hygiene are rarely focused on. We believe that solution of “not that large-scale” but a vitally important problem is a big achievement. The work we have done together with “Counterpart International” will help inmates of this boarding school to live in decent conditions” - Executive Director of “AUB-Charity” foundation Ulan Sarbanov said.

“As a foreman I told builders at the very beginning that we do the work for special children, and everything should be done properly. We simply put our hearts and souls into this” – Meder Ubaliev, representative of the construction company, said.

Sponsors’ efforts were not in vain – inmates of the Myrza-Aki boarding school expressed their appreciation during the concert they organized themselves. Such a genuine “thank you” expressed by children through dances and songs touched souls of all attendees.

“I can hardly imagine how happy my classmates will be. I feel such relief that we don’t have this problem anymore. We will embark on the studies with an absolutely different mood” – Azirek Malasheva, inmate of the boarding school, shared.

“We are eager to give best development and training opportunities to our children. Hence, when “Counterpart International” offered to us to co-fund repair in the boarding schools, we accepted at once. We believe that improvement of living and studying conditions for children is not simply a good will, but our obligation. Such initiatives must always be addressed and supported” – Michail Nadel, Chair of the Board of Directors of OJSC “AsiaUniversalBank”, underlined. He also took part in the opening ceremony.

Small Reconstruction Program under which the repair was done was initiated by the United States Department of State in 2005. The project was aimed at providing humanitarian aid to help solve problems in boarding schools, rest homes, orphanages, and hospitals through rendering assistance in reconstruction of buildings and vital premises. “ Counterpart International ” has been the executive agency for the project in Kyrgyzstan . Within the last three years, the project facilitated repair of bathrooms and toilet rooms in Bishkek specialized general education boarding school for blind and visually impaired children, as well as the study premises of the Republican specialized boarding school for deaf children. In addition, toilet rooms, washrooms, and bathrooms of the living premises were repaired in the rehabilitation center for orphan kids and poor kids under “Khadicha” charity foundation, which is located in Kadjy-Sai village of Issyk-Kul Oblast, and specialized general education boarding school # 21 for hearing-impaired and late-deafened children.

“AUB-Charity” public foundation was established in March 2009 by the initiative of OJSC “AsiaUniversalBank”. The foundation is the first corporate charity fund that has substantially expanded social responsibility program of the Bank and systemized all prior charity, cultural, and social initiatives. The goal of the foundation is to provide material and other aid to vulnerable groups of the population, regardless of their ethnicity, nationality, and faith. Priority areas of the foundation are long-term projects focused on four fields: education, health, culture, and sports. In 2009, the foundation is going to implement a number of projects of the total amount of USD 500,000.