Sary-Chelek Summer Camp

 

Kyrgyzstan has beautiful nature and rich culture. Currently, most children living in cities (like Bishkek) do not see it. On the other hand, children from remote areas need more educational and networking opportunities. For both these children, it is very important to know more about environmental protection and tourism to become more active and responsible citizens of the country.

This project is important to me because I lived in a remote village and experienced all the difficulties that children face there such as access to education, networking, and personal growth.

Since childhood, I dreamt of building a bridge between educated and skillful children from cities and very open, motivated, but mostly uneducated children of remote areas such as Sary – Chelek.

 

There are several target groups to this project and they are equally important to me. The first target group is children from Bishkek schools. They are young, 14-16 years old. They mostly know Russian and often English. Some of them already participate in volunteering projects. Even though many of them are ethnically Kyrgyz, they do not speak Kyrgyz and do not know the culture, traditions and geography of Kyrgyzstan. They mostly live in average to high-income families and therefore can afford tickets to the camp.

The second target group is children of 14-16 years of age, who live in the remote areas of Kyrgyzstan, in particular, the Sary-Chelek area. The majority of them know the Kyrgyz language as well as Kyrgyz culture. They are used to hard work and harsh climate. Yet, most of them are not educated well and they lack soft skills such as management and leadership. That often prevents them from following their dreams. Most of them will never leave the area. They are mostly from low-income families, that is why they will participate in the camp for free.

The third target group is people who work in Nature Reserve. Those are biologists, ornithologists, foresters, tour guides, different other instructors that are passionate about what they do and really eager to share what they know with the public. They are very interested in bringing more attention to Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve and really helping in the organization of the camp. These people will receive financial benefits as well.

 

Conduct the educational summer camp on the territory of Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve for 30 school children from Bishkek (15 children) and Sary-Chelek village (15 children), from June 19 to June 25, 2017, with the purpose to increase participants’ level of English, Russian and Kyrgyz as well as to promote ideas of environmental protection, responsible citizenship, civic engagement, and leadership.

 

The first partner of this project is AUCA English teachers who will facilitate English learning within the camp. Another partner is Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve and science laboratory. They will teach students biology, ecology, entomology, botanic. For T-shirts, this project is to cooperate with T-shop, a newly established shop for clothes in Bishkek. There is a need for a group of volunteers to facilitate the camp activities and also be role models for children. Representatives of different AUCA eco clubs, departments of environmental management, and sustainable development are to be involved as partners as well.

 

May 18-21, 2017: Project planning, preparation of documentation, project team briefing.

May 22-28, 2017: Camp advertisement among high school children, parents, etc.

June 11-29, 2017: Application and Selection Process. June 11, 2017 – the final day.

June 12-18, 2017: Camp preparation (purchases, rent, etc.)

June 19-25, 2017: Summer camp takes place

June 26-30, 2017: Camp review and analysis. Preparation of project final report

 

Anara Dubanaeva – dubanaeva_a@auca.kg