Nur Bala Camp

I spent the past week in the northern province of Talas, home of epic Kyrgyz hero Manas, as well as the country’s only McDonald’s. While it was great to eat chicken nuggets and see Manas’s 1100-year-old pants (which were giant. He was a big dude), the real reason I journeyed north was to work at a camp for children with disabilities. The camp was organized by an organization called Nur Bala, where another PCV named Huy works. Nur means  something along the lines of “ray of light;” bala means “child.” Nur Bala works to address the extremely undermet needs of disabled children in Talas City and neighboring villages. The camp allowed kids and their caregivers to get a break from normal life, to receive some education on health and nutrition, but mostly to play games and do crafts and relax.

We had about 15-20 kids (some came a day or two late, some left early) between the ages of 3 and 15, with a range of disabilities. Some were wheelchair-bound, some used crutches to get around, some had developmental delays. It was difficult to find activities that worked for everyone, but crafts were a big hit. We spent a lot of time making bracelets, painting and coloring, and making origami. “Red light, green light” turned out to be a pretty popular. Rest time, on the other hand, was not popular.

Befor this camp, I had very little experience working with kids with disabilites. It was interesting, and certainly relevant for me as I will be doing similar work in Toktogul come autumn. The kids were bright and sweet, and it was encouraging to see most of them with very loving and engaged caretakers. On the hand, there are so few resources for kids with disabilities here. Many of them only go to school for a few years, if at all, and tend not to leave the house much. It makes me wonder what these kids’ lives would be like if they had access to the resources that are available in the States (not to say, however, that all disabled individuals in the States have access to these resources).

In autumn, I’ll work on a project with Ratbu, an English teacher/rockstar in Toktogul. Two PCVs from days past (aka 2010) are coming from the States to help implement the project, which will allow kids with disabilities to create skits about their experiences and perform them at Toktogul’s culture center. I’m sure I’ll learn more about the lives of disabled individuals in Kyrgyzstan, and will have even more to report on the matter.

Otherwise, it was nice to spend a week in Talas. There were several volunteers helping at the camp, and we all stayed at Huy’s apartment in Talas City every night. We spent a lot of time cooking and eating—mac n’ cheese, tamale pie, chocolate chip cookies, and SO MUCH WATERMELON. It was nice to have a week of reduced sheep consumption, and to kick back with other Americans for a few days.

In a few minutes, I’ll hop a taxi back to Toktogul. It’s been a good week and I’ve learned a lot, but I am excited to get back home. While I enjoyed spending time with the kids at camp, there is one particular round-faced three-year-old I’m pretty stoked to see.

P.S. There isn’t really a McDonald’s in Talas. Gotcha.

Super cute, but don't be fooled: these two
were very tintek (aka naughty)

Crafts were a hit.

Aidana taking a whiff in order to tell me that I smell bad.
Thanks a lot. 

The group.

This grandpa was awesome. He told me stories about fighting for the
Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Also, he thought it was hilarious to
make fun the American tradition of smiling in photos. 

Beautiful Akilai and her momma.