Kyrgyzstan - Health and Education for All

Many of these impairments result from unhealthy pregnancies, difficult births, inappropriate handling of newborns and infants or broken family relationships. Sasha for example was unable to hear for the first six years of his life because his mother took a pregnancy-incompatible medication during pregnancy and did not recognize that her child could not hear during his first five years based on his development.

We want women to know what is good for them and their child during pregnancy and breastfeeding, how to accompany and facilitate birth with natural measures, and what to expect in the first months and years as parents.

In addition, we want young couples to be empowered to have healthy relationships in order to provide a stable home for their children. We also want to help ensure that children like Sascha experience support and individual encouragement at an early age. We’d like to see their parents and society perceive them as valuable and learn to appreciate them in their individuality. We also want them to be able to be part of society according to their potential.

In 2021, in a rural region in the south of the country, we started to offer support in the form of speech therapy and special needs education with one local staff member. Within a year, we had two staff and over 30 children in the program, as well as a long waiting list. After two years, we employed four trained staff and had over 100 children going through the program. Thanks to the support of the local government, we have been able to transition the local staff into self-employment or government service. An official post for special needs education has been established in the region. In the coming years, we would like to support the theoretical and practical training of further specialists. We also want to invest more in the prevention of physical and mental disabilities through seminars and the translation of educational health videos.