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FROM OUR INTERNATIONAL OFFICE
Bruce Underwood, Director
I enjoyed meeting with our Healthy For Life staff in Karakol. They took me to a village called Jonbulak where I was able to talk with many of the ladies of the village who have voluntarily been involved in the HFL training. They began to explain how the HFL team has enabled them to improve life in the village. In this newsletter, you will find a great article on the expansion of our new “Center for the Development of General Dentistry” which opened up a branch in Osh in May of 2006. You will also find a special invitation for our next dinner event on May 6, 2007, in Northern California and an update on the percentage of our goal achieved in funding the Medical Surgical Nursing book that so many of you have participated in supporting. FROM OUR KYRGYZSTAN OFFICE Tom Hale , Director Politics
Last quarter, I wrote about a political crisis which occurred here last November,
and was peacefully resolved with the signing of a new constitution that switched
the authority for cabinet-level appointments from the President to Parliament.
Since then, there have been more moves by various people vying for power, which
have resulted in a newly-strengthened opposition to the president, and a
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call for early elections. We hope that this power struggle may also be resolved peacefully and equitably, and that a political system will develop that can handle future power struggles without endangering the country’s stability. Projects
Regions
Another central aspect of our work here has been a focus on sustainability, and one way that is expressed is in forming national non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to carry on the work we are doing. Our fifth such NGO was formed in January in the northeast of the country, when our former Healthy for Life Karakol project founded the Issyk-Kul Community Development Center. In connection with the broader focus of their organization, they have begun training in agriculture and appropriate technology, in addition to their ongoing community health focus. I just returned from a visit to Karakol, where I attended a lively training session on protection against plant pests led by one of the team. The leader of STLI’s Agricultural Support Project, who is also based in Karakol, had helped prepare the training, and was there for consultation. He had prepared the team member so well that his participation was hardly needed.
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In
most parts of the world, the snow is melting and the Spring flowers have
arrived. Spring in Kyrgyzstan is also a wonderful time of year. Members of
the STLI Board and 3 of the US office staff will be headed to Kyrgyzstan
to join all of our STLI team in Kyrgyzstan for our annual Vision Setting
Meeting between April 19-21. These meetings allow all of us to reflect at
the many accomplishments that have occurred during the last 12 months, and
the exciting challenges facing us in the coming year. In our Summer newsletter,
we will report on some of these accomplishments!
A
key part of our flagship Family Medicine project here has been the training
of nurses to a higher standard than was previously the norm. In 2003, our
nurses published the first nursing textbook to be printed in Russian since
the middle of the last century. This year, we are proud to be ready for the
printing of a second textbook in Russian, Medical-Surgical Nursing.
At 1700 pages in two volumes, this is a much larger venture than the first
book. Half of the cost for the 5000 copies needed has been promised by USAID,
and we are trusting that full funding of the rest will come from other sources.