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• Jonathan Watkins: my week in Tajikistan
• A fond farewell
• Hope
• Power to the people
• Tajikistan: strengthening relationships
• I am Dr. Hussain Ali Jahid

A week at the Shoola Kol project gives an insight on the plight of disability in rural Kyrgyzstan.

HealthProm’s project with its partners, Shoola-Kol, welcomes disabled children and aims to boost their confidence levels, take them away from what is often a difficult everyday life and get them to interact with other children.

The microbus bought by Healthprom is a pivotal part of the Bokonbaevo project. It picks up members of staff, taking them to the office before departing to pick up 10 to 15 children between 9 and 11 am in the Bokonbaevo neighbourhood (between Bokonbaevo and Tokt Kul) and driving them to the centre, located in the school, where an empty room is divided into two: play area and classroom.

Different activities are provided for the children by teacher Kiall (her assistant Chinara was off during my visit but is usually there to help): copying letters, painting, clay work… A music teacher comes once a week and plays songs to which the children dance and sing along to. They are fed lunch in the next door dining room: chai, bread with chocolate spread and a main dish before playing with a large number of different toys given by Healthprom. After 2 or 3 hours of such activities, they are driven home between 2 and 3pm. This routine occurs Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and reports on each child are written in the office on Friday.

On Thursday, the microbus drives Kiall and Chinara (a primary school teacher who has had training in special needs teaching) to isolated families who have disabled children who cannot attend the project. The first family we visited had a 10 year old daughter in a wheelchair with mental retardation. It is clear that this child is not making any progress. She had a rash around her mouth, presumably due to lack of hygiene and sun. She is incontinent and nappies cannot be used both for financial reasons and because she takes them off. She is fascinated by the sound and feel of a plastic bag brought to her but she is unable to play with a stacking rings toy.

The second family we visited had a 4 year old son with similar disabilities to the above. However, it seemed clear that the family provided stronger support, toys were brought out, he was clean and had sisters and a brother who played with him. He showed progress and could walk.

In the third family, the son had epilepsy. The parents were away, and the child could not be approached because our presence might bring on an attack which, I was told, happen up to five times a day and are precipitated by nervousness or excitation.

Due to the rain from the day before, the microbus could not get to other families because the road conditions were too bad, but there are twenty such families in the area. These home visits to isolated families were not originally part of the project, but were added to provide help to more disabled children.