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Libraries and Eco-Education in Central Asia

Region: Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan
Author: "Eraim" women's public society, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Author: Turdumuratova Gulbara
Consortium Member: ISAR Central Asia
Status: Completed - Final Report Budget: $990 Collected: $990 Needs: $0
Result: 40 members of the ecoclub, and 2000 schoolchildren of the Bishkek school "N77" will participate in ecological education activities such as nature studies and planting trees around their school. A public-access library on environmental issues will be established at the school. In addition, 4 regional libraries will be given $100 support grants for new books.
Donors: Manlius Pebble Hill Model United Nations Conference, DeWitt, New York [October 1999] with Virtual Foundation Matching Fundds
Comment: These projects will increase access to knowledge and will strengthen environmental activities at several sites in Kyrgystan and Tajikistan.

Description of the project need: There is a school in the new region of Bishkek, which was opened in 1994. Since it was built in our difficult days, the school still has many serious problems: it is not completed yet, and some classrooms, including dining hall, were finished only last year. We still don't have sports hall or library. As our school is situated in newly developed region, our schoolchildren don't have any interesting places to go, even libraries, where they could go for information.

Because of these facts, the NGO "Eraim" in 1998 organized school eco club "Zhashyl-Chyir" in order to give additional knowledge to schoolchildren.

There is another reason for founding this club. There are many sweepings and debris around our school and living buildings. Though our city is known as a green town we have no trees around our school - city officials did not pay any attentions to our requests. We hope that our children will understand and be initiators of solving ecological problems. We hope also that information and our problems will reach the citizens from children.

In 1999, "Eraim" also organized ecological museum at school with the aim to give more deep eco-education to children. The Eco-museum elected the Board, and they designed a year-long plan for eco club and museum activities.

Project goals:

1. educate the children to keep the environment clean.
2. to give deep knowledge of Earth nature and Kyrgyzstan environment.
3. to give skills and methods of monitoring the environment and nature objects - forests, rivers, lakes and wildlife.
4. to study literature, to create abstracts and reports.

Expected outcomes: 40 members of the ecoclub and 2000 schoolchildren of the school N 77 will get an eco-education. The population of the district and the staff of the school also will have the opportunity to study the literature from the library.

Duration of the project: One month.

Description of the methods of implementing the project goals: There is the list of 64 books of 20 topics, and the sale agreement between the Bishkek bookshop "Raritet" and NGO "Eraim" of delivering the books to Ecoclub of the school.

Additional Support: In addition to the Bishkek library, the Virtual Foundation US and Consortium Member, ISAR Central Asia, have also raised funding for the following Central Asian environmental libraries in need of small grants to purchase books. The following are summaries of their needs by the NGOs whose main aims are to enrich their libraries and resource centers for eco NGOs:

1. Association "Bigl"
   Location-Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek
   Leader of NGO: Kryatova Ekaterina.
   This Association leads the Environmental Education Support Center. The main goal of The Center is to conduct trainings for teachers and students, and prepare methodological textbooks.
   They want to buy textbooks and scientific books on environment issues.

2. EcoCenter "Pamir"
   Location: Tajikistan,Horog
   Leader: A.Aknazarov
   This NGO has the library at uses their resource center for environment NGOs.
   They want to buy 45 books and magazines for enriching the library.

3. Environment Squad
   Location: Tajikistan,Dushanbe
   Leader:Abdurahimova Firuza /Biological Faculty of National University.
   This NGO is the resource center for NGOs and they have their library. Recently they founded Ecological Sunday School for schoolchildren of 1-4 grades.
   They want to buy textbooks for the school in Russia(Association of environment education,Obninsk).

4. Women Public Fund "NILUFAR"
   Location:Tajikistan,Varzob district,kishlak(village)Chagatai
   Leader:Isomidinova Tursunoi
   This NGO is going to found ecological library at school to give eco education to kishlak children and their parents.