YouthBank International News

<div class="page side-photo"> <article> <div class="image" style=" background-color:#f0a775; background-image:url(/uploads/556648fec6be7.jpg); "></div> <div class="container" style="background-color: #f0a775;"> <header style="font-family: Oswald; color: #ffffff;"> <h1>YouthBank Kyrgyzstan: Going from Strength to Strength</h1> </header>  <div class="main"> <h5><img src="/uploads/55663c72d005a.JPG" style="width: 268px;"> By Dinara Ibragimova, Coordinator</h5>Over the course of two years YouthBank members in Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan) successfully selected, supported, and implemented 146 community-based projects, which improved the livelihoods of over 25,000 individuals in their communities. For each of the projects supported by the YouthBank, 48 YouthBank members and 200 active young co-implementers in the six target communities had direct interaction with each other. Their initial nervousness and concerns were gradually replaced with more confidence and readiness to interact. This innovative approach for youth-centered empowerment and cooperation rests on the YouthBank concept, which is designed to bring young people from diverse communities together and empower them to jointly lead efforts towards recovery and development of their own communities.YouthBank members estimate that through their community-based projects they have improved the living conditions of over 25,000 individuals and families in all six target communities, which are Balykchy city, Bokonbaevo village, Tamga and Tosor villages, Kyzyl-Suu village, Karakol city and Tyup village. The small infrastructure projects have also demonstrated individual and group efforts to strengthen understanding and unity in these communities. Through contributions and attention from the wider community, the project of renovating water supply assets, as well as playground construction, were led by local young people. As such this particular project has accelerated the transformation of residents’ attitudes from initial apathy and sometimes cynicism about their ability to complete such a joint project, to enthusiasm and active participation. Young people in this region improved connections with Local Self Government in all six target communities.“YouthBanks help our schools, orphanages, and solve social problems of our village, fulfilling the functions of the local administration. We are very grateful for that.” Talant Bekturganov, head of Kyzyl-Suu aiyl okmotu.<img src="/uploads/558a7365b82f7.jpg" style="width: 661px; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" alt="">YouthBank's Impact YouthBank offers over 500 young people the opportunity to play a positive role to take in their communities. Eurasio Foundation Central Asia (EFCA) has witnessed the way YouthBank members bring in money to meet community needs, and the respect this commands among their peers. Previous situation: Young people in the region didn’t receive proper attention both by State and by investors. They were not involved in any civil processes and didn’t have a platform to articulate their opinions and take part in community development. Current situation: Young people in the region who didn’t have the means to express their views have become able to influence processes through established YouthBanks after the project's implementation..<img src="http://beacon.by/uploads/5566467f5934f.JPG" style="width: 680px;">“At the beginning of our work, many young people were indifferent to our work, without perceiving us seriously, and now they see the results of our projects, they have become not only very supportive, but now they follow our example." Sherbek Dosuev, a member of Bokonbaevo YouthBank.YouthBank members were involved in workshops, trainings and study tours to accelerate their learning of the innovative YouthBank model. They have already established six YouthBank offices, which are up to date with approaches and techniques on running local YouthBanks <img src="http://beacon.by/uploads/55664644085b2.jpg" alt="" style="width: 669px;">The YouthBank Project will further support youth in partnering with local and national authorities in local development activities in their own communities. It is worth noting that the project is far from claiming that the YouthBank members and their community co-implementers can effectively resolve large-scale community service projects, but rather these YouthBank members are capable of addressing specific social problems at the community level. These young people will require more capacity, recognition and support, including from community adults as well as local authorities, to be effective in local community management processes, which often requires larger resources, better coordination and strong commitment from all stakeholders at both local and national levels.Looking forward...This will also require a more targeted approach by EFCA and YouthBank members themselves for results to be sustainable and to further expand and replicate them in other communities. That is why the second part of the project, which will be realized during 2015, will aim to institutionalize the work of the YouthBanks in the Issyk-Kul oblast. The EFCA intends to support YouthBanks to formalize their work with all six LSGs in the Issyk-Kul oblast first as six informal initiative groups. Various possibilities will then be explored to formalize these groups to better match local needs and situations. These relationships will rest on signed MOUs thus enabling these six YouthBanks to provide local development and youth empowerment services. The EFCA will continue to provide fundraising support to these youth groups, including fundraising mentoring and open grant opportunity information. Some YouthBank members have already independently prepared and submitted several projects and proposals to local and global donors, and expect a response in the coming months. The YouthBank members have also expressed their intention to continue their efforts in local community development initiatives in the Issyk-Kul region. This was validated through the findings from the interim project assessment.“YouthBanks work for 2 years and during this time people have learned to identify and address priority issues not only for young people but also for their native village. For rural areas, this project is very urgent, and it would be good not only to continue but also to expand the scope of the project in other villages, since this project addresses not only the social and infrastructure issues, it most importantly, brings together local youth and gives them a sense of responsibility for their future.” Nurdolot Usenbaev, a mentor of Tamga YouthBank. </div> </div> </article> </div>

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Issue 5