A vision of things to come

7 years ago , along with our friends David and Jayne Schooler, we ventured into what I thought was the about the darkest place on earth.   The mens home was in such a state of disrepair, it was post Soviet and had not had any repairs for years .  The men were weak and lacked even the most basic food and clothing needs.    I left the home and vowed never to return .  A couple days later a sponsor contacted me and said they were sending some money and challenged me to go back and see what we can do. 

there has been a lot of water under the bridge since that day.  

Today I learned that this place, the place that was forgotten and neglected  is today voted the #1 home for disabled in Kyrgyzstan .  Step by step we have worked through Larisa to improve conditions for the men.  things like renovating all the halls and the bed rooms, sitting rooms in each section, fixing the water system, the heating system and replacing much of the electrical system.  creating an ICU unit to stop the spread of infection, painting inside and out, the creation of a physiotherapy wing with class rooms and music and craft rooms, and even a library .  Gardens complete with water fountain and benches.  A barber shop and washing facilities.. it is totally incredible all that has been done.  We are just so thankful for all the sponsors who have come on board to help us here.  

Today we came to the home to see the completion of the dinning hall .  This room was dark and dingy .  the walls and ceiling were peeling and flaking off, the windows were rotted out, the heating did not work, and the floor was rough and uneven and open cement .  Let me take you for a little tour today ...   

this is the dinning hall , newly painted and all new windows 

In side you can see the new floor, , lights ceiling , even curtains on the windows .even the chairs have been rebuilt and have all new seats on them .

Check out the raised platform and the wall ready by faith for a movie projector .  We envision one day a beautiful Kyrgyz pattern rug here along with a dozen long Tushuks ( mats ) that men can sit on to watch movies .The other thing we would like to do here is put new tops on the tables .. all together this would be about $1000. 

today we had a special gift from Andy at Give first, and Larissa received a top of the line power point projector .  Here I am showing her all the different methods of input.  

They were all so excited to see this 

From this angle you can see the heaters , the new lights and ceiling , new windows and curtains and the renovated chairs .. and finaly .. the new floor 

we spent a little time and visited some of the men in the class room

This is the wall way in the physiotherapy wing

This is the front  entrance hall even new lights here .. I look around and I am starting to see pride in  what they have happening here  .. an incredible transformation not only in the building , but in the hearts of all that call it home. 

All the way up the drive way and completely surrounding the building and the court yard there are now beautiful gardens, the greatest part is that I witnessed both residents and workers tending to the gardens .. Larisa has worked hard and faced a lot of opposition , but here she has created community .  Well done Larisa .. and well done , all those who have heard the stories and seen the photos, and have stepped up to make this home what it is today. 

After the home, Julie and Emma went with young Kolya to his school for a parent teacher interview .  It was about 10 minutes into the interview when they were talking about financial needs at the school and how the students had to bring in funds to help with renovations.. when Julie asked for some clarification, Kolya turned and translated for her .. at which point the teacher looked shocked and asked what language he spoke to his mother in .. She had no idea that Julie was not his mother and Emma was not his sister .. that will certainly give her something to ponder over the next few days .  hahaha

After lunch we met up with Vlady and headed for the mountains .  There is a family there that Vlady has been helping for many years.    Together they have raised bees , planted gardens and harvested fruit.  they live way up the mountain and have their own solar collector and wind mill for power .  with two little kids and a few extra, and one more eon the way any day ,  they continue to work hard at making a good home.   We are there today because they would like us to help them to find a investor in their farm.  We started a cow barn there in the spring, and we need  about $2000 for this project .  Here in Kyrgyzstan families will keep the mother cow home for the milk, and the calfs are sent to the mountain to be fattened up for the winter.  This could be the place to send them 

 Any one who is interested in investing in this great project I can guarantee 100% that you will get NO financial return on your money, In fact I can guarantee that you will get NO return of the initial investment .. just want to be clear about that ...  So whats the benefit ?    well the loan will be repaid, but will be repaid by boarding cows for us from the initial investment, $1000 will finish the barn and $1000 to purchase 6 calves in the spring, these calves will  grow up good and strong, then provide fresh meat all winter for the families , students and institutions we support. in the spring we can sell the last cow and buy 6 more caves for the next year.   This is a good family with a proven track record, and Vlady to over see it all ... a real recipe for success   The dream has been started , and when one of you catches the dream, we are just weeks away from completion.

mountain road to visit the cow barn project 

families of bees ..  In the house during supper our friend noticed that about half a dozen bees in the window, I watched in amazement as he went over and plucked them off the window with his fingers and put them carefully into his closed hand and took them out side .   after a few trips I asked why he did not get stung... the bees know him and trust him ... 

This is the beginning of the cow barn in the foreground and the house in the back 

This is a root cellar used to store the garlic they grow .. they will fetch a much higher price in the winter

this is the view back down the valley (from the outhouse )

cow barn from another view .. its about 12' by about 80' 

we had knitted dolls for the kids from seniors in Canada 

The kids loved Emma and Jengish 

this is Vlady out with the bees .. he says that he has a couple families that are not as strong and need a little help so he brings them a little extra food to help them out ... Families of bees he is referring to.



"If I had a million dollars " I could have easily spent about $3000 of it today .. but for now we have a vision of things to come .. and they are encouraging 

Tomorrow we will source out the shipping container and work on getting it to the hospital to be used as the structural base for the medical clinic we are building. As well we will  continue sourcing out astro turf for the baby orphanage playground . the place we had a quote from will only sell it in 2 m x 100 m rolls and we budgeted on 50 meters , so we are looking for it else where .. While in Bishkek , Emma also has some of her kids that she want s to check up on and make sure they are back to school OK.