28.03.2018  16:45

There is the self-help group ‘Zhakshylyk’ which consists of 11 women in the village of Kosh-Korgon of Akman rural district in Bazar-Korgon district. The WPU Erayim has influenced women to unite in one group.

Once, activists of this organization came to this village and told about the influence of self-help groups on the economic, cultural and social development of society in developed countries. They conducted trainings on the creation of self-help groups. For them, this became a motivation; they decided to unite to improve the living standards of the village and their economic situation. The leader of this group was the 72-year-old heroine mother Arzykan Syrgabaeva, the oldest member of the group. And the youngest of the group was 37 years old.

Recently they made a new yurt together. There are craftsmen among them. They make dowries for the village girls. Especially if the marriage is hasty or sudden, then at the request of the parents they quickly come together and make dowry for the bride in a very short time. Sometimes villagers order them to bake different kinds of flour products for weddings. They became very needed people for their village with such services. Now they have a goal to open a special workshop for servicing residents.

“If the village administration allocates them a special place, they could organize a sewing shop to make national products, dresses for brides, and also prepare national dishes and render services for different events,” says Arzykan apa.

They always keep up with cultural events. They held a festive event in honor of the celebration of the spring equinox Nooruz, where the representatives of the village administration and villagers were invited as guests. The guests witnessed folk customs such as ‘Putting a Baby in the Cradle’, ‘Cutting the Straps’ and ‘Making Sumalak’. According to the coordinator for the SHGs of the WPU Erayim’s ‘The Introduction of a Combination of Traditional and Modern Approaches to Prevent Conflict in the South of Kyrgyzstan’ project Kishimzhan Boronbaeva, “18 SHGs work in the above mentioned rural districts and this women's group is the most exemplary and proactive among them. They do a lot of useful things for their village. Although all women of the group are housewives, they do not sit idly for a minute. Especially they are active in organization of the weddings and other activities. Thanks to this, they increase the funds of their personal fund. They are preparing to enter the Association of SHGs and preparing all the necessary documents. If they join the association, then more opportunities will liable for them to realize their goals,” she says.

Baktykan Azhymamatova, Jalal-Abad province.