Projects|Reports

Sponsorship Programme

To alleviate the impact of poverty on vulnerable elderly people in Kyrgyzstan, Babushka Adoption Foundation has set up a successful private sponsorship programme providing monthly welfare cash transfers to the most vulnerable old people in Bishkek city and rural areas of Batken oblast. As an important part of the sponsorship programme, Babushka Adoption Foundation also works to establish a personal relationship between the elderly people and their sponsors, to ease their feelings of loneliness and social exclusion. Babushka Adoption Foundation staff members translate letters, distribute presents from sponsors and even help sponsors to visit their babushka or dedushka.

Home care help

The home care help project has been operating since September 2001. This programme enables Babushka Adoption Foundation social workers to visit the elderly who are not mobile and need physical help around the house as well as increased social interaction. The social workers help with errands like shopping for groceries and paying bills, and assist them with personal hygiene, cooking and cleaning. The service is free for beneficiaries of BA.

Humanitarian Aid Delivery

Babushka Adoption Foundation regularly distributes humanitarian aid to its beneficiaries as well as other needy people throughout the year. Babushka Adoption Foundation regularly receives items such as clothing, bedding, food or even medical equipment from Kyrgyz-based associations such as International Women’s Club of Bishkek, National Red Crescent Societyand others.

BA works locally with a project “Nakormim KG” www.nakormim.kg, a company “Alliance” www.alliance.kg, who regularly deliver food packages to BA. The Foundationgives out the aid daily to its beneficiaries and other needy elderly. Through a local Internet portal «Diesel» BA collects from the citizens of Bishkek food packages or other stuffs and distributes it to its beneficiaries too.

Reacting to emergency cases (like for example during winter frosts), BA works with partners and Mass Media to organize collection and delivery of the most necessary things for the target group of Babushka Adoption.

Support of Self-Help Groups

Babushka Adoption initiated Self-Help Groups in June 2006.  Self-Help Groups (SHGs) consist of 10-15 elderly people who meet regularly to discuss elderly peoples’ needs and the problems of social re-integration. SHG leaders received special trainings in project development and management, budget development and monitoring, mobilization and coordination of volunteers, lobbying, attracting funding sources and networking. Role-playing, the exchange of practical experience and educational activities were used to encourage and support the active participation of the elderly in group activities. Such integration of the elderly into the society improves their moral psychological situation of the elderly, thus their health is not getting worse and they feel younger.

Self Help Group and its members:

1. To organize social and charity activities for local elderly people on a regular basis to improve social conditions and provide the necessary financial and psychological support to the most vulnerable in their community;
2. To strengthen intergenerational links between older and younger generations by organizing events and celebrations, as well as social clubs for teaching and learning new skills;
3. To work actively to alleviate negative traditions in Kyrgyz society that detract from the development and improvement of the social and economic situation in Kyrgyzstan;
4. To make significant efforts to reintegrate and increase the role of elderly people in public administration and decision-making processes at local and national levels;
5. To engage effectively with the members of the Kyrgyz Parliament, local administration and self-government representatives, public councils and local social protection agencies, social funds and other NGOs working with and for the elderly;
6. To monitor communal services and work together with Local Territorial Councils representatives, condominiums and active residents on explaining the importance of reforms in the communal services system and making recommendations on the monitoring of communal services to residents of apartments and houses;
7. To involve women in decision-making processes to increase the role of women in community development in rural areas.

Self Help Groups established in the Batken region in 2006

SHGs which were established in 2007

5 SHGs in Belovodskoe village which started the activity in 2010

Establishing and supporting older people’s day centres in the rural areas

In partnership with Help Age International under participation of the Self Help Groups and the local administration, BA opened 5 day centers in the Batken region in 2007-2009.

In March2010, Babushka Adoption opened an Elderly Initiative Support Centre. The Centre is a base where older people, SHG members from Belovodskoe village get together and do many activities jointly.

In September 2015 BA and its partner “Elnura” Foundation” opened the 7^th day for older people. The funds for opening the centre were attracted by Elnura Foundation from Wild Geese, the Netherlands.

In all 7 elderly’s day centres, opened by efforts of Babushka Adoption, the local communities, the elderly can meet, socialize with each other, organize different community events and even address some issues of the seniors or local communities. These centres also serve as information, training bases where the elderly have access to information sources (TV, newspapers, magazines) or get knowledge on different subjects. The Elderly groups maintain the centers and the local authorities pay the costs for premise maintaining. BA mentors and coaches the elderly groups, helping them in any capacity needed.Visiting the centres, participation of the elderly in different events improves the life quality of our pensioners and this way put off the aging.

Income generation project

In June 2015 BA started an income generation project, to raise funds for the Foundation. This was anemergency measure to decrease dependence on donors. Lately some missions, stationed in Kyrgyzstan, that could support BA are leaving our country and many donors are decreasing their financing.But the Foundation has to have sources of income to cover all its costs. Therefore, the Foundation developed a project, which would help to establish a social entrepreneurship through provision of the paid services. In the long-term itis expected to bring financial self-sustainability. The project is about providing paid services for the population for money. The services provided by BA on a paid basis are: social services in the household and social psychological services. These services are provided for those who need them and who are able to pay for them. However, the beneficiaries of BA still get the social services from BA free of charge.