Kyrgyzstan

One woman’s struggle to improve the lives of the disabled within her community.

Title Image: Baktygul, the founder of the Beypil Rehabilitation Center of Bokonbeyvo.

 
West of Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek, over the peaks of the Tien Shan Mountains, is Issyk Kul Oblast. Travelers from distant lands frequent this region in the hopes of seeing the unparalleled beauty of Eurasia’s highest lake, Issyk Kul. The gated beach communities create an allusion of a prosperous and developed retreat, but unbeknownst to most travelers, life for the majority of Kyrgyz people within this overwhelmingly rural area is an unrelenting fight for survival.

Outside of these vacation getaways, removed from adequate medical facilities, public transportation and commerce, remote villages speckle the mountainsides. Such a difficult environment has disproportionately affected the disabled who lack the most rudimentary facilities and are unable to receive medical treatment. The Kyrgyz government provides for these families to the best of their ability but given the state’s limited financial means, the average pension of $17 a month is scarcely enough for a basic diet of milk and bread.

After witnessing first hand the challenges her daughter faced with a disfigured cleft palate, one woman by the name of Baktygul, set out to tackle this problem gripping her community by creating a rehabilitation and work center for the disabled. At first openly ridiculed and ostracized, Baktygul struggled to secure financial, community and government support. Undiscouraged, she worked two jobs while raising a family to realize her dream.

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