Katherine Hollis's blog

I arrived on a typical school day to what seemed an empty school. That was because everyone was in the bathroom!

Mercy Corps Kyrgyzstan’s Food for Education (FFE) Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), works to improve educational conditions in Kyrgyzstan by providing schools with supplemental foodstuffs and matching funds to build new or repair facilities or purchase furnishings and equipment.

Mercy Corps staff teaches school administrators and students how to use and maintain the new toilet system. Photo: Katherine Hollis/Mercy Corps

I was able to visit a school located about an hour west of Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, which built a new outhouse financed one of our grants. This bathroom facility used technology that was something new for both the school and for Mercy Corps. The school first applied for a grant to construct a new pit-toilet outhouse, but found that all the school grounds lie on a high water table, and any new outhouse would have the same problems with terrible moisture and smells as the old one. So, based on advice from FFE staff, the school made the decision to have urine-diverting toilets installed.

I arrived on a typical school day to what seemed an empty school. That was because everyone was in the bathroom! Actually, the school was closed, as the faculty, staff and a student-leader group were attending a training being held on how to properly use the new toilet system, and how to train an entire school on how to use them.

The training was run by a Mercy Corps staff in conjunction with the organization that Mercy Corps partnered with for the technical building expertise of the bathrooms. As the group watched a detailed demo on how to use and clean the toilets, a staff member commented on how low the walls to each stall were — everyone could see right over them. As folks turned to my colleague to inquire if Mercy Corps would provide more grant money to fix these issues, others immediately spoke up that this was their project and figuring out how to take care of problems was their responsibility.

Two of the new urine-diverting toilets made possible by Mercy Corps' Food for Education Program. Photo: Katherine Hollis/Mercy Corps

This was a perfect example of the capacity development that our FFE program incorporates into programming — the school community is responsible for all aspects of the project, from applying to Mercy Corps for the matching grant to fund the project, to budgeting, hiring of the building contractor, and oversight of the construction. Mercy Corps provides skills training and support throughout but, ultimately, FFE puts the ownership of the project in the hands of the beneficiaries, who can then use these new skills to address other needs.

The head of school, who oversaw the project, said that she not only learned about budgeting through working with Mercy Corps, but also learned how to look for funding for future needs from the government or other organizations. She said that the school already has plans to undertake two other needed repair projects now that they know how to do so.

The training marked the successful finalization of the school’s project, and this school community’s pride and ownership over their work was palpable the day I spent with them.

Read more ▸

A kindergarten cook prepares healthy, nutritious school food as part of a training and contest sponsored by Mercy Corps Kyrgyzstan’s Food for Education (FFE) project. Photo: Katherine Hollis/Mercy Corps

The small kitchen bustles with activity as cooks crowd around the counter dicing and slicing meats and vegetables for soups and salads. The air is thick with the aroma from baking pastries and frying patties. On the counter, people are rolling dough and flour for hand-prepared laghman noodles. However, there is not the usual kitchen banter among these cooks as they make their delicious creations. Heard above the sound of ingredients sizzling as they hit the pan is a loud is an in-depth discussion about the nutritional value of the ingredients.

These cooks are from local kindergartens throughout Kyrgyzstan, and they have the important job of helping students reach their optimal growth and development by making satisfying, nourishing meals.

Currently 36 percent of households in Kyrgyzstan are considered to be food-insecure, and almost 30 percent of Kyrgyz children under the age of 5 suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition. Unfortunately, kindergarten cooks are faced with the challenge of preparing nutritious food on a limited budget of only $0.70 per child, and this past year food prices in Kyrgyzstan increased by 32 percent — the highest rate among all former Soviet States.

Mercy Corps Kyrgyzstan’s Food for Education (FFE) project, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, recently held our first master-class training seminar on childhood nutrition for cooks and school directors of local kindergartens. These “training-of-trainers” workshops are conducted so that upon completion, the participants return and hold similar workshops for all those involved in kindergarten nutrition in their respective districts.

The goal for this day-long training was to provide participants with information on how to serve children healthier menu options from dishes made with inexpensive, easy-to-find local ingredients that are rich with vitamins and minerals. Participants were shown how to prepare dishes from carbohydrate and protein-rich foods like beans, peas, oats, rice, flour and nuts. Some of the cooks said that they had never before cooked with beans, an ingredient that is packed with fiber and protein.

Two kindergarten cooks square off in a "best chef" competition, using a limited array of fresh ingredients to create a school meal that's nutritious — and delicious — for young children. Photo: Mercy Corps Kyrgyzstan

Creativity with food preparation was also introduced, as aesthetic appeal is an important element to consider when preparing food for young children. By the end of the training session, the dining table was covered with tasty dishes including stuffed peppers with grated vegetables, meatball soup, pastries and tartlets bursting with fruit and jam.

A result of these trainings were new approaches to how to meet nutritional needs at their schools, and innovative ideas for recipes and food preparation were introduced to school kitchen employees. This exchange of ideas and techniques culminated in a regional ‘cook-off,’ where these kindergarten cooks competed to produce the best tasting and most nutritional meal. The energy and intensity expected on a TV show was felt by all at the cook-off: cooks had limited time and specific ingredients with which to prepare their meals, all-the-while being watched and photographed by many eager on-lookers.

While there could be only one “top chef,” the kindergarteners are the real winners here.

Read more ▸

Kompanion News is distributed in Kyrgyzstan to highlight the development work that Mercy Corps and Kompanion, Mercy Corps’ microfinance institution, undertake in the country. Through financial and development services at the household level, Kompanion seeks to address some of the country’s development challenges and contribute to the strengthening of communities through sustainable development.

This newsletter features major initiatives that focus on issues of organic agricultural and waste management practices. It also highlights a lack of knowledge in rural communities as part of a broader goal of promoting natural resources conservation and good management practices by using a science-based, ethno-ecological approach. Kompanion News tells the stories of individuals who have benefited from doing business with Kompanion, and the multi-faceted support they received, not only through microfinance loans, but also through Kompanion’s development services and initiatives focused on community development.

You can read the latest issue of Kompanion News here: http://www.mercycorps.org/publications/16558

Read more ▸