News>Kyrgyz women visit Manas, experience mission firsthand
Photos
Col. Michael Mahon, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing vice commander, tours the Kyrgyz Congress of Women around a KC-135 Stratotanker Oct. 16, 2009. The women, local civic leaders, visited Manas to learn more about the base's mission and visit with Airmen. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Steele C. G. Britton)
Senior Airman Amy Poch, 376th Expeditionary Medical Group laboratory technician, shows the Kyrgyz Congress of Women laboratory services at the base's medical center. The women toured several areas of the Transit Center during an educational visit to the base Oct. 16, 2009. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Steele C. G. Britton)
by Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
10/20/2009 - TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan (AFNS) -- Twenty female Kyrgyz civic leaders, known as the Congress of Women, visited Airmen here Oct. 16 to familiarize themselves with the center's mission and talk to Airmen around the base.
The visit changed the way some of the women viewed the Transit Center and gave them a better understanding of what the base does and how it operates.
"I heard a lot about the center from other people. It is one thing to hear and another to be here personally and see everything through my own eyes," said Cholpon Sultanbekova, a local cotton exporter. "I like it here, and I am impressed with everything I saw."
Tthe women also showcased their talents, showing off locally manufactured products such as carpets and other traditional clothing fabrics. One of the women, Dilshat Kangeldieva, even sang and played a melodious folk song using a Komuz, a traditional string instrument.
The Congress of Women received a windshield tour of the base and then visited the dining facility, where they met with female Airmen and Kyrgyz women working on the base.
"I have very positive feelings about this place. I feel very comfortable here," Mrs. Sultanbekova said. "I will share my impression with my folks and let them know that the Transit Center is carrying out a peacemaking mission."
