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Manas volunteers donate supplies to Kyrgyzstan school

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Phyllis Hanson
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFNS) --  Manas Service Organization volunteers from here delivered a brand-new generator, refrigerator and stove Feb. 20 to the Vasilievka Kindergarten School in Kyrgyzstan.

Members of the 376th Expeditionary Operations Group and the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing staff make up the Manas Service Organization, which is a private organization that has a partnership with six local villages to help the towns improve their quality of life. 

Organization members work closely with the mayors and principals to assess and prioritize the needs of each community, namely the village schools.

Donation of the generator is just one of the many projects the team has taken on since becoming a partner with the village. At this particular school, more than 1,000 volunteer hours and more than $3,000 enabled the base volunteers to build a schoolyard fence, give out 50 boxes of school supplies and teachers' educational aids as well as toys for the children.

"Being a part of the Manas Service Organization is rewarding. I get to see results of the work that gets put into a project and it is always rewarding to see the smile on a child face, knowing you helped put it there," said Tech. Sgt. Chad West, who is assigned to the 376th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. "I am the type of person who likes to fix things. So every time I would go to the village school I would just see what needed fixed or built and would try to accomplish that.

"For success, the Manas Service Organization just needs dedicated volunteers. Selfless people with a desire to want to help others," said Sergeant West who is deployed from the Arkansas Air National Guard at Fort Smith. "It was a joy to become a fixture to the teachers and kids at Vasilievka School and I will miss them long after I have left. I just hope they remember me as the American who was reliable and always willing to help."

With a fixer-upper attitude, the Airmen have done everything from repairing and painting playground equipment, to funding a water pump and indoor plumbing. 

Volunteers were invited back to the school as honorary guests of the children who were celebrating, "The Day of the Protector," which honors the men of Kyrgyzstan. The children marched into the room clapping to traditional Kyrgyz music. From ages 2 to 7, the children, many adorned in traditional, colorful Kyrgyz attire, sat on tiny wooden chairs that lined three walls of the long, wooden-floored room. Each class took turns singing songs and reciting poems honoring the brave and the hope of peace and love.

"In gratitude of their dedication to our school, we felt we must give thanks," said Manzura Kushbaeva, the Vasilievka School principal. "This traditional day seemed fitting. Words can't express how grateful we are. The generator is such a benefit for us. Because of new electricity restrictions throughout Kyrgyzstan, the electricity is cut off for three hours at time in order to conserve energy, which leaves us without heat or power. This basically disables our school from functioning."

Ms. Kushbaeva said she looks forward to a long-lasting partnership with the people from the base, because they have proven that they truly care about the village and have done so much to help.

"Every time they visit, the children scream 'Hooray! The Americans are here!'" she said. "The people from Manas are a blessing to us. They have done so much for our school. We don't have many modern conveniences. The people from the base have given us things we could only dream about such as a new refrigerator and stove. We enjoy this partnership with the Air Force for they have helped us bring back this school that the village so desperately needed."

Ten years after the fall of the Soviet Union, what once was a school was sold to a private owner and was to be turned into a cheese factory. But nothing became of the empty school that was once filled with developing youngsters wanting to learn. The town no longer had a school for the children, so many of the parents gave up work to take care of their children.

Ms. Kushbaeva was a teacher at the time of the school's demise. In 1999, she and her family with help from other villagers took back the school to give their children a place of education again. She felt it her calling to bring back the school that she so loved. Her dreams are slowly becoming a reality, as the broken-windowed shell of a building is now becoming a bright, warm place again where 75 children get a good education in preparation for grade school and beyond. The building is only half renovated. Once complete, it will meet the needs of 150 young ones, she said.

"We really hope to help the children obtain a better quality of life by improving their opportunity for education while also fostering good relations with those who live in communities around Manas," said Capt. Steven Mankins, of the 376th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron and is the Manas Service Organization vice president. He is deployed from the Air Mobility Command Headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. 

"I think it's great to get to go out and see the culture and be able to help the kids," he said." It's an opportunity to leave the community with a positive perspective of Americans."

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