On August 27, 2014, The Embassy participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony at Chui Oblast Young Disabled People Civic Association to mark the opening of newly renovated facilities for the disabled. Through a $15,000 activity funded by the U.S. Department of State, Counterpart International fully repaired a large previously non-functional bathroom and three large workshops, with a new entrance ramp designated for disabled people. It already serves many disabled men and women, and they now have better conditions for their income-generating activities.
The Association was established in 2005 as a Union of Young Disabled People with different disabilities, who gathered to organize a workshop for carpentry, furniture making and sewing. In 2012, local administration donated a basement of the local Recreation Center to the Association, where its members opened their own carpenter workshop designed for all kinds of woodworking from small tools to large furniture. This workshop is used as a private business, where they make tools and furniture not only for themselves, but also for sale, to cover other expenses and finance various activities of the Association and its members.
Prior the project, the condition of the bathroom and workshops was very substandard. Moreover, the entrance stairway was very inconvenient and dangerous for most of the disabled members, especially to ones that used wheelchairs and crutches. In this situation, Counterpart Kyrgyzstan suggested to repair one large bathroom with a shower, three large workshops and an entrance ramp convenient for usage of wheelchairs and crutches, which would have been a practical and efficient measure to improve overall conditions at the facility.
