[Ohio-talk] Fwd: [Chapter-presidents] Building the Federation in Kyrgyzstan

Mon Apr 13 13:21:45 UTC 2015

I thought that this was an interesting post that maybe people wold like to help with. She is a great young woman.

Barbara
Barbara Pierce 
President Emerita
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
Barbara.pierce9366 at gmail.com
440-774-8077
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you zwant; blindness is not what holds you back.

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> Date: April 11, 2015 at 6:52:09 AM EDT
> To: NFB Chapter Presidents discussion list <chapter-presidents at nfbnet.org>, nfbc-east-bay <nfbc-east-bay at googlegroups.com>, nfbc-info <nfbc-info at nfbnet.org>, cabs-talk <cabs-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: [Chapter-presidents] Building the Federation in Kyrgyzstan
> From: "Serena O. via Chapter-presidents" <chapter-presidents at nfbnet.org>
> Reply-To: "Serena O." <olsen.serena at gmail.com>, NFB Chapter Presidents discussion list <chapter-presidents at nfbnet.org>
> 
> Greetings from Kyrgyzstan Federation Family!
> 
> Winter snow has melted for the last time, spring has sprung, and
> summer heat is already sweeping the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek.
> With each passing season, the movement to change what it means to be
> blind in Central Asia grows and thrives even more.A little
> organization called Empower Blind People started just a few years ago
> from the curiosity and passion of Elnura Emilkanova, who some of you
> may know from her time in Louisiana and with the Federation, and
> Gulnaz Zhezbaeva, who Elnura brought to be a student at the Louisiana
> Center for the Blind and who is now a vital part in making the work of
> this new organization happen.  EBP is growing from a variety of
> short-term outreach and training projects to a fully functioning
> training center, graduating ten students from its first comprehensive
> residential training program of five months, a second residential
> training cycle nearly complete with seven new students and three
> return students continuing their training and learning to become
> trainers themselves, and grant funding secured for a third training
> cycle to begin in July with new students and trainers-in-training.  An
> organization for Parents of Blind Children has been established and
> after school programs will introduce blind children to braille, canes,
> and blind role models.
> 
> When Elnura connected with the Federation and especially when she
> finally arrived in Ruston herself, she knew that no one back in
> Kyrgyzstan would believe or truly understand what it really meant for
> blind people to live full, active, and independent lives unless they
> saw it themselves, and that is why she brought Gulnaz to LCB and
> arranged for other Kyrgyz blind people and service providers to come
> to the US and see it for themselves.  And so the quandry remains, As
> lond as Elnura and Gulnaz are the primary few who truly understand the
> full lives that can be led by blind people, the growth of this
> movement in Central Asia will grow very slowly.  For this reason, it
> is vital in these early stages of development to get key future Kyrgyz
> blind leaders to get that firsthand experience to bring back and share
> with others here.
> 
> A bright young lady by the name of Hayot will be that next leader.
> Thanks to the contributions and support of our Federation Family and
> others, She has a summer job at Enchanted Hills Camp lined up for her
> with the LightHouse for the Blind & Visually Impaired San Francisco
> and will attend the NFB national convention in Orlando in July thanks
> to the Louisiana Center for the Blind.  In both of these places, she
> will connect with hundreds, perhaps thousands of competent blind role
> models and peers, soak for the summer in the high-expectations and
> positive philosophy of the Federation, and bring the corresponding
> confidence back to Kyrgyzstan, where she will be finishing her English
> degree at Osh State University, where she lives in the southern part
> of Kyrgyzstan.
> 
> This is the part where we urgently need your generous support.  Hayot
> can't have these unique experiences, not yet available in Kyrgyzstan,
> if we can't her there, and the only piece missing now is the airfare
> from Bishkek to San Fransisco and back and between San Fransisco and
> Orlando.  We launched a Go Fund Me campaign to cover the cost of these
> tickets and it is 30% funded, but we can't buy 30% of a plane ticket
> and 30% of the distance doesn't connect her to the thriving blind
> community we know in the US.  Here's how you can support:
> 
> Make a contrribution at www.gofundme.com/blindleadersKG.  This is our
> most immediate need to fulfill this project and premiums are available
> for contributions of $50 or more.
> 
> Spread the word.  Forward this email, share the
> www.gofundme.com/blindleadersKG link with your friends, families,
> and/or other networks.
> 
> Is there a creative way you can organize a force multiplier in your
> contribution?  Ask others to match?  Take a collection at the office?
> Bake sale?  Car wash?  A challenge to do something unexpected?
> 
> Join Empower Blind People on Facebook and Twitter @ebp_kg to follow
> the exciting things that are developing here all the time, like and
> share our posts and help us tell the world that EBP is changing what
> it means to be blind in Central Asia.
> 
> As for me, Serena, serving as a Peace Corps Bolunteer in the service
> of EBP, the action never stops, my Kyrgyz gets a little better
> everyday, and the opportunities for learning & growing are limitless.
> I look forward with great pleasure to attending national convention
> this summer and a brief visit back to California thereafter, and hope
> to connect with as many of you as I can!
> 
> Thanks in advance for your contributions and support!
> 
> With gratitude,
> 
> 
> -- 
> Serena Olsen, MAIPS, NCLB
> Peace Corps Volunteer, Kyrgyz Republic 2014-15: Empower Blind People
> Blog: http://blindbroadabroad.wordpress.com
> 
> "We are all born to be the hero of our own story." --Deepak Chopra
> 
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