Kyrgyzstan
It’s sad to say but I had never even heard of the country Kyrgyzstan (pronounced Kur-gi-stan). After learning about the country’s poverty rates, I could only stop and consider their situation with prayer. Kyrgyzstan used to be part of the Soviet Union until in 1991 they were able to gain their independence. After that they had to basically start over and become a country all their own without the pressure of the Soviet Union, but also without the regulations they had been living under and were used to for so long.
Finding their independence came with a price because not only were they “one of the poorest ex-Soviet republics” at the time, they also had to shift from a “planned to market economy” (childpoverty.org) These were drastic but needed changes and they were able to join the World Trade Organization seven years later. Although most of the economy is fed from their agriculture, it hasn’t been enough yet to sustain most of the population out of the poverty gutter.
These numbers will put a damper on your mood and a tear in your eye, “57 per cent of urban infants under 1, and 65 per cent of rural under 1s lived in poverty” in 2001. Although before Kyrgyzstan’s independence most children utilized education benefits and also the country “had much higher levels of health and education than many higher-income countries,” (childpoverty.org) since the independence the country has declined drastically from both of those areas. Now children can be found working full time jobs to help with income.
Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre CHIP (2007). Country Overviews Kyrgyzstan. Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=countryo#25.
It was very sad to read about the infant poverty rate in Kyrgstan :(. I, too had never heard of this country before (and Google'd it once I read your blog post). It is sad to know that children in this country are working full time jobs to help with income. I wish children in this country had a chance to be young and play instead of work like adults.
ReplyDeleteCaitlyn
You were right about putting a damper on my mood! I had heard about Kyrgyztan before but only because my ex-mother-in-law went there in 2001 on a mission to advocate and assist women and children in domestic violence situations. She returned from her trip completely heartbroken and felt depressed for several months by what she saw and experienced. Since that time she has joined an organization that offers an exchange program. Every 2 years, she goes to Kyrgyzstan while a woman delegate from Kyrgyzstan comes to the US. They exchange training and information within the field of woman and child rights. She feels she is making an impact. After her last exchange, she said that she feels inspired--it is still very depressing but she is seeing change and feels hopeful for the future.
ReplyDelete~Shawn