Kazakh Classes: Karabulak’s Community Project

Last week, the director of my current organization graciously gave me a week to travel to help start a Kazakh course for adults in Karabulak. The last time I was in Karabulak was about 4 months ago. Due to a lack of work in the area, I had to move to Ecik. I hadn't been back to Karabulak and Taldykorgan since. At first, I was very nervous. How would I be received? Did people resent me for leaving? Would I even be remembered?

In Karabulak, I didn't have to worry about any of these things. It was like I never left. People were surprised to see me, but were happy. I walked around town, saw my host family, and hit my host brother Calvin and Hobbs style with a snowball. I went to my favorite café, visited a teacher at a school where I had a song and games club, and went to grandparents of my host family, but they weren't home. Their dog, usually psychotic, didn't even try to bite me.

I saw even more friends in Taldykorgan. I visited more English classes, hung out a lot with the volunteers in the area, and saw my old Russian tutor. I rediscovered tofu, went ice skating, and met my match on the chess board. Random kids stopped me on the street to say hello and to ask if there would be more whiffleball and soccer in the park next summer. They remembered me and the Kaz 19's who started it.

Although it was great to renew friendships and hang out, the main reason I went was to help Karabulak with their community project. We didn't get as much done as we thought, but we made a good start.

It's probably best to explain why I was still involved in a project at my old site. When I moved, my manager gave me three options regarding our project. I could pass along the project to another volunteer in the area, cancel the project entirely, or do it myself. I chose the last option because the Kazakh courses are a true community project. One group alone could not implement this project. For example, my old organization, the Karabulak Community Learning Center, knows how to publicize and organize the courses, but doesn't have a teacher or money. The local government decided to pay for the salary of the teacher. Local citizens in the town contributed their time and effort and are building tables, donating a room free of charge for one year as well as utilities. I helped get everyone working together on the same page. Together, we can make it a success, and I wanted to be a part of it.

Receiving the funds from Peace Corps took a lot longer than we anticipated. This pushed back the timeframe of our project. Originally, we wanted to start in September, but due to several reasons outside of our control, we received the funds in late November. Just like with last year, because there are so many holidays in Kazakhstan in December, we decided to open the courses in mid January. Therefore, this trip was limited to finding equipment, buying the Kazakh textbooks and formal advertizing.

We also had great talks about grant management and project design. My favorite conversation was an argument between my old director and I about buying a chalkboard. The chalkboard was 50% off because of a New Year sale, but I didn't understand the word for "sale" in Russian. I thought it was 50% more expensive, and out of our budget. My old director wanted to buy it, but was nervous because it was way less than our budget, which is a great thing. It took over an hour but we figured everything out and bought the chalkboard.

I will be going back to Karabulak after the holidays when the courses start, and will have pictures and a full update.

One of the most powerful moments during the trip was the gratitude expressed by my old director and some of the local people to the people who donated to our project. We all thank you, and will have pictures and more information, pictures, and a full update when the classes finally begin.