Capital: Bishkek
Area: 198,500 km²
Population: 5.1 million (July 2005)
Ethnic groups: Kyrgyz, Russian, Uzbek, Ukrainian, German and other groups
Official language(s): Kyrgyz
Religion(s): Muslim, Russian Orthodox and other religions
Currency: 1 som = 100 tyiyn
SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country
In 1996 SOS-Kinderdorf International started with the SOS Children's Villages' work in Kyrgyzstan, which had become independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. The national SOS Children's Village association was recognised by the Kyrgyz government in the summer of 1997. The country, which is a presidential republic, has insufficient funds to provide adequate accommodation for orphaned and abandoned children. Therefore, SOS-Kinderdorf International built the first SOS Children's Village in the north of the country, in the capital Bishkek.
The first families moved into SOS Children's Village Bishkek early in 1999 and the attached SOS Kindergarten, which is also open to children from the neighbourhood, went into operation at the same time. As the need for suitable places for orphaned and abandoned children is very high, a second SOS Children's Village was built on lake Issyk Kul, in the small town of Cholpon-Ata. At the same time, an SOS Hermann Gmeiner School was built next to SOS Children's Village Bishkek.
At present there are two SOS Children’s Villages in Kyrgyzstan with an attached SOS Kindergarten each, one SOS Youth Facility, two Family Strengthening Programmes and an SOS Hermann Gmeiner School.
Contact:
SOS Children's Villages Kyrgyzstan
Isanova street 94, flat #3
720001 Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan
tel. +996-312-61 07 27
fax +996-312-61 07 27