99865 Village Investment Projects in the Kyrgyz Republic― Addressing Poverty at the Village Level Natalya Iosipenko and Kubat Sydykov of the Communications Team in the Kyrgyz Republic tell the story. Photo Gallery Over the last few years, small community-driven projects have touched many far-flung Kyrgyz communities. They range from push-button traffic lights that save the lives of school children crossing busy roads, to school heating systems, bridges, health posts, computer centers, machinery workshops, textile cooperatives, storefronts, and even morgues. Almost half of the Kyrgyz Republic's scattered population of 5 million has benefited from these Village Investment Projects, Related Links which are supported by the World Bank. Implementing Agency (ARIS) For example, until the project helped build a basic gym in Second Village Investment Project Kyzyl Tuu, there was little for the village's young people to do. Project Brief Now teenagers and others can take part in organized classes at the new sports facility, and stay fit and busy. The World Bank in the Kyrgyz Republic In the village of Chymkorgon, the water runs clean and uninterrupted thanks to new stand-pipes, a new water tower and water treatment facility. A long time headache of how to find, fetch, and store clean water has been solved, much to the villagers' delight. And girls in Naryn Oblast learn to sew clothes, blankets, accessories, and handicrafts, gaining professional skills and earning small amounts of cash. Run entirely by the Kyrgyz people, the project has improved and developed capacity at the village and community level and has empowered tens of thousands of citizens, most for the first time. Micro-project handbooks give villagers an idea of what they might strive to achieve. A range of training events helps them plan how to attain those goals. Communities pick their priorities, plan the implementation of the project, and manage the grant money. If necessary, they hire contractors, and they must pitch in with cash and labor. All financial and contractual information is posted on community bulletin boards, which provides an effective check on corruption, as everybody can audit the information. Local response has been enthusiastic, generating dozens of ideas for ways to improve communities across the country's remote mountains and valleys. The average of the villagers' contributions far exceeded the 25 percent community contribution required per micro-project. In the first phase of the project (VIP 1), 1,661 villages implemented 4,344 micro projects. So far in VIP 2, currently underway, 5,038 micro-projects have been implemented. Kyrgyz villages need the projects and the capacity development they bring. Two-thirds of the Kyrgyz population lives in rural areas where the predominant economic activity is agriculture. Despite considerable growth in agricultural output over the past decade, rural poverty remains pervasive. Three-quarters of the rural population is poor, of which 80 percent is extremely poor. Much of the farming is based on subsistence. Employment and income- earning opportunities outside farming are very scarce in most rural areas. Significant voids in basic services exist because of the disappearance of old structures and systems. Infrastructure wasn't maintained, neither was the provision of drinking water. Free health care and child care is no longer available. What's more, access to health services and education is limited for the rural poor. Equally limited access to essential infrastructure impedes the emergence of rural non-farm enterprises that could provide employment and ease the pressure on scarce farmland. Many of the young, discouraged by the lack of prospects in the villages, look for ways to leave. The project is designed in such a way that each community involved is guaranteed four years of financial support as long as it sticks to the project's rules. This medium-term commitment seeks to avoid a situation in which villages benefit for one year but are left to their own devices the next. Continuity also allows villagers to plan ahead and move up the development ladder. In the first year of the program, poor villagers overwhelmingly chose to implement micro-projects addressing basic social needs. In subsequent years, there is a greater tendency to invest in income-generating and productive micro- projects. The project design is intended to ensure sustainability of investments financed and of citizen involvement in local decision making, as well as local government accountability to its constituents. A financial rate of return assessment conducted upon completion of VIP 1 found that most projects had spectacular rates of return compared to appraisal estimates. This has been attributed to the thrift and ingenuity of the villagers who have conscientiously seized the opportunities provided to improve their communities and livelihoods. The project is managed by the Community Development and Investment Agency (ARIS in Russian), which is an autonomous quasi-public agency with two regional offices and ten small oblast-level offices, established in 2003. It is a testament to the importance of the project and its positive effect on people's lives that several villagers have named their children Aris in honor of the implementation Agency whose Russian acronym has become synonymous with VIP and the bottom-up people-centered development in the Kyrgyz Republic.