What's in it for me?

I think it’s about time I explain what’s been going on with my so-called “secondary projects.” Every PCV is expected to community related projects during their time at site. Many teachers do English clubs (I have 3) and organize summer camps (I’ll be working at 2), but the possibilities are endless. When I arrived in Petropavlovsk in November I inherited a secondary project tied to a non-profit organization called Project Hope Petropavlovsk (PHP). PHP was founded several years ago by Petro PCVs and local talents like Alexei (Losha). PHP was founded to provide a paperwork background to a growing English language library and a soup kitchen to feed Petro’s homeless. The library found a home in a spare room at the city library and paid its rent by library memberships and English classes taught by PCVs. However, something occurred that resulted in PHP’s removal from the library (sorry about the lack of detail, but all I know is that the library director now doesn’t like PC). The PCVs worked to find a new place where they could house both the library and the kitchen. They moved to the House of Mercy, a building owned by the local government, situated conveniently behind North Kazakhstan State University. Rent was low, and because most of the library patron were university students, the location was ideal. For two or three years, the kitchen and library worked well. Last year sometime, the kitchen needed to be renovated, and the weekly meals came to a halt. When I arrived at site, we had a library with great possibilities to organize and expand our collection and local participation. Forrest, a Kaz-18, wrote and received a grant to use for the soup kitchen to the amount of 1000 USD, which appeared in the PC bank account in January.

About a month after Mike and I arrived, the akimat (local government) decided to give the building we were occupying to the University to be made into a museum of some sort. They told us to be out by the end of January. We moved all the books, movies, bookshelves, tables and chairs to various locations including Megan and Forrest’s apartments, Forrest’s college, and Zhenya’s (a local PHP volunteer) apartment. We started looking for a new place to rent. Rent at the House of Mercy cost 8000 KzT a month, which I can earn in 8 hours of tutoring. All the places we found were asking for 20000 KzT or more, which we would have difficulty affording and would definitely not be sustainable (a major PC goal) when PC leaves Kazakhstan. So, we have been homeless ourselves, with a couple thousand books and over a hundred movies sitting in boxes under beds and in closets, and 1000 USD gathering dust (unfortunately they don’t do savings account interest in this country) in a bank in Almaty. Our local help – the director and several PHP volunteers are local – has flaked out for the most part, and we don’t quite know where we’re headed.

As for the library, we’re in a holding pattern, trying to raise capital by tutoring and teaching extra classes while keeping our eyes open for a cheap place. We are starting foreign language classes at the Kazakh Gymansia next week, which will bring in a substantial bit more than our previous classes were. And it looks like I’ll be teaching some Spanish! The long term prospects don’t look too optimistic though, and we are considering handing out collection over to the local library that has a great American Corner in their Foreign Language Department.

We are, with a little more hope, looking into a place to do the kitchen. We just need to spend the grant money and then move on to other projects that might not be so problematic. We have met so much resistance along the way from local organizations that it is frustrating to see spring roll around and we’ve missed the key time when people need food the most. None of the churches or mosques or schools will give us access to their kitchens because homeless people pose a major sanitation risk that no one is willing to take. We found a homeless shelter/drug rehabilitation center, but the director wouldn’t talk to us. I don’t understand. We have a thousand dollars and want to help YOU do YOUR job to help the people in YOUR city. Our next plan is to go through the akimat (essentially going over the home shelter director’s head) to find some government facility to use. The problem is that many government officials are corrupt and expect some sort of bribe or personal kick-back from helping us to distribute this money. Unfortunately, Forrest didn’t write that expense into the budget, so we can’t get very far when the officials start asking, “What’s in it for me?”

The whole experience has been an ongoing mess, hence my procrastinating in writing about it. I do think that things will work out, but I’m just a little frustrated seeing my hours of tutoring and teaching for money having no further effect than that of the participants’ English ability. After IST, I’m full of ideas for other secondary projects that I just don’t have time and energy for because I’m stymied with PHP’s lack of direction and progress.