The pensioners realise they have to push the already hard-pressed authorities to act on their behalf, but know this is not an easy task. Also, as the elderly members grow older, they say they need new blood in their groups. Church development agencies from Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway are working to enable social mobilisation and partnership-building take place in the area, which has lacked many government facilities since the end of the Soviet era.
Sitting in an office fronted by a big statue of Russian Revolution leader Vladimir Illyich Lenin, the deputy-mayor of Balykchy, Mederrolov Taalaibek, whom many officials say actually runs the city, explains that his resource-strapped council often does not have the wherewithal to deal with residents' problems. He stresses that he works very closely with NGOs to solve the problems of vulnerable people.
Taalaibek, who has been in his position for nine years, says, "Since the collective system stopped functioning, it has been difficult for many people." He notes that one consequence is that many of the elderly are lonely. The official speaks like a bureaucrat who would like to cut out the red tape, and who is desperate for resources in his town, which lies at a strategic nexus to nearby Kazakhstan and China.
"We are trying to solve problems and listen to the self-help groups, and want to act on their concerns like the water problem. But how we can do it is not always an easy answer," says the deputy-mayor. "Sometimes I have to act like a psychologist, sometimes like a lawyer."
Still, things are getting better, and despite bureaucracy from above, the town's revenue is increasing. Its budget was 25 percent higher in 2007 than the previous year. Balykchy's economy grew by 50 percent in 2006, but it does not all trickle down the poor yet, says the deputy-mayor.
"Real estate is getting very expensive," said Taalaibek. "Five years ago, you could get a two- or three-room apartment for US$100 or $200. Now it is going to cost $5000 or $6000.
Galina Kovalenko, executive director at the Resource Centre for the Elderly in Balykchy says, "We are lucky we have a very enlightened deputy-mayor here. We have developed the self-help groups and they are forming their own federations. They know how to lobby but still need help. What we really need in more employment to break the logjam."
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This is the second of a series looking at what some of the church-backed self-help groups in this region of central Asia are doing, and how they are affecting people's lives in an area that is both static and rapidly changing for the citizens who battle to cope there.
[Source: ENI]
