Our mission
We are committed to creating a society without violence through promoting the rights of women and working to end domestic violence, sexual assault, bride kidnapping and other forms of human trafficking in Kyrgyzstan.
We provide shelter and holistic services to victims, while training leaders on how to prevent, identify, and eliminate violence in their own communities.
Our story
We established the Meerman Crisis Center in Karakol, a small city in the beautiful, mountainous Issyk Kul region of Kyrgyzstan. Surrounded by villages and six hours from the country’s capital, our region has historically lacked access to services for vulnerable women and children.
Meerman was established as its own non-governmental entity in 2017, though it was born out of its parent community development association, ICDC, which was founded in 2003. Meerman is the only crisis center and shelter in the Issyk-Kul region in continuous operation for the last 12 years, providing services to over 1,000 women and children from the region who may otherwise be unable to access support.
Our team
Our team is composed of four full-time staff, all of whom have over 12 years of experience in community development, as well as training in social work, clinical mental health, and nursing. Their team is assisted by two casual night staff and two international advisors who specialize in psychological medicine, mental health, and financial accounting.
Our structure & ethics
Our partners
- U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
- U.S. Embassy Democracy Commission
- United Nations Development Project (UNDP)
- FHI360
- Social Department of Child and Family Care
- Ministry of Labour, Social Welfare and Migration
- Karakol Polyclinic, Regional Maternity Hospital
- Independent lawyers “Abiyir El”
- Pro Bono Government Group of Lawyers
- Alliance of Crisis Centers, “Sezim” Crisis Center, “’Ulukman Dariger” CC
- Red Crescent (Moon), Karakol
- District Administration, Ak-Suu and Ton Districts
- Department of Education in Ak-Suu and Ton Districts
- Department of Health in Ak-Suu and Ton Districts
- Health committees in Ak-Suu and Ton Districts
- Local Committees for the Prevention of Domestic Violence in Ak-Suu and Ton Districts
Meerman Crisis Center 