Our strategy
- Our projects are long-term and local, rather than short-term and based in the capital city.
- Our projects are based on relationships, not simply information. All our staff were born and raised in villages, giving us an inside understanding of the language, culture and mindset of village residents and their leadership. Thus, we use locally adapted methods of motivation to speak to the hearts of the leaders.
- Our solutions address root causes, not just external problems.
- Our solution uses the strength of the village, their values, their system of authority, their ways of working together to solve problems, rather than bringing in a solution from the outside which does not take root in the village soil.
Our projects
2017-Present: Operation of Meerman Crisis Center
Since its start, more than 1,000 women and children have been provided with safe housing, consultations, psychological interventions, legal aid, and basic necessities.
View more of our services here
Total women & children served
1000+
Total receiving consultation
600+
Total receiving shelter
400+
45
Village leaders formed 3 sustainable committees
250-300
Youth educated
75-80
School educators trained
- Community members were engaged through educating school teachers and youth on domestic violence, rape, bride kidnapping, and human trafficking and are now knowledgeable of their own and each other’s rights.
2018-2019: Communities Without Violence Project
Funded by Three Mountains Consultancy, Development, and Education Organization
Goal: Prevention of gender-based and sexual violence in Issyk-Kul region through raising awareness and through establishing local committees to assist victims.
Outcome:
- In each village, a sustainable committee was established, defined as a group of local activists, drawn from the existing community leaders, who are working together to develop and implement locally applicable solutions to benefit their community.
- Three sustainable committees were trained to respond to violence as well as to track migrant workers from their villages who have moved abroad for work, in order to prevent and identify labor and sex trafficking cases.
2019-2020: Wings Sunflower Project
Funded by United Nations Development Project
Goal:
- To better identify & address gender-based violence through the implementations of WINGS, “Women Initiating New Goals for Safety,” an evidence-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment service tool designed by Columbia University and implemented in 18 countries.
Outcome:
- 20 survivors of sexual violence were surveyed by Meerman according to the WINGS screening tool and provided with evidence-based brief interventions.
- Collaboration was facilitated among key local bodies involved in safety planning, including 5 other shelters in Kyrgyzstan, law enforcement, the medical system, and schools.
- Read more here.
6
Shelters in Kyrgyzstan trained in this evidenced-based approach
100
Total victims supported in year one across shelters
20
Victims supported through Meerman
8
Villages engaged
5
Sustainability committees formed
112
Beneficiaries in the community
- Community leaders were trained on the health, educational, vocational, and financial implications of GBV. Training was also provided on non-violent conflict resolution.
2020-2021: Villages against Gender-Based Violence Project
Funded by the U.S. Embassy Democracy Commission
Goals:
- Forge partnerships with eight villages in cooperation with local governments and their education departments.
- Provide educational seminars regarding legal protections related to gender-based violence as well as the impact of gender-based violence on women & children.
Outcomes:
- Meerman gathered community leaders and eight sustainable committees were formed to identify and aid at-risk women & children.
- Teachers were trained in gender-based violence awareness and were provided with the resources to incorporate this information into their curriculum.
2022-2024: Building Partnerships to Stop Violence in Issyk-Kul Region
Funded by U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Goals & Anticipated Outcomes:
- Women and girls who have experienced GBV will have direct access to services. These women will be primarily from the Issyk-Kul region, but referrals will be accepted from other regions also.
- All children in Ak-Suu and Ton Districts, with their parents and extending to the wider community, will be impacted through action within schools. They will be confronted with the negative impacts of GBV, will understand the rights of women and children, and will be motivated to decrease violence and support the vulnerable in their community.
- Members of 14 local government committees for the prevention of domestic violence (LCPDV) in Ak-Suu and Ton Districts, each comprising a social worker, social pedagogue, and health committee representative, felchers and village leaders will be directly impacted through conferences and visits. Approximately 220 people will attend 3 conferences, with follow up visits.
Expected Impact:
14
Local governmental committees engaged
16,000
Students & parents educated
220
Village leaders educated
Meerman Crisis Center 