Winters in Kyrgyzstan
Helping older people weather the harshest winters
How would you cope with a winter that dragged on for months, regularly hitting temperatures as severe as -20⁰C? Maybe you would batten down the hatches, turn up the heating to "max", and make yourself a steaming hot chocolate.
These comforts are an impossible dream for people like 75-year-old Jursun and 66-year-old Asker, who dread the onset of winter in their home country of Kyrgyzstan. Lacking enough money to pay for continuous electric heating or even coal, they are often reduced to burning manure or dry leaves to keep warm.
These fuels only provide a brief spell of warmth before they die out. And when that happens, Jursun and Asker cannot even turn to a steaming bowl of stew to keep going. With most of their meagre pensions spent on fuel, their winter diets are often reduced to bread and tea - just at a time when they need nutrition most.
Providing direct relief
As a grandmother caring for young grandchildren, Jursun really feels the pressure when winter strikes. Her son left to work in the nearest town and does not earn enough to send any money home. While she does all she can to keep the family healthy, bread and tea are just not enough for the three of them. They need daily hot meals and a properly warm home.
We are stepping in to support older people like Jursun with a programme of ground-breaking measures that go beyond direct relief.
Of course, in an emergency, direct help can save lives - and we reach out to older people whose health and well-being have hit a dangerous low, providing shoes, blankets, thermos flasks and kerosene lamps.
Exploring long term innovation
But our input does not stop there. Determined to tackle winter crises over the long term, we are exploring all kinds of innovative ways forward.
For instance, we are looking at how solar panels could harness energy for vulnerable older people, while also working with older people's groups to insulate homes and create "warm houses" for neighbours in need.
As with all our programs, our most valuable asset here is older people's own knowledge, expertise and self-reliance. They are being used to the full in our partnerships with local older people's groups, who tend to know exactly who needs help most and how to reach them.
But at the same time, their potential for action could truly blossom if they got more support from governments and aid agencies. For that reason, we are lobbying hard to make sure policy-makers include older people on their winter-crisis agendas, recognzsing the role they play as carers of grandchildren and bedrocks of their communities.