Martin Fluch, a German teacher based in Osh, has finished a marathon from Bishkek to Osh, covering some 680 miles and some rough mountain-passes (over 3500meters high) along the way. His goal was to raise awareness on Kyrgyzstan’s poor educational system and apparently help bridge the country’s North-south divide. An avid mountaineer, Fluch has also made similar awareness-runs in Ukraine for another school he taught at, writes Asel at Neweurasia. In terms of road conditions and altitude variation, anyone who’s driven the length of Kyrgyzstan’s main highway can recognize that this is not equivalent to a stretch of road in most other countries. Read more on Fluch’s run and Kyrgyzstan’s education system at Eurasianet and 24.kg.
“I am an alpinist and a long-distance runner, but my heart is a teacher,” Martin told EurasiaNet. “I am making this run to generate money to buy new blackboards for our school and German books for my students.”
“Secondary school #18 is, comparatively speaking, well off for a Kyrgyz school. But the school still lacks lots of basic equipment. “Our education system is outdated,” said Aijan Toktomamatova, a senior at the school. “We do not have [access to] the Internet, chemistry and physics equipment, visual aids. We do not have enough computers.”
Publicity initiatives, such as Fluch’s long-distance run, may end up having a larger impact on securing additional resources for Kyrgyz schools than recent government programs. “Our schools will not survive without international support,” said Abbas Israilov, a 14-year-old pupil. “If the government cannot help [students], and parents do not make enough money, who then will provide a helping hand?”
Photo by Eric Gourlan, with Eurasianet.
