Revive Altai cultural/environmental sustainability

After the children stranded in Gorno-Altaisk because of washed-out roads were able to get home, project leader Svetlana Katynova made the grueling two-day trip to Tyungur Village at the base of Mount Belukha. With your donations for materials, she had built a free children's camp there over the past several years, to immerse local children in their native culture and to teach them their language and heritage.

The camp was completely destroyed by the flooded Katun River, which rose in June to thirty feet above normal spring highs. What remained is a tangle of tree trunks and brush. Svetlana made the best of it: "At least we won't lack for firewood this winter."

However, because Tyungur Village was completely flooded and the villagers are essentially on their own, the kids' camp was needed more than ever -- if only to free the adults to rebuild their homes. Svetlana arranged for the camp to be moved to the Ust Kan district, which was not affected by the flooding. She sends her deepest gratitude for your donations that enabled the camp to continue.

Then she and her husband Sasha -- both senior citizens now -- returned to Tyungur to help with the clean-up. The villagers may have plenty of wood, but their subsistence gardens were all washed away. So your autumn donations will help provide for winter food, which is essential for cultural sustainability. Thank you for your interest and support.