By Carol Hiltner | President, Altai Mir University
This is the answer to an urgent need that we've been working on for years! A BMW -2000 sedan has been donated to our working group in Gorno-Altaisk. It needs repairs, of course, as well as spare parts to keep it operational over the incredibly rough roads of the Altai Mountains.
The car solves a number of problems. It supports our culture-sustaining programs by enabling Svetlana Katynova to take young throat-singers to local festivals that are difficult and expensive to get to otherwise. It enables her to transport materials to Tyunger Village, where she does much of her humanitarian work; it's about 7 hours by car. By public transportation, it requires an overnight. Later this month, she will transport three singers to a contest in Ulagan district.
Svetlana's husband Sasha, who is in his mid-sixties, was never able to get work other than manual labor despite a degree in philology (because of racial discrimination against indigenous people). He has been an electrician, working in construction of new high-rises. It's grueling work, outside in -30 winter weather and 35+ summer weather, schlepping coils of cable up multiple storeys. Now, he will use the car as a taxi driver during the summer tourist season.
Your support will be leveraged well. Right now, the exchange rate for the ruble is particularly good for donations.
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