Next in our series, Rooted in Resilience: From Crisis to Opportunity, is the story of Mukanbet Ibraev in the Kyrgyz Republic. For more photos and stories of the Aga Khan Foundation’s partners, please download our 2013 annual report.

At the southern fringe of the former Soviet Union, Mukanbet Ibraev has worked as a veterinarian in rural Naryn province for 32 years. He serves 400 farmers a month and has cared for 10,000 sheep, over 600 horses, and hundreds of cattle, ducks, goats, yaks, dogs, and cats. To reach his most remote patients in these mountains, he travels four hours by car. Sometimes he works through the night until noon the next day.

Yet like Kyrgyzstan’s other rural veterinarians, Mukanbet has lost the support system he relied on for decades. Since the Soviet Union dissolved and government subsidies ended, farmers must pay for veterinary services and medicines. Many farmers resist this new reality.

In Soviet times, 180 veterinarians served Naryn; now only 45 remain. Meanwhile the number of animals in their care has multiplied. Many veterinarians gave up, but Mukanbet has struggled to protect animals from disease and other risks to public health and farm livelihoods.

The Aga Khan Foundation and its affiliate, the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme(MSDSP), help Mukanbet and the local veterinarians’ association fill the gaps. With funding from the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. (AKF USA), the Naryn Veterinarians Association and other civil society organizations received support for the shift to private practice. They acquired new strategies and skills through training and access to crucial medicines.

As an elder of the Naryn Veterinarians Association, Mukanbet keeps his skills fresh and learns private-practice skills alongside fellow vets. He has learned how to perform Caesarian section births and how to use in-vitro fertilization to improve local cattle breeds.

Mukanbet also mentors younger members, and learns how to help farmers improve their operations, including persuading them to pay for vaccinations.

“Poorer farmers always pay what they owe,” Mukanbet observes. “They know the value of their animals for their lives.”

Like many vets, Mukanbet’s biggest hurdle remains access to medicines, so AKF USA has helped purchase them. Through the veterinarians’ association and focused outside support, Mukanbet and other members are caring for the animals of Naryn. Along with the association, the whole community benefits from a better system for health and livelihood.

Livestock remains a major factor in many Kyrgyz communities’ economies and cultures, so AKF’s support in strengthening the veterinarians’ group plays a vital role. By helping the private veterinarians transition toward entrepreneurial practices and building their capacity for leading their clients in that direction, AKF helps sustain long-term improvements in rural quality of life. Meanwhile people like Mukanbet are doing the heavy lifting, creating civil society organizations for a strong and healthy community.

For more about the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. and how it supports civil society, download the 2013 AKF USA annual report. Check out the full Rooted in Resilience: From Crisis to Opportunity series here, and be sure to join us on Facebook!