As follow-up to the Day in the Life installment from the Kyrgyz Republic, this week’s blog comes from Meder Usupbekov, social entrepreneurship contest winner and grant recipient. After joining the Change the World Around You! project workshop in Naryn in the Kyrgyz Republic, Meder, 26, was inspired to write a proposal on building wheelchair accessible ramps to public institutions in Naryn. Meder’s proposal was among 26 selected, and he attended social entrepreneurship training facilitated by the University of Central Asia’s School of Professional and Continuing Education (UCA-SPCE) in the capital city Bishkek. Following the training, Meder and other finalists defended their business plans to an independent selection committee. Meder was one of nine winners who each received up to $3,000 to implement their projects.

This blog is based on interviews with Meder and his mother Kayirsa Konushbaeva, conducted in September 2013 by Nurbek Nisharapov, Manager of Academic Affairs UCA-SPCE Naryn.

My desire to join active society compelled me to find a place where I could be with other youth. When I saw a TV advertisement about the university’s School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE), my family encouraged me to visit. I was very shy and found it difficult to talk to others. But my brother Azamat went to the School with me in the autumn of 2011. The first thing I noticed about the School was the ramp right in front of the building. I was able to easily negotiate the ramp in my wheelchair.

I had seen and used many ramps throughout Naryn Town; at shops, the market and chemists. However, those ramps were not constructed well and they were hard to use without any help. I had not seen any ramps at public buildings such as state libraries, hospitals, educational institutions and the post office. At that time, I thought I would like to learn more about these places that lacked wheelchair access.

I enrolled in IT courses at SPCE, which I successfully completed. Now, to improve my English, I am enrolled in SPCE’s Conversational English course. In 2010, I learned about the Change the World Around You! contest. I learned that if I submitted a proposal with an idea to solve a problem in our home town, I might win enough money to put that idea into practice!

I thought back to the first moment I saw the ramp at SPCE and I realized that we needed convenient and standardized ramps. The project was born out of an important need; a need I had experienced myself. I wrote my proposal and entered it into the competition. And it was selected! I was chosen to go with other finalists to SPCE in Bishkek for social entrepreneurship training. I was motivated and saw the training not as a challenge, but as an opportunity.

Being in Bishkek with other motivated youth and developing my business plan was just what I needed to begin something important. I improved my proposal; my business plan included building three wheelchair access ramps in public buildings around Naryn Town.

Meder with his award certificate.

When I won the competition, I couldn’t believe it! I am proud and my family, friends and neighbours have started to respect and treat me well. Except for my mother, I don’t think any of them thought I could achieve such success. When I showed them my winning certificate, it was a happy event in my neighborhood. My mother says that I have changed, grown up. She thinks that my attitude towards life has changed since I now have a clear role in this society.

My first ramp was built at the State Hospital, and this year, I’m planning to build another ramp in cooperation with the State Architecture Department at Naryn State University. With support from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Migration, I plan on building a third ramp at the State Musical and Drama Theatre in Naryn.

The ‘Change the World!’ Contest was implemented by UCA with support from the Aga Khan Foundation, Kyrgyzstan. The social entrepreneurship contest and projects were funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation and The Coca-Cola Company under the ‘Enhancing Opportunities for Youth in Income-generation, Entrepreneurship and Education in Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan’ project. Launched in July 2012, this one-year project aimed to improve socio-economic conditions for youth in these countries. For more photos of the contest winners and more stories of the Aga Khan Foundation’s partners, please download our 2012 annual report. Learn more about how the foundation supports social entrepreneurship here and here.