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Expedition to Lenin Peak

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Lenin Peak

Make Well to People

Kyrgyzstan is tremendously beautiful country. Mother-nature has gifted it with unique mountainous landscape, occupying better part of the whole country. Great number of Kyrgyz people lives in high-land villages (ayils) where they keep on with their century-old traditions. Only one road – the Pamir Highway – connects them to the outer world. The road plays an important role of a channel, through which comforts and gifts of civilization can only penetrate into most remote mountain settlements where highlanders live their hard life full of everyday duty and care. In the harsh Pamir environment they are to depend on themselves when they build their houses, graze their sheep, cook their food…

Eight hours driving from city Osh on the Pamir Highway brings you to the settlement called “Kashka-Suu” – one of the nearest settlements to the Base Camp (3,600m) at the foot of the Peak Lenin. Because of the proximity, in summer, men from Kashka-Suu willingly cooperate with tourist companies who run their own base camps there. “Pamir Expeditions” has long established not simply good business but also purely human and strong friendly relations with the diligent villagers, the friendship worked out in the course of mutual summer activities.

Employees of “Pamir Expeditions” many a time have been invited as honoured guest to take part in various festivities organised by people of Kashka-Suu village. It should be noted that despite their quite modest material situation the villagers have always been exceptionally kind and hospitable. “Pamir Expeditions” has always been greatly respectful towards these people and their traditions and lifestyle. The company’s basic principle is paying back for good and supporting people in need through doing company’s utmost.
On 7th August 2007, an annual charitable action has been organised by “Pamir Expeditions”. Based on the list put together by Mr.Mamatzia Zulumbaevich Aysabekov, the Head of Chong-Alay District Administration, “Pamir Expeditions” company’s representatives have publicly presented 15 most needy people of two neighbouring villages (Kashka-Suu and Yukos) with some aid in cash. Action like that has become a good tradition. The aid is not that big, really. But helping people and making them a little bit happier – isn’t it good? And we love doing that.

First we made our way to Yukos. The village has acquired its name in not that long gone Soviet time when it housed South-Kyrgyz (Botanical) Testing Station. “Yukos” is just Russian abbreviation of the name of the station. At sunset, villagers began to slowly get together near the local shop. Unhurriedly, village’s elders were coming up, some using their walking sticks, others being accompanied by their bare-foot grandchildren. It’s worth mentioning that despite extremely hard living conditions of higher altitudes, the highland villages always full of children – cheerful, sincere and well-brought-up. With amazing ease they get accustomed to most “Spartan” living environment and hard work, which, sometimes, even town-grown adults cannot bear easily.
A covey of cheerfully chirping boys rushed by gazing at us with interest and then quietly “landed” nearby. Seemingly, they did not see that many strangers visiting there and our visit was becoming an event of the day for them. In silence, both they and we were studying each other for a while. Soon women started coming up – with their children and without. Little by little, up to 30 people gathered around – quite a crowd for a small settlement. Over next twenty minutes many a sincere and warm word were pronounced on both side. But much better than any words of gratitude the people’s happy eyes were speaking for them.

Then we moved on to Kashka-Suu village where in the office of local administration we were already awaited by families invited for a meeting. There were people of different ages got together in the room. And their faces were telling us of their life, which definitely was not easy. It was a moment when one comes to knowledge that we, humans, can and must help other people as any kind of assistance makes life of needy people a bit easier. And that is really worth doing.

Leaving the office of local administration, we were firm in our decision to come back here again next year. And not only we will come by ourselves but bring with us all those guests of our Base Camp who would like to join us so that to personally contribute and take part in distribution of the material aid to those people in need and, in full measure, feel and show the villagers the degree of our sympathy and interest to their destiny.

Because people can and must make well to people.

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