In summer, the nomadic children in northern Kyrgyzstan move to high pastures with their families. For the last several years, there has finally been a place there where they can learn and socialize with other boys and girls: the yurt school.
Every day, Jenya Scharscheva, the head of the village kindergarten, comes to the school yurt. She focuses on activities related to playing and learning. One of her protégés is 12-year-old Alihan, who lives with his family in a yurt at an altitude of 2,000 meters.
Like almost all nomadic children, Alihan has to help his parents tend the pastures and lend a hand around the house. But the yurt school helps him to continue learning. During the Soviet era, the number of nomads in Kyrgyzstan fell sharply. Today, however, many Kyrgyz have returned to this old tradition - including Alihan's parents. Like their ancestors, they breed animals, especially horses, to earn a living in the breathtaking mountain landscape. In the yurt school, teacher Jenya tells the children a lot about traditional nomadic life and Kyrgyz traditions. They rehearse songs and poems for family celebrations. In this way, they learn about old Kyrgyz rituals. These include the "cradle festival", which welcomes newborns into the family and the "celebration of the first steps", which is organized by parents when a child learns to walk.
For nomadic children in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, summers used to be lonely and isolated. Now, that’s no longer the case, thanks to the yurt school.
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