TURKMENISTAN: NGO FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED FACES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000649 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KDEM SOCI TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: NGO FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED FACES REGISTRATION IMPASSE ¶1. (U) Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for Internet distribution ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The local NGO "Dayanch" provides moral support and technical assistance to visually impaired and blind people by publishing audio books and organizing reading sessions for them. Despite its affiliation with the state-run Library for the Visually Impaired, the NGO faces ongoing red tape in its efforts to register. Previous Embassy grants have enabled Dayanch to expand its services and outreach. Turkmen authorities do not provide high school graduation diplomas to blind and visually impaired people. Dayanch is the only NGO to provide an opportunity for visually impaired people to informally continue their education. It relies on the international donor community's support to continue its activities. END SUMMARY. ASSISTANCE TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE ¶3. (SBU) On May 14, Lyudmila Nikolayeva, the Information Technology Specialist and Administrative Manager of Dayanch NGO (in Turkmen Dayanch means reliance),briefed Embassy Political Assistant about the organization's background and activities. Working in affiliation with the State-funded Library for the Visually Impaired, Dayanch provides moral and technical assistance to visually impaired people by publishing audio books and loaning them free of charge to blind and visually impaired people. Founded in 2000, the NGO is an unregistered organization, although it attempted to register in 2001 and 2004. The organization consists of ten staff members and operates on funding provided by donor organizations. NGO RELIES ON DONOR SUPPORT ¶4. (SBU) Dayanch's activities includes publication of "talking books" audio books for blind and visually impaired people at its recording studio. While previously the NGO recorded its audio books on tapes, the receipt of U.S. Government grants in 2002, 2007 and 2008 enabled Dayanch to record its books on compact discs. The NGO then loans its books to blind or visually impaired people free of charge. Currently, around 300 blind and visually impaired persons of various ages benefit from Dayanch's activity. Dayanch also organizes reading sessions where its customers/listeners choose what books are read. The NGO's literature includes laws, popular science literature, fiction books and detective stories. ¶5. (SBU) Established in 2000 under the Library for the Visually Impaired under the Ministry of Culture, the NGO currently has three branch offices in Turkmenbashy, Bayramaly and Dashoguz in addition to its Ashgabat headquarters. In 2002, the Canadian Association of Local Initiatives provided financial assistance to Dayanch to obtain office space and office equipment. At present, the organization's staff includes three engineers, two book readers who receive their salary from the NGO, and volunteers such as Nikolayeva. ¶6. (SBU) Nikolayeva described the results of three grants from the Embassy that Dayanch received in 2002, 2007 and 2008 for a total amount of nearly USD 10,000. Thanks to these funds Dayanch was able to begin recording its books on CDs, to equip the library with 30 DVD players for blind people to listen to "talking books" recorded on CDs, to train the disabled to use the DVD players and produce 350 talking CDs and 1,000 talking tapes, as well as to buy MP3 players to keep in the group's office for blind people to use them in the office or borrow them for short periods of time. As a charity contribution, local shops sold MP3 players to the NGO at a discounted price. ¶7. (SBU) Dayanch would welcome an Embassy grant to buy an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to safeguard its equipment when power goes off (because they record a book for four hours non-stop), a chair with microphone and a desk, shelves for CDs and ten lamps. Currently, Nikolayeva is preparing a grant proposal to the Embassy for purchasing the above items for a total amount of USD 4,000. Also, Nikolayeva said that she has asked international donors to provide funding for the education of two or three blind youth at a ASHGABAT 00000649 002 OF 002 school in Bishkek. Because blind students do not receive a graduation diploma after finishing school, they cannot enter any higher educational institution to continue their education. According to Nikolayeva, this practice is a carry-over from the Soviet era when visually impaired students faced the same obstacle. REGISTRATION RUNAROUND ¶8. (SBU) Dayanch faces ongoing registration red tape. It applied for registration at Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in 2001 and re-applied in 2004, however, it did not succeed. In 2001, the MOJ refused to register the NGO because in its registration application, Dayanch did not include the date of a group meeting approving their charter and because one section of the charter did not correspond to the provisions of various laws. The MOJ did not respond to Dayanch's subsequent registration application. When asked her view about why the government does not register their group, Nikolayeva said, "The authorities are afraid of public activity. Perhaps they think we might do something wrong." ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: Dayanch's registration problems, with its applications either denied on insignificant technical grounds or simply placed into bureaucratic limbo, is a familiar story among NGOs seeking registration. It is telling about the government's mindset concerning NGOs that Dayanch, a group that is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and that meets social needs that would otherwise be left unmet, still is unable to obtain registration. Its difficulties reinforce what we've heard from other unregistered NGOs that the government does not appreciate the role that NGOs could play in addressing social issues. Until there is a change of perspective within the government on this issue, even social service providers with no political agenda will hit a brick wall on the registration issue. END COMMENT. MILES