Natalya Plotnikova knows firsthand how isolating the life of a person with disabilities can be. At the age of 11 months, she fell off a table and broke her spine. Since then, she has used crutches and a wheelchair. In 2000, Natalya founded Opa Singillar (“Sisters”) Qibray Society for Women with Disabilities, an NGO that provides legal and psychological support and hard skills seminars for women and girls with disabilities living in Qibray district outside Tashkent, Uzbekistan. For years, difficulties with financing hindered the organization’s development. Thanks to an Institutional Development Grant (IDG) from USAID’s Social Innovation in Central Asia (SICA) project, Natalya and her team have developed and implemented a new strategic plan that boosts their number of beneficiaries and donors. The grant has also allowed Natalya to fully refurbish her office to provide access for all beneficiaries using wheelchairs.

SICA’s institutional development experts helped Zahira Begaliyeva and her team revise the organization's mission, which ultimately helped forge new partnerships and attract new donors.