Central Asia Youth Leadership Academy

Kayirzhan Aisin is a young eco-activist from Petropavl, a small city in northern Kazakhstan. For the past nine years, Kayirzhan has dedicated himself to conserving local ecosystems.

“The environmental situation in my town was dire. Papers, empty bottles and plastic bags littered the recreational areas of Petropavl. People seemed woefully unaware of how and what to recycle.” Galvanized by what he saw, Kayirzhan took the initiative to help his town and community. He founded Vtorsyrye, a company that collects broken and damaged electrical equipment, plastic, wastepaper and other recyclable materials. To amplify his impact, Kayirzhan partnered with students from schools across the city. Each year, they collected and sorted recyclable materials and raised funds for people fighting cancer and other serious illnesses. But for Kayirzhan, this was just the beginning.

“In my many interactions with students and other members of my community, I recognized the need for a space for citizens to come together to learn more about recycling and alternative ways of making our surroundings cleaner and more eco-friendly. I dreamt of helping more people, promoting recycling to a broader audience, and implementing more eco projects, all of which required funding,” When he learned of the Youth Leadership Grants (YLG) offered under USAID’s Social Innovation in Central Asia program, he jumped at the opportunity.

With YLG support, Kayirzhan launched Eco Life, an environmental stewardship program. Eco Life aims to improve the environmental situation in Petropavl by offering practical classes and hands-on opportunities to engage with and improve the environment.

In 2016, Elena Gareyeva returned to her native town of Turkmenabad, Turkmenistan, after her studies, which included time in the United States, Kyrgyzstan, Italy and Croatia. Since then, she has been working for herself, teaching English. After rich experiences of teaching and studying abroad, Elena recognized that young people in Turkmenabad wanted similar opportunities for self-expression and exploration. And with quarantine limiting opportunities to engage actively with others or society, this isolation could affect young people’s mental and physical health.