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.

While studying computer programming in college, Ummatoy Yuldosheva also volunteered teaching unemployed women how to program at the Women’s Committee in Tashkent. Given her background, Ummatoy was keenly aware of the extensive time and technical training required to become a successful programmer. The 24-year-old began to wonder if there might be a more efficient way to equip unemployed women with the requisite skills to successfully enter the workforce. “At the Women’s Committee, I witnessed firsthand the challenges unemployed women were facing. I knew I wanted to help this community of women, but I was unsure how.”

Motivated but lacking a clear path forward, in June 2020, Ummatoy became one of 150 young activists to participate in the Central Asia Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA), organized under USAID’s Social Innovation in Central Asia program. CAYLA’s focus on social entrepreneurship, critical and creative thinking and project management provided Ummatoy with the practical skills and drive she needed to launch her very own startup. Ummatoy also won a CAYLA Young Civic Leader Scholarship, which she used to pursue additional project management courses and networking opportunities.