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Boarding school students visit Manas AB

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jerome Baysmore
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan --  Airmen from Manas Air Base usually visit the local Boarding School for the Deaf in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, as part of the Manas Air Base Outreach Society program.

This time, a group of graduating high school students visited the base to perform for Airmen and tour Manas AB.

Ms. Kanykei Jamanbaeva, the school director, said the school was thankful for the base Airmen who have supported the school through construction projects and donations, and their visit and performance was to show their appreciation.

The school is one of 10 organizations supported by MABOS, a non-profit base community service organization.

"We'd like to thank you for helping our school through your visits and volunteer construction projects at our school," she said through a translator. "Our performance today is to show our appreciation, and we hope that you will enjoy the dances."

Ms. Jamanbaeva said the boarding school is over 70 years old and enrolls 365 students from all over the Kyrgyz Republic. The school also recently won a dance competition and earned 100,000.00 com, about $2,758, for taking top honors.

While several students played soccer at the fitness center with base Airmen, other high school seniors performed unique dances for the Airmen at the base recreation center.

"I think it was wonderful that the children were able to come to the base, dance at the rec center, and play soccer with us," said Staff Sgt. Alexander Kryvenia, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Coalition Coordination NCOIC. "Their dance performance was fantastic, and I know that for the kids this performance was their appreciation of what the base has done for the school through MABOS has done for the school."

Although the students couldn't hear the music, they performed both their dances flawlessly through Ms. Rimma Chernykh, boarding school dance director. The students watched her for their cues for every turn, spin and change.

"The school dance program started three years ago," she said. "In the beginning, it was hard for me to teach dance because I didn't know all of the sign language vocabulary, but the students helped me to learn it. So we've been learning from each other."

Ms. Jamanbeava said she's thankful for the help base Airmen have given to the school, and she hopes other local Kyrgyz Republic citizens choose to get involved and support the school as well.

Sergeant Kryvenia said he chose to get involved with the school through Manas Air Base Outreach Society and has been hooked on it since.

"I was asked to go to the school, and I fell in love with the school and its students from the first visit," he said. "I saw that something can be done to make a difference in the children's lives.

"Toys and clothes are great gifts for the school, but attention and time spent with kids are even more valuable for them," he concluded. "The amount of joy and happiness I have received from MABOS volunteering is tremendous, and I will be taking home life-lasting memories."