How to make school meals healthy and eco-friendly? Experience of school principals from Toktogul
On August 25, 2026, a practical seminar titled "Organization of Healthy Nutrition in Schools" was held at the K. Chokoev School in Kotormo village. The event was organized by Good Neighbors Kyrgyz Republic as part of the "Green Schools for Healthy Nutrition" project.
School principals from Uch-Terek and Bel-Aldy rural areas gathered to study successful experiences in establishing school-adjacent farming: from growing apples, vegetables, and even bananas and lemons, to harvesting twice a season and building a specialized cellar for food storage.
Interview with a seminar participant:
Sharipova Jazgul Uchbaevna, Principal of the Mukash Zhamgyrkanov School, shared her impressions of the visit and plans for developing her school ground:
"Today we took part in the seminar and were greatly impressed. Our school has previously attempted to implement the Garden project for planting an apple orchard: we prepared suitable plots, submitted soil analysis results, and filed all necessary documents on time. This seminar inspired us once again! We will make every effort to establish our own apple orchard and a fully functioning school farm, and we also greatly count on your support in implementing this initiative."
School-adjacent farming is an effective and accessible tool that helps provide children with fresh produce, enrich daily hot meals, and strengthen the health of the younger generation!
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Good Neighbors Kyrgyz Republic has launched a large-scale project - "National Testing training for schoolchildren" (NTT*) for graduate students in 15 schools as part of community development projects. NTT* is a mandatory test that replaces entrance exams for admission to universities in Kyrgyzstan. The course lasts 3 months and includes preparation for the main test (Kyrgyz / Russian, mathematics) and a subject test (history, mathematics, biology, chemistry, etc.) at the choice of the student.
The NTT course covers 320 students from 4 regions of the country. Project goal: Increasing schoolchildren's access to quality education and assistance in enrolling in universities. The project will help our students enter universities, including state-funded places.
Good Neighbors Kyrgyz Republic on February 2023 finished the improvement of the Health Center in Mirnoe village at Kok-Chu CDP* (Community Development Project). The heating system was installed, and a better water supply system was provided, also needful facilities were given. Most of the residents of Mirnoe village couldn’t stay inside the health center while receiving medical check-ups in the winter season due to the absence of a heating system. With support from the Branch nowadays Health Center can be comfortably operated in any season. Providing development of infrastructure with the main objective to improve access to necessary services for the community and children mainly is always one of the priorities of Good Neighbors Kyrgyz Republic while implementing of CDP* projects.
Good Neighbors Kyrgyz Republic implemented successfully My Village Project funded by KOICA from 2018 to 2022.
During the project, 30 villages in the Batken, Osh, and Chui regions actively participated in
developing village’s social infrastructure and creating income-generating projects.
As part of the post-project management program, a group of agronomists from the public association "AgroLead" conducted training
for farmers from the Batken region on vegetable cultivation in greenhouses and rice growing and drying techniques, including field visits.
The main goal is to enhance the potential of rural farmers and entrepreneurs, their knowledge, and skills
in the field of agriculture and business for the profitable operation of objects completed within the project.