RIVERS AND BRIDGES ARIZONA (RBA)

Building Bridges Between the People and Organizations and the United States

RBA, established in 2012, has dedicated over a decade to fostering collaboration in Kyrgyzstan. Partnering in Kyrgyzstan with CRU and the J-Hope Foundation, RBA has focused on community development and support initiatives across the region. Our efforts have included teaching English, visiting public schools, and helping distribute gifts and food. In collaboration with these local organizations we aim to empower local organizations, enhance education, and promote sustainable growth, making a lasting impact on the lives of many.

We want to do activities like these in other areas and countries. People in their communities know what is needed and what help they will accept. Organizations in the USA are eager to help, but it can be difficult to make the needed connections. Our experience is that time, visits, and collaboration are essential to establishing these connections and relationships. RBA has traveled to Kyrgyzstan and sponsored Kyrgyz people coming to the USA many times.

RBA Goals

• Build bridges between the people and organizations with organizations in the USA using mentorship, cooperation and personal involvement.

• Help empower local people to achieve their dreams in their country.

• Promote democracy, religious tolerance and respect for human rights.

RBA and Kyrgyzstan

KyRgyzstan after the USSR

• Different approach to politics than their authoritarian neighbors; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

• A more pluralistic political system after the collapse of the Soviet Union

• Have swung between authoritarian and democratic forms of government

• RBA cooperates with Kyrgyz people to build a cultural bridge between people in the United States and people in Central Asia.

Pictures from recent RBA trips TO kyrgyzstan