Counterpart Consortium Central Asia Headquarters

The U.S.-based organization Counterpart International, Inc. heads a consortium of organizations awarded a USAID grant in 1994 to implement the NGO Support Initiative for Central Asia. The program's three components are: training; facilitating information exchange among regional NGOs and with the international community; and operating a small grants program for Central Asian NGOs.

The consortium provided 246 grants totaling over $1,000,000 for 220 NGOs of Central Asia between the beginning of 1995 and June 1997. In addition, more than 250 workshops on various topics of NGO operation were conducted during this timeframe.

Highlights of the consortium's grants and training programs include:

• Radio Almaz, the first public radio station in Central Asia, was established in Kyrgystan in 1995 to improve mass media access. The station broadcasts weekly NGO interviews.
• A Kazak consumer advocacy group has developed a program of product testing and legal procedure to increase quality control on imported and domestic products.
• The Association of Accountants and Auditors of Uzbekistan is working with the Republican Society of the Disabled to provide training and job placement services for the disabled.
• Central Asian artisan associations have generated over $160,000 for their members in domestic and international sales through partnership with Aid to Artisans.
• Drafting of NGO legislation has been initiated in Kyrgyzstan through collaboration of a newly formed NGO coalition and the government. Consortium partners are Counterpart International, Aid to Artisans, Citizens Network of Foreign Affairs, and International Center for Non-Profit Law. Field offices are located in all countries of Central Asia.

Counterpart's Humanitarian Assistance Program (CHAP) recently expanded to Central Asia to complement consortium activities. CHAP focuses primarily on Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan, providing assistance in food and medical equipment to at-risk populations of these countries. In 1997, CHAP conducted its first humanitarian relief activities in Uzbekistan.

A print version of much of the information contained in this Central Asian Third Sector Organizations section can be found in Civil Society in Central Asia (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999).

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Last updated:    November 1998