For improving the quality of life of people in the Suzak district, Jalal-Abad region, FAO trained local social services specialists in individual social services and mentoring for vulnerable families 

Jalal-Abad, December 18, 2018. Often, informational, behavioral, and social barriers make greater impact on decision-making of vulnerable households than their economic situation. Negative socio-psychological environment and emotional tensions disallow families in difficult life situations overcoming poverty and begin to actively participate in the community life.

However, evidence-based data suggests that regular individual social service and mentoring of the poorest households allows them to overcome the social, cultural and behavioral difficulties and stereotypes that keep families in a state of vulnerability, thereby helping them to fully realize their human potential.

For providing timely and comprehensive support to families receiving the monthly benefits to low-income families with children (MBLIFC) and participating in the pilot project “Productive Social Contract / Cash Plus”, FAO conducted training for social services specialists in the Suzak district, as well as for specialists of the Bagysh rural district for implementation individual social service and mentoring.

In the context of the pilot project “Productive Social Contract/Cash Plus”, regular social service and mentoring will allow assessing the needs of the pilot project participants in specific services, including consulting services. In addition, this kind of initiative will help to ensure that families follow the recommendations on agronomy, understand and apply the knowledge obtained on nutrition.

During the training, the specialists learned about the existing forms of social service and mentoring, learned how to plan the family mentoring process in accordance with its capabilities and needs, tried out some individual social service tools, including the “services and capabilities card”, and also practiced training of vulnerable families in life skills through the existing social environment.

“Previously, we did not know how to work right with vulnerable families in order to really help them overcome a difficult life situation and do no harm. We did what seemed right to us. But such assistance can hardly be called comprehensive and often it almost did not produce results,” says Adina Kozhonova, leading specialist in social issues at the Bagysh rural district. “Now we will be able to approach the work more systematically, paying due attention to each vulnerable family and finding the best ways to help it overcome life's difficulties.” 

The training of social services specialists in the Suzak district, as well as specialists from the Bagysh rural district on the implementation of individual social service and mentoring was performed by FAO together with the Moya Semia Public Foundation.

The pilot project “Productive Social Contract/Cash Plus” is being implemented jointly by the UN FAO and the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Kyrgyz Republic with the financial support of the Russian Federation.