![The medic training program emphasizes practicing new skills. The medic training program emphasizes practicing new skills.](https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/styles/square_150x150/public/success_story/kyrgyz_firstaid.jpg?itok=FHVXUEIA)
One-year-old Aidana had been sick for some time. Aileta, her mother, thought it was simply a cold. Then early one morning, the child developed a high temperature. Aidana’s breathing appeared to stop and she lost consciousness and became pale. Panicking, Aileta called an ambulance. The closest children’s hospital was 15 minutes away.
![The National Scholarship Test was administered at over 80 sites across Kyrgyzstan in 2005. The National Scholarship Test was administered at over 80 sites across Kyrgyzstan in 2005.](https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/styles/square_150x150/public/success_story/ss_ky_test.jpg?itok=iciEvTbk)
Jyldyz was among the first students to take the National Scholarship Test in Kyrgyzstan. When she learned that she received one of the highest scores, Jyldyz’s first thought was of her best friend Aisuluu, who graduated from the same remote village school a year earlier.
![Photo: Winrock Intr A farmer participating in a USAID-funded agricultural development project plants tomato seedlings for the next season.](https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/styles/square_150x150/public/success_story/ss_car_tomato_h.jpg?itok=wKcKhMPf)
Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country where only seven percent of the land is suitable for agriculture. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the previous collective farms were privatized among the communities, splitting the land into 0.04-0.20 hectare (.09 - .49 acre) allotments per person.
![Representatives of the village of Shaidan’s rural council and the local water user association council discuss land distribution issues in Kyrgyzstan’s Jalalabat Province. Representatives of the village of Shaidan’s rural council and the local water user association council discuss land distri](https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/styles/square_150x150/public/success_story/ss_car_water.jpg?itok=STeedqat)
Farmer Salijan Saibidinov owns land alongside an irrigation canal in Jalalabat Province’s Shaidan Village in Kyrgyzstan. Each spring, soon after the growing season began, Sailjan’s neighbors would throw trash onto his field while cleaning debris from the canal. His land also would flood when his neighbors overwatered their fields.
![A USAID-funded project is working with southern Kyrgyzstani farmers to dry tomatoes for export to the United States and Europe. A USAID-funded project is working with southern Kyrgyzstani farmers to dry tomatoes for export to the United States and Europe.](https://2012-2017.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/styles/square_150x150/public/success_story/ss_car_drying.jpg?itok=iYPMzFbm)
Through the assistance of USAID-funded projects, Kyrgyzstan’s agriculture sector is slowly improving, with farmers generating higher personal incomes and having more opportunities to improve their standard of living.
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