Aidana Namazbekova, 13, lives in Lipenka, one of the oldest municipalities in Issyk-Kul region in northern Kyrgyzstan. Since her early childhood she loves to play komuz, a beautiful sound-ing Kyrgyz national music instrument. Until recently, Aidana had to travel 50 km twice a week to attend komuz classes in Kara-kol.

“I had to take Aidana to her private lessons in Karakol twice a week. In winter months, we couldn’t find a ride, and Aidana had to miss her lessons for several weeks” complains Aidana’s mother, Mahabat.

The trip was also quite expensive for the family budget.

Aidana was not the only one affected by this. Lipenka munici-pality unites four villages and almost 5,000 residents. Lack of activity clubs was especially acute among schoolchildren and their parents.

The situation changed in September 2017, when the municipali-ty re-launched its, so called, cultural center. Once vibrant state-funded center used to host many arts extracurricular activities. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the building was used occasionally for random purposes as the municipality did not have the capacity to manage the cultural center.

USAID’s Community and Municipal Governance Initiative helped Lipenka municipality to revive the center. With support from the project the municipality and local activists launched a public-private partnership to start komuz, guitar and dance classes. They partnered with a local teacher Astra Sharsheeva, sorted out legal issues, developed service standards, and dis-cussed fees with residents and other arrangements, so that the service is sustainable. But the key success was the shift in the mindset that proper management approach can help to improve services even with limited resources.

Aidana practices with her teacher.

Now the halls of the municipal cultural center are filled with sounds of music again. More than 35 students signed up for komuz, guitar and dance classes right away. According to Astra Sharsheeva, komuz is the most popular class. Along with Ai-dana 25 more kids are learning to master the Kyrgyz national music instrument.

“My daughter is very excited about her new komuz club. She can finally attend her favorite lessons, and we don’t have to worry about the long and expensive commute to Karakol. We are so happy to have this new space for children in our village,” – says Aidana’s mother, Mahabat.

USAID Community and Municipal Governance Initiative is working in 32 other locations throughout the country helping to make local governments more effective.