Turkmenistan Youth and Civic Values Foundation

The Turkmenistan Youth and Civic Values Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to developing and encouraging civic values, international experience, and community engagement in the peoples of Turkmenistan. They are incorporated in Washington, D.C. and offer specific grants in three broad areas: Education, Community Development, and Intercultural Exchange.

The Foundation was created by Peace Corps Volunteers who served in Turkmenistan from 2003-2005. Working for two years across all regions of Turkmenistan in the country's health and education sectors, the Volunteers came to understand the challenge and the opportunity of development in Turkmenistan. The Foundation is one of only a handful of NGOs which work in Turkmenistan, and it is unique in that it is devoted exclusively to the development of that country.

The Foundation consists of three tiers of volunteers: Board Members, the Foundation's backbone; Associates, who provide support to the Foundation and its ongoing programs; and Dosts, or "friends."

Board members are the Foundation's most involved and active volunteers: they run all Foundation programs, fundraise, and facilitate operations, expansion, and project implementation. They are all former Peace Corps volunteers who are dedicated to improving educational and developmental efforts in Turkmenistan.

The Foundation has five programs: The TOEFL Scholarship [http://www.turkmenistan-foundation.org/toefl_tests.php] ; The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Academic Scholarship [http://www.turkmenistan-foundation.org/mlkjr_scholarship.php] ; The Intercultural Project [http://www.turkmenistan-foundation.org/cultural_exchange.php] ; the Community Development Program [http://www.turkmenistan-foundation.org/community_development.php] , and The College Guide [http://www.turkmenistan-foundation.org/college_guide.php] . Above all, they believe that development is a relationship, rather than merely a transfer of goods.

The Foundation seeks those who see themselves are agents of change and improvement, and who share a positive and peaceful vision of their local and world communities. Together, the Foundation, our sponsors, and the people of Turkmenistan make a team. The Foundation and our sponsors promise to support the people of Turkmenistan, and they promise to fulfill their vision of self and community-development.
This relationship is the most dynamic with youth: the young adults of Turkmenistan face challenges unknown to their parents' generation and many struggle to rework, adapt, and combine traditional values to modern demands and progressive dreams. For this reason, they offer two scholarships, one for the globally-recognized test of English, the other for the American University - Central Asia. They also publish a guide to U.S. colleges for students wishing to study abroad and are seeking school scholarships. Furthermore, because development is a relationship, both sides-the supporter and the supported-must take part. For this reason, we offer the Intercultural Project, which pairs American students to their Turkmen counterparts to create a dialogue. Finally, a genuine cultural connection begins with a discussion of values, which is why they offer the Community Development Program, which sponsors local Turkmen citizens who wish to enhance their understanding of the world and of Western methods and logic, and to spread that knowledge with their communities.

External links

* [http://www.turkmenistan-foundation.org www.turkmenistan-foundation.org]