Habitat for Humanity Kyrgyzstan
Newsletter 2 – April 2007

Hi all

I know many of you are very busy but please read this quickly if you are coming to Kyrgyzstan and haven't yet paid deposits, filled forms, or booked flights. Surprisingly enough, the recommended flight (Istanbul-Bishkek) is now booked up (in Economy) for the day we wanted (14th July) so if you wanted that, you will need to look at other options. I recommend you book flights quickly! I have now booked ours for a day earlier (details below).

Our trip to Kyrgyzstan is now just a few months away and it's starting to feel real - at least to me! I've also now had my 40th birthday (if you remember, this trip was my excuse for a party), and survived. Not too many extra wrinkles noticed at this stage, but you know, my eyesight has been poor since I was nine years old. However, I did go swimming a few days ago and can still do tumble-turns at the end of most lengths, so things could be worse!

Some of you are ahead of me in preparing for our trip, with donations made, flights booked, etc. Mike and I have now finally filled out our forms, paid the donation deposit ($350 each), and booked flights. Some of you haven't yet confirmed one way or the other. Right now, I am still counting on:

Dave G, Teresa H, Peter M, Joanne P, Francesca A, Massimo M, Jenny S, Laura F, Mum, Dad, Mike and me. I think this list is accurate - if I can help with finding flight options, please let me help. It seems the routes are busier than we had thought.

I'd love the rest of you to come too... please let me know one way or another. That's Bry, Jeanne, Sue, Anne G, Anne O, Joy, Donna, & Kathy. Kathy - I am wondering if you said no in the end, but I also remember that you might have been reconsidering, so I don't know if it's still a possibility, or a definite no. I apologise if I've forgotten a communication somewhere along the line. Bry - I will be calling you!

To ensure you're included in the trip, you need to:
make a deposit of $350 to Habitat for Humanity (this is part of a $475.65 donation we make that keeps the organisation going - i.e., ensures funds are available for interest-free mortgages in the countries in which it works, and pays its staff); use this link if you are in Europe and go to the Donate (English) box on the left; http://www.hfhd.de/. This website takes donations in Euro. If you are a US citizen and would like to be able to put your donation against taxes, go to http://www.habitat.org/cd/gv/participant/participant.aspx?pid=6562-0129 and use the “donate online” link on the right side of the page and then complete. We will need to pay the remainder later on, as well as the in-country costs. Let me and Laura Ferent (lferent@habitat.org) know when you have done this - we want to ensure we are tracking all the details, AND making sure the donation goes to the appropriate trip.
investigate and book flights. NOTE that the flight leaving Istanbul on Saturday 14th July evening, arriving Bishkek early Sunday 15th July morning, is full now in Economy. Since the early bookers (Teresa and Peter) already booked flights via Moscow, to arrive early Sunday morning, I recommend two options: 1) if you want to go via Istanbul, go on Friday 13th, arrive Saturday 14th, and kick around Bishkek for a day. 2) go via Moscow to arrive Sunday morning early. The Turkish Airlines Option is: Dep Istanbul Friday 13th July, dep 19h10, arr Bishkek approx 3am on Saturday 14th July; Return from Bishkek to Istanbul: dep Sunday 22nd July 3h10, arr 6h10. It's about €970 per person. Try www.alibabuy.com for a fascinating review of flight options available on ebookers, expedia, etc. That's what we used, and chose SNCF-Voyages.com which seems to have worked fine. For those of you arranging pre- and/or post-trips, I still recommend you book flights so we know where we are. Once you’ve booked your flight, please let us know what your flight details are so that we can proceed with the Bishkek bookings (i.e., how many rooms we need for Friday night, Saturday night, etc, on arrival and on departure).
fill out the Application/Medical Form and the Waiver Form sent in the last communication, and read the Cancellation policy. Send these to Laura Ferent (lferent@habitat.org), and copy me so I know when it's done and can minimise my nagging.
Soon (I will let you know when) we will need to pay for our "in-country" costs, which is about $600

Emma