Service members encourage good hygiene, spread cheer at local school

Two girls from Kindergarten #106 compare toothbrushes they received from service members during a visit to the school in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, March 19, 2013. The students also received toothpaste, a coloring page, and a handout on proper tooth brushing. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Rachel Martinez)

Service members encourage good hygiene, spread cheer at local school

First Lt. Kelly Mackey, 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron Detachment 1, passes out toothbrushes and toothpaste to children at Kindergarten #106 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, March 19, 2013. Service members from the Transit Center visited the school and provided a lesson on proper oral hygiene. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Rachel Martinez)

TCM builds friendships over language lesson

U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Linda Junjak, Marine Corps Forces Central Command liaison officer, distributes lesson guides to 11th-grade students at the Birdik Village School in Birdik, Kyrgyzstan, March 14, 2013. Junjak and other service members from the Transit Center at Manas provided an English lesson on the various U.S. regions at the request of the school's principal. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Rachel Martinez)

Prigorodnoe High School celebrates renovations, enduring partnership

Representatives from the Transit Center at Manas and local Kyrgyz officials cut a ribbon during a dedication ceremony March 4, 2013, in Prigorodnoe, Kyrgyzstan. The Transit Center, U.S. Embassy in Bishkek and the Kyrgyz Republic partnered to repair plumbing, electrical and lighting and install two new boilers, 64 new windows, 54 new doors and more than 2,700 square meters of flooring costing more than $227,000. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Stephanie Rubi)

Prigorodnoe High School celebrates renovations, enduring partnership

A student plays a traditional Kyrgyz instrument during a dedication ceremony March 4, 2013, in Prigorodnoe, Kyrgyzstan. Students performed songs and dances, ranging in genres from traditional Kyrgyz to modern American music. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Stephanie Rubi)

Prigorodnoe High School celebrates renovations, enduring partnership

Students at the Prigorodnoe High School perform a traditional Kyrgyz dance during a dedication ceremony March 4, 2013, in Prigorodnoe, Kyrgyzstan. The ceremony was held inside the school's new gymnasium, just one area renovated in the more than $227,000 project. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Stephanie Rubi)

Kamyshanovska renovation improves school, builds friendships

Zizikalo Nina Timofeevna, a Kamyshanovska School teacher, shows off her renovated classroom Feb. 27, 2013, in Kamyshanovska, Kyrgyzstan. "Now the classroom is warm and bright, giving students better studying conditions," said Timofeevna. "The Transit Center has given us so much; the students know that, and both they and I are very grateful." (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Stephanie Rubi)

Kamyshanovska renovation improves school, builds friendships

New windows, along with the installation of an expansion tank on a radiant heating system, keep a classroom warm at the Kamyshanovska School Feb. 27, 2013, in Kamyshanovska, Kyrgyzstan. The Transit Center at Manas, U.S. Embassy Bishkek and the Kyrgyz Republic government partnered to accomplish the recent renovations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Stephanie Rubi)

Kamyshanovska renovation improves school, builds friendships

Student s at the Kamyshanovska School perform a traditional Kyrgyz dance during a dedication ceremony Feb. 27, 2013, in Kamyshanovska, Kyrgyzstan. Thanks to the partnership between the Transit Center at Manas and the Kyrgyz Republic on recent renovations, students can now enjoy an improved learning environment. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Stephanie Rubi)

Vasilievskoe villagers take pride in newly renovated school

Right, Sakkaraey Mars Namurbekovich, head of Alanudun Regional Governmental Administration, and leadership from the Transit Center at Manas tour a classroom at the Vasilievskoe Kindergarten School in Vasilievskoe, Kyrgyzstan, Feb. 26, 2013. The Transit Center at Manas and the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek partnered with the Kyrgyz Republic government on a humanitarian assistance project to renovate the school building with new windows, floors and lighting in each classroom. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Rachel Martinez)

Training manuals spread 'bilim' throughout Kyrgyzstan

Newly printed teachers' training manuals are displayed on a shelf at the Kyrgyzstan Academy of Education in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Jan. 30, 2013. The Transit Center at Manas Theater Security Cooperation division recently completed a $33,000 humanitarian assistance project to print 62,000 updated teachers' training manuals in Kyrgyz and Russian to be distributed throughout the country. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Rachel Martinez)

Training manuals spread 'bilim' throughout Kyrgyzstan

Center, U.S. Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Pamela Spratlen surveys various training manuals with staff at the Kyrgyzstan Academy of Education in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Jan. 30, 2013. The U.S. Embassy and the Transit Center at Manas have partnered with the Ministry of Education to publish updated teachers' training manuals to be distributed throughout the country. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Rachel Martinez)