Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan is home to soaring mountains, colourful bazaars and ancient Persian traditions. The smallest country within Central Asia, Tajikistan continues to forge a new nation out of their recent Soviet identity.
Since 1993, Operation Mercy has been working diligently alongside the Tajik people. Today, our projects focus on disadvantaged youth, community health, education and income generation initiatives.
Children categories
Polio Rehabilitation
In 2010, nearly 700 people, mainly children, suffered paralysis due to an outbreak of polio. Operation Mercy is leading the national rehabilitation project through educational seminars and involvement in a promotion campaign designed to promote community-based rehabilitation. When young polio victims remain in the home with loving families, are embraced by supportive communities, and have the same educational opportunities that able-bodied children have, they can lead full lives.
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Women’s Health
In cooperation with the Ministry of Health, more than 5,000 Miracle of Life pregnancy calendars, the first pregnancy handbook in the Tajik language, have been distributed to women and health workers in the country. This resource shows the development of a fetus from conception to birth and includes nutrition, childhood illness, and immunization information.
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Diabetes Camp For Children
Diabetic children learn about their condition, proper nutrition, insulin therapy, glucose levels and self-testing during one-week camps that Operation Mercy holds in partnership with the country’s major endocrinology centres. Operation Mercy is also working with international organisations to coordinate shipments of insulin into Tajikistan.
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All About Children
All About Children (AAC) is a model program for early intervention and preschool for children with disabilities in Tajikistan. Currently almost 100 children are enrolled in the program. The success of the program is evident in its amazing impact on the lives of the disabled children, their families, and local communities. This program is also partnering with government agencies and establishing satellite schools in poorer rural areas.
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HINT- Health Initiative Northern Tajikistan
In partnership with government and health professionals, the Health Initiative for Northern Tajikistan (HINT) project raises awareness of general health, disease prevention, and healthy lifestyles among villagers of the Sughd Region/Khujand. The team’s health lessons empower people to improve their health and support medical institutions’ disease prevention efforts.
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English Access
The English Access team invests in the students of Tajikistan by giving those who would not otherwise have the opportunity to learn English the chance to learn it. The team teaches English classes in village schools and conducts summer activities for village students that include English, health, geography, music, craft, and sports lessons.
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School Support
Student’s need positive learning environments. Imagine trying to learn from this school desk! Clean, repaired school furniture contributes to the safety, sanitation and general learning environment for many rural students. Desks and chairs (and sometimes leaking roofs or damaged floors) are repaired by a village carpentry apprentice program created to teach teenage boys carpentry skills. Operation Mercy provides the materials.
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Rural Schools Project
Child-to-Child Clubs on health, English, computer technology, HIV/AIDs awareness and prevention, drug addiction prevention and sports benefit rural school children with enhanced knowledge, confidence, and physical and social wellbeing. The children teach the information to their siblings and friends using the child-to-child approach. Schools are also helped with repairs and needed equipment.
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Children in Need Project
To help children reach their full potential, school supplies, textbooks (certified by the Ministry of Education), clothing, personal hygiene items, and food are given to schools for orphans, able-bodied children, children with physical disabilities and psychological illnesses, and the visually impaired. Occasionally tuition is provided for students who show initiative.
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Disability Project
Through food and clothing distribution, Operation Mercy seeks to improve the condition of disabled people so they can pursue higher education and/or better jobs. Operation Mercy also advocates for their rights in society and equality in education, and for support of families with a disabled member. A goal is to help these families start a micro business.
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Maternal Health & Nutrition Project
High in the Pamir Mountains many communities suffer from preventable health problems. This project aims to deepen the understanding of community health needs and through education enable these communities to improve the long term health of their members.
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Where There Is No Doctor
Operation Mercy distributes health information in booklet form taken from Where There Is No Doctor (WTIND), a medical guidebook in use in over 100 countries where healthcare workers need medical information. Chapters (including eye care and nutrition) are translated, printed and distributed during health seminars.
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Microenterprise
This project increases food security and income for families and communities by helping those with initiative start or grow their own businesses. Seminars on business-related topics, periodic consulting, coaching, and follow-up mentoring are provided to local entrepreneurs. In 2011, new entrepreneurs planted donated seeds as part of an agricultural pilot project.
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Mobile Computer Classroom
A mobile computer classroom with battery-powered netbooks provides village boys and girls the ability to access the world of Internet Technology. The classroom travels to multiple schools and operates independent of the unreliable electricity service in rural villages. Software will also be used to teach geography and other courses via the netbooks.
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Emergency Response/Winter Relief
The Khorog, Khujand and Dushanbe regional offices distribute aid to people left vulnerable from natural disasters, extreme weather conditions, and severe economic situations. Relief aid to families, the elderly, the disabled, schools and other institutions has included food, clothing, school supplies, fuel and equipment (such as generators). Funds will be allocated to the area most in need.
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Teacher Development
To support village school children, the team offers professional development and mentoring opportunities for their teachers and student teachers. Each year, the team impacts over 300 teachers with seminars where they learn to use drama, visual aids, music, and games to enhance their students’ learning experience, while practising their own verbal skills.
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Fruit Drying
To provide income and a healthy alternative to the limited number of fruit and vegetables available in the winter, drying racks now allow Pamiri people to preserve what would have been wasted food. People are trained to produce a quality product that will last through the winter, as well as to create their own small business.
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HIV/AIDS Project
Due to high unemployment, many Tajik workers seek employment outside of Tajikistan where they can find themselves exposed to HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). Our HIV/TB trainer runs seminars to educate both Tajik workers abroad and their families and communities remaining in Tajikistan about the diseases and how to prevent their spread.
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