Speeches Shim
Roziyamo Kabirova lives in a remote village in the scenic Wakhan Valley, in Ishkoshim district of Tajikistan that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. She enjoys the unspoiled natural beauty of the valley. For most people, Vrang village is very isolated and disconnected from the rest of the world. They don’t have the internet and phone lines are often spotty.
The current situation with COVID-19 and the quarantine is challenging for everyone but it is especially difficult for our beneficiaries,” says Suhrob Idrissov who is a peer navigator for one of USAID’s HIV programs in Tajikistan that is funded by PEPFAR, and provides consultations and support to people with drug addictions, who are at risk of acquiring HIV, or already live with it.
Meet Pulot Ashurov, a horticulture producer and the leading exporter of fresh apricots from the Asht district of Tajikistan. Representing Apricot & Co., Pulot owns orchards located in the northernmost tip of Sughd Province of Tajikistan, bordering Uzbekistan. The fertile land, rich in vitamins and minerals, has been producing delicious apricots for decades. Tajikistan possesses a huge potential for fruit production due to ideal growing conditions in Asht and across the Ferghana Valley. Pulot, like many other traders in the country, faced challenges exporting small batches of dried apricots because he didn’t have the capacity or verifiable export quality standards to reach high-end export markets.
In Tajikistan, the strength of the community is based on tradition. Traditions are what bind people together, creating shared experience and reminding everyone that they are part of something larger than themselves. Elderly men and women act as stewards of these traditions, ensuring that they are incorporated into everything, from weddings to ceremonies that celebrate the birth of a child. While these traditions are important to honor, bringing together thousands of people for Friday prayers at the mosque or hundreds of people for a traditional wedding amidst the COVID-19 pandemic can put individuals at increased risk of sickness and even death.
High rates of labor migration in Zafarobod village of Tajikistan leave many families without their primary breadwinners; some men never return home and abandon their wives and children. Another issue faced by the community of Zafarobod village is access to meals for school children.
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