Financial education for migrants and their families

DUSHNBE, TAJIKISTAN (December, 2009) -- Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan and its partner The First Micro Finance Bank held a 5-day training for consultants involved in the financial education of migrants and their families. The coaching took place in Dushanbe from December 15th to December 19th, 2009.

The weeklong training equipped consultants with knowledge and skills to analyzing and managing remittances. The main purpose of the exercise was to educate new trainers, stuff of Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan and local partner organizations responsible for holding workshops on financial education for low-income families. These are designed to help needy families manage budgets, repayments, as well as provide information on innovative financial housing products. As, Farzona Rakhimova, Branch Manager of Habitat Tajikistan in Khujand says: “It is very important to organize such trainings in Tajikistan , as the society is in transitional stage from planned to free market economy, and the people did not fully became aware of how important the financial education is. The obtained knowledge will help the families in Tajikistan to manage their financial problems and achieve their goals.”

The training was organized as part of the project “Financial Services for Rural Areas” funded by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and executed by Habitat for Humanity’s partner Micro Finance Center from Warsaw, Poland.

Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan
Habitat for Humanity is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built and renovated more than 350,000 homes worldwide.

Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan was established in 1999. To date, more than 530 housing interventions have been done, ranging from new house builds, completion of half-build homes, renovations and remodeling of apartment block buildings, together with volunteers and homeowners. Almost 3,121 families have been served. Find out more at www.habitat.tj.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
IFAD works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$11 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries, empowering some 350 million people to break out of poverty. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agricultural hub. It is a unique partnership of 165 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Find out more at www.ifad.org

Mirco Finance Center for Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States (MFC)
MFC is an international, grass-root network of over 100 microfinance institutions from the region. Its mission is to contribute to poverty reduction and human potential development by promoting a socially oriented and sustainable microfinance sector that provides adequate financial and non-financial services to a large number of poor families and micro-entrepreneurs. MFC fulfils its mission by providing high quality services and building long-term relationships with the microfinance community. Find out more at www.mfc.org.pl

MEDIA CONTACTS:
For further information, please contact:

Farhod Nabiyulloev
GV/Communications Coordinator
Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan
Tel: +992 (37) 227 74 48
E-mail: farhod@habitat.tj