Kumsangir, Tajikistan
Kumsangir district is located in Khatlon region in the southwest of Tajikistan. This region is the biggest and poorest region in the country and is home to one third of the country’s population. The population of Kumsangir is 43729 people (2007). The district is located in a wide flat area, well known for the production of good quality cotton. The Government in the 70’s gave lands, and most of the people originally came from Garm (a mountainous region in the eastern part of Tajikistan) back in the 50th. During the Soviet time, population received a good salary for the fieldwork. After the collapse of Soviet Union, the incomes generated by the cotton farming drastically decreased and today the district is one the poorest and most vulnerable in the region.
The administrative centre of Kumsangir district is Dusti settlement. The administration and the main institutes are situated in Dusti. Walking down the streets and shopping in local bazaars of the centre you can’t miss to learn local cultures and traditions. As this district is not quite urbanized, many people here preserved local traditions and cultures which remained from ancient times and these events are seen very rarely in other regions of Tajikistan.
WINTERIZATION OF HOMES IN KUMSANGIR PROJECT
The project aims to help 90 low-income and vulnerable families in earthquake affected Kumsangir district to improve their housing to be prepared for the severe winter condition. This will be done through developing capacity of target population and installation and provision of doors, windows and insulation.
This poor district was severely damaged on July 29th 2006 by an earthquake measuring between 5 – 5.5 on the Richter scale. According to official government statistics at least 1,484 homes were damaged and over 15,000 people made homeless.
The situation was extremely difficult during the last winter when Tajikistan experienced an extremely cold winter (temperatures reached minus 30 on the celcius scale). The impact of this on the families living in earthquake damaged homes was particularly acute; the earthquake had left them with inadequate protection from the cold. To survive many families had to spend a greater proportion of their meager incomes on heat and also to burn some home building materials when they ran out of money.
In early March of FY 09 the first students GV team from Abu-Dhabi was hosted in Kumsangir district. Eight GV volunteers from American International School of Abud-Dhabi (AISA) under the leadership of their chaperons Robert Wooldridge and Nancy Fairbarn winterized 4 homes alongside families in village Eight of Kumsangir. As the team came in the season of national Tajik holiday “Navruz” they didn’t miss this great celebration and got a lot of cultural experience visiting celebration ceremonies of schools of Kumsangri village. But the highlight of their trip was the families they worked along and it became an unforgettable trip in their life ever. Here some impressions made by AISA GV volunteers:
“I found the host families to be incredibly generous and welcoming. It was interacting with them. In our broken English-Tajik words, that made this a life changing experience. I was humbled by their kindness and willingness to welcome us into their families”
– Nancy, AISA GV team co-leader
“The program Habitat offers, is good and one can experience the culture of the country, you help the people who need help in a very interactive way”
– Marcel, AISA GV team member.
“All the families were so welcoming and warm, but one family was very special. The children worked with us all day and were so sweet. One girl was getting a quick English lesson in the dirt with Nancy. She spoke not one word, and had never met a Habitat group, but somehow knew how to spell “LOVE”. It was typical miracle in this place”
– Robert, AISA GV team leader.
“With the help of Kumsangir community officials we were able to participate in several community activities. These activities truly added to the impact/quality of our experience”
- Nancy, AISA GV team co-leader.
For more information contact Habitat for Humainty Tajikstan Global Village Coordinator Farhod Nabiyulloev or visit Habitat for Humanity International website at www.habitat.org/gv
