Dear readers,

We are pleased to introduce you the first issue of the RCST and IFRC Country Representative in Tajikistan joint newsletter. This first

issue of our newsletter covers general information about the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan and the International Federation of the

Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies activities in Tajikistan, as well as the latest developments and achievements reached jointly in July

by these two organizations.

The National Society with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (International Federation)

is helping to address today’s global humanitarian challenges. The Tajikistan Red Crescent contributes by supporting all members of the

community to prevent or reduce risk where possible, allowing everyone to enjoy better health and safer living conditions. The work of the

National Society is carried out by thousands of local Red Crescent volunteers and members around the country. These committed

individuals are on the front line, delivering humanitarian assistance and supporting vulnerable communities to become stronger and more

resilient.

We will keep you posted and look forward to hearing your feedback.

Eric Michel-Sellier, IFRC Country Representative in Tajikistan Zafar Muhabbatov, RCST Secretary General

The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan is one of the oldest humanitarian

organizations in the country and is providing assistance to people in need since

1927.

In 1992 the organization was accepted by the Government of Tajikistan as an

independent, voluntary and social society, acting throughout the country. In

1997 it became a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red

Crescent Societies.

Today, the National Society plays a significant role in providing humanitarian

assistance to victims of frequent disasters like floods, landslides, drought and

earthquakes. The RCST has a key role in disaster preparedness and response

activities in Tajikistan.

In 2010, Parliament of Tajikistan adopted a law on “The Red Crescent Society of

Tajikistan” and recognized some governmental guarantees and benefits to the

organization.

The current RCST programmes plans are in line with the International

Federation’s Global Agenda goals and Strategy 2020. The International

Federation Secretariat’s key

areas of support to the Tajikistan

Red Crescent in 2011 includes

health and care, disaster

management, principles and

values and National Society

capacity building.

Partnership of the Red Crescent

Society is well established on both bilateral and multilateral basis. The Red

Crescent has partnership relations with community-based, national,

government-based, international organizations, UN and development agencies

along with local authorities and governmental ministries.

The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan will continue to develop the capacity of

the branches so that they work efficiently with the vulnerable communities. The

National Society also intends to improve the retention of volunteers and

members, which is crucial for the Red Crescent to be able to meet the challenges

and opportunities presented by a fast-changing world.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

established its permanent presence in Tajikistan in 1994 to provide assistance

to the most vulnerable population of the country in close cooperation with the

Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan (RCST).

The IFRC is the world's

largest humanitarian

organization, providing

assistance without

discrimination as to

nationality, race, religious

beliefs, class or political

opinions. Founded in 1919,

the International Federation comprises 186 member Red Cross and Red

Crescent societies, a Secretariat in Geneva and more than 60 delegations

strategically located to support activities around the world. The Federation

carries out relief operations to assist victims of disasters, and combines this

with development work to strengthen the capacities of its member National

Societies. The Federation's work focuses on four core areas: promoting

humanitarian values, disaster response, disaster preparedness, and health and

community care.

Initially the International Federation programmes in Tajikistan have been

developed with focus on food provision to vulnerable population and medical

supplies to health care institutions. Since 2004, the International Federation

has extended the variety of programme initiatives, including disaster

preparedness and response, relief targeting the most vulnerable, community-

based first aid and public health campaign, water and sanitation projects and

organizational development. These initiatives have been implemented with a

number of emergency response operations caused by natural disasters (floods

in 1999, drought in 2000, food deficit in 2001 and several small-scale

disasters). The International Federation supports RCST in promoting

cooperation frameworks and systems that will improve the harmonization,

quality and accountability of international assistance. The integration

agreements between the German and Netherlands RC Societies as well as

between the Finnish RC (service agreement) and the International Federation

allow the Federation to better coordinate the general activities carried out

with the Red Crescent Society.

Improving Disaster Response Skills in Shelter and Early Recovery

A 5-day training in order to increase the collective response capacity of the Central

Asian Red Crescent National Societies was held from 5 July through 9 July in

Varzob district of Tajikistan. The 5 different National Red Crescent Societies

bringing together a total of 20 participants were trained in the areas of emergency

sheltering and recovery to prepare for natural disasters such as floods, mudflows,

landslides and earthquakes.

The event was organized by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red

Crescent Societies (IFRC) jointly with the Tajikistan Red Crescent, with the financial

support of the IFRC donors and DIPECHO VI project funded by Humanitarian Aid

and Civil Protection Department of the European Commission (ECHO). Through its

DIPECHO programme, the European Commission has been funding this and similar

activities in Central Asia since 2003 in order to reduce impact of natural disasters on

the loss of lives and livelihoods.

About 20 experienced staff in disaster management from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan Red Crescent

Societies was invited to participate in the training. The training has been conducted with support of experienced facilitators coming from

Europe and Central Asian republics.

According to Mr. Eric Michel-Sellier, IFRC country representative in Tajikistan, the most important result of the training is the improved

capacity of the Red Cross Red Crescent Regional Disaster Response Teams (RDRTs) of Central Asia to respond to natural disasters in the area

of emergency sheltering and recovery, utilizing the established regional response mechanisms. He says the specialized shelter/recovery

training for RDRT members “would not only increase and improve the response capacity of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, add specialized capacity to the

RDRT roster, it also builds capacity within National Societies.”

84 years of experience

69 branches

20 programmes and projects

15.000 volunteers

Disaster Management

Health and Care

Youth and Migration

Organizational Development

Shamsuddin Muhiddinov, Central Asia regional emergency response coordinator of IFRC, says, the five-day specialized shelter/recovery

training for RDRT members is based on the IFRC’s existing “shelter technical training” and “shelter tool kit training”, providing the candidates

a clear understanding of the emergency sheltering process. Additionally, the participants will receive training to master the basics of EMMA

(Emergency Market Mapping Analysis) and will receive an overview regarding the different techniques for early recovery and recovery

activities.

The shelter/recovery trained RDRT members will later on train volunteers from the respective branches of their National Societies when relief

items such as the shelter (tool) kits are distributed to the affected population during disasters. The shelter/recovery RDRT members and

volunteers will provide technical assistance to the beneficiaries when constructing emergency or transitional shelters.

Iranian Red Crescent will build an international camp in Varzob

The Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan rented its study center located in Beghar, Varzob district to the Red Crescent Society of Iran for the

period of 20 years.

The decision was made by the Council of the Central Committee of the Red Crescent

Society of Tajikistan. Based on the bilateral agreement between Iranian and

Tajikistan RCs, Iranian Red Crescent will build an international study and recreation

camp in Beghar.

To lay the first brick of this building, the Secretary General of the Red Crescent

Society of Iran visited Tajikistan at the end of July. During his visit to Tajikistan Mr.

Zaher Rostami, the Iranian Secretary General met with the RCST headquarters staff

and looked at the bakery and canteen which were built by the financial support of

the RCSI.

Mr. Shahrezai, deputy secretary general on health and care programmes and Mr.

Ja’fariyan, youth programs director of the Iranian Red Crescent Society were also

among the Iranian delegation. The visit by the Iranian delegation to Tajikistan was

the response to visit by Mr. Zafar Muhabbatov, RCST Secretary General’s visit to

Iran at this spring.

Iranian Red Crescent is one of the closest counterparts of the Tajikistan Red Crescent Society and in addition to the mentioned collaboration,

the Iranian side already built and finances a hospital under Dushanbe branch of the RCST and frequently organizes visits to the orphanages

and old people’s homes.

Iranian delegation also visited several RCST branches, including remote Badakhshon viloyat.

RCST: Planning the Projects Together with Youth

Project/Programme Planning (PPP) workshop was conducted in Beghar study center,

Varzob district, Tajikistan on 6-8 July 2011 under the RCST Youth and Volunteers

project.

More than 20 RCST staff and volunteers participated in the workshop and it aimed to

improve the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan (RCST) staff and volunteers competence

on project development and project planning.

Shoira Pahlavonova, the coordinator of RCST Youth and Volunteers projects, believes

that young volunteers can be great help in drafting the projects. She says currently the

Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan has about 15,000 volunteers throughout the country

and they are the main power of the Red Crescent in implementing its mission and

objectives.

Taking into account the activeness of young participants of the workshop, the

experienced external trainers widely used the interactive method.

The training involved the important parts of the PPP guidelines, such as logical

framework of the project; core elements of logical framework matrix; needs assessment;

definition of a problem; definition of results and objectives; action plan of the project;

monitoring and evaluation of the project; definition of required resources; budgeting;

format of request, etc.

In the workshop it was recommended to analyze the current situation with the project

planning at the RCST level; to organize PPP trainings for the branches volunteers; to start

project planning and budget forming; etc.

Providing the source of life

In 1997 the IFRC Country Representation in Tajikistan had started implementation of water and

sanitation activities in Tajikistan. Starting from the beginning of this programme up to day, the Red

Crescent Society of Tajikistan has implemented around 160 projects under the Water and Sanitation

programme in GBAO, Sughd, Khatlon provinces, and Direct Rule Districts. The aim of the programme is

to provide the population with safe drinking water and increase the level of knowledge and skills of

population to keep sanitary and hygiene norms.

In many areas of the world, access to basic health care is limited. In some communities, the lack of clean

water and adequate sanitation exposes children to serious but preventable illnesses. According to the

World Health Organization, some 60 per cent of all infectious diseases in Tajikistan are caused by

people’s poor access to safe drinking water. To improve the health and socio-economic situations

amongst vulnerable rural population, the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan (RCST) continues to provide

assistance for rural communities on getting access to safe drinking water, thus reducing the rate of

infectious water-borne diseases, especially amongst women and children. More than half a million rural

population got access to safe drinking water during implementation of the Water and Sanitation project.

“Irrigation ditches and rivers serve as the main source of water. Usage of such water leads to outbreaks of water-borne infectious diseases. In order to deliver

water, women and children overcome 2-3 km that creates great difficulties in winter, and effects on increasing of injuries among children, and on attendance of

schools” noted Mr. Karakhon Ahmadshoev, a member of the Water Users Committee.

Recently, a monitoring of two water and sanitation projects has been conducted in Rohati and Kamongaron villages. The project in Rohati village has been being

implemented since 2008, in Kamongaron village since 2004. “Before we used water from ditches and this resulted in water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever,

dysentery, and diarrhea. After implementation of the project, the level of infectious diseases was reduced at 50 per cent” says Mr. Rabi Saburov.

“We implemented our water and sanitation projects in districts that had not any trees, plants. After the pipeline was laid, you can see changes. The population

began to cultivate agricultural products and set trees. This has an impact on improvement of social conditions of the population”, says Mrs. Elena Lyapina, RCST

Water and Sanitation programme coordinator. “I am pleased to work for the Tajikistan Red Crescent Society, the reason is that I really can see the results of my

work. It inspires me and I work hard so that to see improvement of lives of vulnerable people. And by helping communities to take more responsibility for their

own health care, I try to make difference for tomorrow”.

Five years helping the people in need

A little girl, who lost her house after terrible flooding in Kulob city, is not the first person

assisted by Hasan, a volunteer of the Tajikistan Red Crescent Society. Five years ago, after

entering the university, Hasan Nozimov became a volunteer of the Red Crescent Society of

Tajikistan giving a hand to the vulnerable people.

Now Hasan Nozimov, a volunteer with five years of experience, is our colleague as well. The

Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan, with great confidence in him, assigned him to a position of

computer trainer to migrants in the information-education center in Vose district.

Hasan has already teaching expertise – in the framework of IREX programme, he taught

Internet courses in the Technological Institute of Kulob city those who wish. He graduated

this institute this year.

About his first steps in

the Movement he says: “After obtaining information about Henry Dunant, the founder of the

Movement, a rich man who could like other rich men enjoy his life, but devoted all his life to

assist those vulnerable, a desire to be a member of the Movement aroused in me. I respect the

Red Crescent because it enables me to render assistance to the people in need.

In this way, Hasan, during 5 years wears a T-shirt and a cap with a red crescent logo. For this

timeframe, he lended a hand to the floods affected people not only in Kulob city, but in

Ghozimalik, Panj, and Vose as well. He says that up to date he visits those who lost

everything in those terrible floods in Kulob city, so that to inform humanitarian organizations

what kind of relief the people are in need of.

Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan

International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Monthly Newsletter #1, July 2011

120 Umar Khayyom str., Dushanbe, 734017.Tajikistan

Tel.: (+992 37) 2240374;

Tel/Fax: (+992 37) 224 4433;

E-mails: abdulfattoh@inbox.ru; ganjina_bobokulova@ifrc.org

Weblog: www.tajikistanrc.wordpress.com