Telling Our Story

Bibioisha Saidkhojeva sits, needle in hand, surrounded by her colorful labors of love… and economic independence.  Emroidered pillowcases, curtains and meticulously sewn dresses are strewn about the floor as Bibioisha explains the importance of sewing.

Sayohat Faiziddinova is one of 2,000 primary school teachers across Tajikistan that is using the new Primary School Curriculum Standards, which were updated recently with USAID support. “Teaching is easy now,” says Faiziddinova, who works at secondary school # 12 in Tajikistan’s south.

Like many teachers in Tajikistan, just a year ago Sayohat was using a teacher-centered approach with old textbooks and curriculum standards inherited from the Soviet education system. Setting out learning objectives and goals for each lesson was not part of Soviet era teaching practice.

In Chorku, a small community in Tajikistan’s Isfara district, only 42% of girls continue their studies after 9th grade, but Faroiz Makhkamova and Robiyai Amirullo are changing attitudes about girls’ education.

Intrigued by a performance staged by participants of USAID’s Youth Theater for Peace (YTP) project, Robiyai asked to join the local YTP drama group and quickly gained respect among peers and teachers for her leadership on stage. Her parents, too, were very proud. “They started to believe in my capability to learn new things.

Challenge Tajikistan, a post-conflict country in Central Asia, faces the challenge of high student drop-out rates, particularly among girls. Schools are overcrowded and often incapable of satisfying students’ social and emotional needs for support. Because it is common for adults to migrate abroad for work, children often lack support from immediate family members. The UNICEF Global School-based Student Health survey has indicated 23.3 % of students in Tajikistan felt a daily sense of hopelessness, and 12% had even considered suicide.