An isolated community springs to life

June19, 2006 - Just five years ago, Khakim Nazarov’s prospects looked daunting. The young boy’s family and the rest of his community were resettled by the government from a disaster-prone area in mountainous Gorno Badakhshan to the arid plains of the Kabadiyan district in southern Tajikistan and left to their own devices. The new settlement, called “Navruz” (Tajik for New Year), lacked even the most basic living conditions and had no social or economic infrastructure.

However, the misery and isolation of this community have abated. Ten-year old Khakim now has a house to live in, a place to study and parents who can finally face the future with hope rather than despair. Villagers have gained a sense of confidence in their own fate thanks to the financial and technical support provided by the National Social Investment Fund of Tajikistan (NSIFT), an implementing agency for the World Bank-funded Second Poverty Alleviation Project.

When the community of 346 people, comprising primarily women and children, established Navruz in 2001, people had to walk several kilometers to the nearest source of water. Villagers lived in tents - an extremely uncomfortable arrangement given the region’s harsh climate characterized by severe winters and scorching hot summers.

NSIFT is there to help the ones most in need

The National Social Investment Fund of Tajikistan stepped in to help this isolated community with several life-saving projects. A total of 56 new houses were constructed – one for every family in the village. A school and a rural health unit were built and are now functioning. An ambulance was also provided so that villagers could reach the nearest hospital, 50 kilometers away, in the district center.

“The impact made by the Social Investment Fund here is unbelievable”, says Saidnuriddin Saidnuriddinov, the community leader and head of the public association “Sarez.” “We were put into frustrating conditions when we arrived and I didn’t know how we would make it. We were completely left on our own. Today you can’t recognize this once deserted land. Right now, we are confidently settled here. We have established our own NGO and want to improve our lives further. We really appreciate the World Bank’s financial ad technical support since its share in rebuilding this community’s life is enormous.”

The village’s new school, which initially only provided primary education, has been expanded and now caters to children up to the 9th grade.

“Education is crucial for a person to become a full member of society. People of the region we come from have always attached a very high importance to education,” says the school teacher of Navruz. “Therefore, for me as a teacher, it was particularly painful that our kids had no opportunity to attend school for two years. This situation took them to the brink of full illiteracy. Finally we acquired a new school and our kids do not have to move from place to place with their teachers anymore…”

The National Social Investment Fund of Tajikistan (NSIFT) was established in 1997 under the World Bank-funded Poverty Alleviation Project to address widespread poverty in the country by community empowerment and increasing the incomes of the poor on a sustainable basis. The Fund entered its second phase in September 2002 under the Second Poverty Alleviation Project for an amount of about USD 14 million. NSIFT targets small infrastructure projects such as schools and health clinic rehabilitation, water supply, sanitation and irrigation and broader scale social and economic development projects. It works extensively with local communities before, during and after the projects’ completion. NSIFT allows communities to identify priority problems, and then gives them the tools as well the financial support that are needed to start tackling these problems.

To date, NSIFT has supported around 490 projects throughout Tajikistan. It helped improve the lives of over a million people – including the inhabitants of Navruz.

Committed to improving their lives further

“There was nothing on this land when NSIFT started working with the community and people seemed completely lost. But today the community is very active. They’ve transformed their Community Development Committee into a legally registered NGO and work with other partners on new projects,” says Maksud Muhiddinov, the Chief Community Development Specialist of NSIFT. “We are very happy with the results achieved here and the fact that the community has assumed responsibility for its future is the best measurement of our effectiveness,” he added.

Community members participate in projects mainly by contributing labor (a resource in excess in this community where unemployment is rampant). Boosted and empowered by these activities, Navruz’s community leaders have started turning to other international partners, including IOM, ACTED and Global Partners for support in implementing follow-up projects addressing the village’s pressing needs. Thanks to these efforts, the community, for example, has gained access to drinking and irrigation water through borehole pumps. It has built a bath-house and is now able to purchase seeds for agricultural purposes.

The inhabitants of Navruz have managed to change their lives for the better but still face tremendous challenges. However they are much better equipped to respond to social challenges today than they were a few years back. This new resourcefulness is the project’s main achievement.

Read more about the Second Poverty Alleviation Project