Celebrating the International Literacy Day and the Teacher Day in a joint event in South Tajikistan

The event, organized in school #1 in Qurgan-teppa city by the USAID funded programs "Reading for Children" (implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation) and "Reading Together" (implemented by the American Insitutes for Research in partnership with Save the Children), involved children, parents and teachers, and was attended by Ms. Khadijat Mojidi, Acting Country Director USAID/Tajikistan, Ms. Shahnoza Kholova, Head of the District Educational Department, and Mr. Kholmurudov Abdusator, representative of the hosting Saraband district. Mr. Kholmurodov welcomed guests, children, teachers and parents, highlighting the number of people reached out by the USAID initiatives: “Teachers and educators have a primary role on promoting reading in schools and communities. Since 2012, we have raised the interest of children for reading as well as their capacity of understanding. We have reached out over 50,000 children and 4,000 parents”. 

Ms. Khadijat Mojidi, USAID/Tajikistan, echoed the importance of strengthening the capacity and the role of teachers. “I am a mother and a grandmother and, on behalf of USAID and of the people of the United States of America, I want to thanks the governor, the authorities and all the good people of Saraband district for hosting this event”, said Ms. Khadijat. “USAID has been supporting basic education in Tajikistan with over US$40 million, through long-standing partnership with the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan”, she continued, “USAID and its partners are proud to see the books in native language that we produced and the training modules for teachers integrated into the national curriculum”.

After the speeches, pre-school children and primary school children performed songs and dances, a puppet show and role-played based on the books they read. Teachers were pleased to present the storybooks that they developed for their pupils, using materials available in rural areas. Key moment for teachers and children was the open-dialogue with books’ writers, Ms. Latofat Kenjaeva, Mr. Azizi Aziz, and Mr. Haibatov Hamad, who explained how they create the books, adjusting stories from Tajik tradition and developing new stories. Members of the Parent-Teachers Association had the chance to ask question to books’ writers, local authorities and guests, thanking USAID and its partners for the work they done to boost literacy in their villages. 

Reading is the basis for learning and is a survival skill in today’s world. The ‘Reading Together’ program, funded by USAID, aims at fighting poverty by ensuring that children can read. The program targeted primary school children, through in-schools and out-of-schools activities involving teachers, parents and communities. The ‘Reading Together’ / Quality Reading Project is implemented by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) in partnership with Save the Children.