On February 1, 2006, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) opened the Children’s Educational Centre in the city of Dushanbe, in Tajikistan.

The centre provides children between the ages of 10 and 16 the opportunity to study English and computer literacy. The centre was opened with the financial support of Dr. John Elloway.

In 2006, 128 children will receive training at the centre. Each student will be charged a modest fee in exchange for training, allowing the centre to remain self-supported.

The computer classes will last for two months, in which the children will have the opportunity to learn basic skills necessary to operate a computer. The courses in English will last for three months.

The centre was opened in an effort to supplement the education of schoolchildren in Tajikistan with opportunities that will allow them to learn much needed skills. “Many children can find here the [basic] skills which will be necessary for their further development,” said Zafar Muratov, project director for the ADRA office in Tajikistan. The project is valued at US$4,752, including all of the expenses necessary to create the centre.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is an independent humanitarian agency established in 1984 by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the specific purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief. The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) granted ADRA general consultative status in 1997. ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, or ethnicity.