The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) presented gift packages filled with school supplies and toys to 500 children the Rasht area of Tajikistan. ADRA delivered packages to 13 area schools.

The ADRA office in Tajikistan worked closely with the country’s Department of Education to identify recipients most in need. The majority of the children selected to participate in the project come from large families, poor families, or single parent homes. Many were orphaned in the country’s civil war.

“During the civil war of 1992-1997, many children witnessed horrifying events, and were forced to experience famine, poverty, war, and death,” said Victor Mukhanov, project assistant for the ADRA office in Tajikistan. “Their only toys were gun cartridges and sleeves,” he explained.

At each school, the children eagerly opened colorfully wrapped packages containing books, colored pens and pencils, toys, and more. For many, this was the first gift they had ever received.

“The distribution of gifts is a wonderful event in the lives of schoolchildren like those from the Rasht area, because their childhood is very difficult, and holidays seldom visit their homes,” said Zafar Muratov, project director for ADRA Tajikistan. “We just wanted to give them the holiday they deserve,” he finished.

The project will be repeated in the beginning of 2007.

ADRA has been active in Tajikistan since 1997. The ADRA Tajikistan office primarily works in the areas of basic education, disaster management, primary health, and economic development.