Community Outreach 

On the 1

st

 of June, the Third Sector, in cooperation with the Information and Education Center for 

Children and Parents Education for Everybody, carried out a charitable activity for orphan children 

who have eye problems. This action was dedicated to Children Protection Day. 

The Third Sector also signed a contract with the Center of Volunteer Initiatives to work as partners to 

carry out joint programs on developing the volunteer movement in Dushanbe and the surrounding 

districts. They also worked out a strategy for achieving a set of common goals. The strategy includes 

conducting a survey to assess the quality of volunteers, the extent of needs for NGOs to have 

volunteers, and the training of NGOs on Volunteer Management. Within this partnership the Third 

Sector and the Center of Volunteer Initiatives have already conducted a training workshop on 

Effective Management of Volunteers for the leaders and volunteer managers of NGOs from Dushanbe 

and surrounding districts. The Norwegian Refugee Counsel supported the workshop.  

The Third Sector took an active part in preparing and conducting the Social partnership Conference 

conducted in June. The Third Sector's Training Coordinator was a member of the Working Group for 

conference. The Third Sector staff also updated the list of active NGOs located in Dushanbe and the 

surrounding districts. 

2. The Khujand CSSC (Consortium of Initiatives) 

Internal Capacity Building 

This quarter the Consortium of Initiatives received a grant from the UNHCR to provide assistance to 

Afghan refugees in Khujand. It is expected that more than 300 Afghan refugees will receive different 

kinds of assistance during the implementation of the project. The services offered by the Consortium 

of Initiatives to Afghan refugees will include consultations, medical assistance, vocational trainings, 

and some forms of financial assistance. In June the Consortium of Initiatives conducted a survey to 

assess the social and economic status of Afghan refugees. Based on this information the Consortium 

of Initiatives will identify the Afghan beneficiaries for the project.   

The Consortium of Initiatives conducted 12 trainings for new NGOs and other NGOs on advanced 

modules. Almost all the trainings were held in partnership with Academy for Educational 

Development (AED). The representative of AED was satisfied with the quality of them and 

mentioned high quality of the Consortium of Initiatives' contract trainers. 

The Consortium of Initiatives and Mercy Corps, along with the local NGO, Media Group, have 

developed a strategy on providing joint fee based services to NGOs, business and on government 

structures. The Consortium of Initiatives also arranged a special training on Volunteer Management 

for the employees of Mercy Corps. Mercy Corps paid a fee for conducting this training.  

Community Outreach 

This quarter Counterpart Tajikistan's partner NGO in Khujand, the Consortium of Initiatives, 

completed its Volunteer Education Program. As a result of this program, 25 have learned about civil 

society and NGO management issues and they are now ready to work in NGOs. The NGO Zerkalo 

conducted the last training on How to Conduct Sociological Research. After the training a number of 

the volunteers joined Zerkalo as volunteers to conduct surveys on the vulnerable, the street children 

and the independent mass media of Tajikistan.  

In May the Consortium of Initiatives, and a number of volunteers worked with 50 children from the 

Rodnichok Children's House. As a result six volunteers decided to work with the children on a regular 

bases.  

The Consortium of Initiatives has successfully completed the project Communities Respond to the 

Challenge funded by a Counterpart Tajikistan NGO Support Grant. Under the Grant, the Consortium 

of Initiatives worked with three communities in the district of Gafurov: Itorchi, Okteppa and 

Olmabaroz, to assist them in identifying their problems and mobilize them for addressing those 

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