DUSHANBE, March 15, 2012, Asia-Plus — Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR JAPAN) has implemented the project, Strengthening Wheelchair Production and Repair of Facilities of Hisor Boarding School for Children with Disabilities in Districts Subordinate to the Center and Khatlon Province, since October 25, 2011, press release issued by AAR JAPAN on March 14 said.
This project is funded by the Government of Japan (559,355 U.S. dollars) and also supported by donations from the general public of Japan.
First, AAR JAPAN started to reconstruct the facilities of wheelchair workshop “Dilshod” in the Vakhsh district in Khatlon province and Hisor boarding school for children with disabilities.
The Dilshod was renovated and new industrial tools also were installed to increase the production capacity of the wheelchair.
In Hisor, four roofs (more than 5000 m2) of the main building were reconstructed as well as one of the greenhouses (300 m2) on the school’s property was renovated.
A Japanese wheelchair engineer will be invited to demonstrate how to conduct the assessment to produce the wheelchair properly fitted for persons with disabilities. He will also develop the process of manufacturing the wheelchair on the job training. As for Hisor boarding school, the renovated greenhouse will be used as a part of therapy for children with disabilities and they will start to grow the vegetables with the farmers in the neighboring community.
AAR JAPAN supports the persons with disabilities to participate in the society of Tajikistan and promote the sense of independence in their lives through this project of developing the wheelchair production and repair of facilities of the Hisor boarding school for children with disabilities in districts subordinate to the center and Khatlon province.
To commemorate the completion of the reconstruction in the both facilities, AAR JAPAN on March 13 hosted the opening ceremony with the presence of Mr. Hiroyuki Imahashi, Japan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan, and directors of the Dilshod workshop and the Hisor Boarding School.
AAR JAPAN was founded as the first Japanese NGO to support refugees in 1979. Since then, many volunteers have been supporting AAR”s activities. AAR has special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and it seeks to contribute to international cooperation through supporting refugees. Since 1997, the organization has become one of the 16 members of the Coordinating Committee of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), co-laureate of Nobel Peace Prize in 1997. AAR is now operational in many mine-affected countries. It also aims to provide emergency assistance and assistance to people with disabilities. AAR JAPAN is currently active in Japan and other thirteen countries around the world.
AAR JAPAN has been implementing projects in Tajikistan since 2001, targeting on emergency assistance, medical and agricultural sectors for PWDs.
