DUSHANBE, December 20, Asia-Plus – Continuing their annual tradition of organizing an Open Day in the Christmas season, the British Embassy this joined forces with the Delegation of the European Commission in Dushanbe to welcome local children to look around their offices and learn about what goes on there.
On Tuesday, December 19, a total of fifty children from Dushanbe, aged between 10 and 15, made a guided tour of the working places and meeting staff members of the British Embassy and the European Commission delegation, both situated in Ismoili Somoni district, before they were all invited to a party in a local restaurant.
“We have held this sort of Open Day for the past two years and it has been a popular occasion for both the visiting children and our staff,” said Mr. Graeme Loten, the British Ambassador. “But this year we are delighted that the European Commission Delegation is collaborating with us as well. Our two missions work together on many political and development issues during the year, for example in support of Tajik border forces on the Tajik-Afghan border through the BOMCA program which is funded by both the European Union and the British government. So it seemed quite natural that we should cooperate in this less formal occasion in the spirit of Christmas as well.”
Both diplomatic missions organized tours of their respective offices for the children, showing them everything from their official cars to their communication systems and giving them a chance to see what makes up a working day for foreign diplomats in Dushanbe. At the end of the tour all the children and staff of both missions will gather together for a joint party at the restaurant, Korvon-Saray.
Ms. Karen Prasser, Director of ORA International Project of Youth Clubs, said that the young people who took part in this year’s Open Days all come from the residential suburbs of Dushanbe. They participate in a project of youth clubs which is organized by the international NGO, Ora International, and which has been partly funded by the British Embassy. The project aims to empower and equip these marginalized young people to reach their full potential in life. She told journalists that the young people participating in the youth clubs project are studying Tajik and English languages and obtaining computer skills, etc. “The project has been working since 2003 and it covers more than 600 children,” Prasser said.
“I have visited this project’s center and seen the young people having opportunities to play sports, learn languages and get experience with computers which they would never normally be able to afford. It opens a whole new world to these children, who often live in impoverished circumstances right here in the city of Dushanbe,” Mr. Loten said of the Ora International project.
