DUSHANBE, October 26, 2011, Asia-Plus — Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR JAPAN) yesterday launched the project, Strengthening Wheelchair Production/ and Repair of Facilities of Hissar Boarding School for Children with Disabilities in Khatlon and Districts Subordinate to the Center.
According to the AAR JAPAN Office in Tajikistan, the project is funded by the Government of Japan with 559,355 US dollars.
A press release issued by AAR JAPAN Office in Tajikistan on October 25 says that with a firm goal of enabling the persons with disabilities (PWDs) achieve a sense of independence in their lives, AAR JAPAN will work on enhancing the existing state of wheelchair production and the school for children with disabilities in the target regions.
AAR JAPAN has started the project with improving the physical infrastructure of the wheelchair workshop, which is run by local NGO Dilshod, located in Vakhsh district. On-the-job training will be provided to the staff members of the workshop, who themselves have disabilities, by a Japanese expert specialized in wheelchair manufacturing.
For Hissar Boarding School, its roof and greenhouses will be renovated to provide better learning environment to the children with disabilities. It will be the first renovation since its construction in 1983. Renovated greenhouses will give the opportunity for the students to grow vegetables, which will serve as a therapy for them.
To commemorate the start of the project, AAR JAPAN hosted the signing ceremony with the company of Mr. Hiroyuki Imahashi, the Ambassador of the Embassy of Japan, Director of Dilshod and the Deputy Director of the Hissar Boarding School on October 25, 2011.
Yoshio Nakagawa, Program Coordinator of AAR JAPAN, noted that the project would contribute to setting-up a sufficient environment for the wheelchair production and the children with disabilities, which will lead to the better life of PWDs in Tajikistan.
Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR JAPAN) is a non-governmental organization aiming to provide emergency assistance, assistance to people with disabilities, mine action and assistance to HIV/AIDS. Established in 1979 as an organization with no political, ideological, or religious affiliation, we aim to extend emergency and long term support to the people in need of help. 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.
