Tajikistan

Context at a glance

Bozorova shares a house in a substandard section of Dushanbe with 7 other people. The household survives on a monthly income of £29

A former Soviet republic, Tajikistan gained independence in 1991, but plunged immediately into political turmoil and a civil war that lasted until 1997. Since then, Tajikistan’s economy has struggled. Most of the population scrapes a living from subsistence agriculture, plus money sent back by family members working abroad. Many people depend on humanitarian aid for survival. More than 80% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Due to the civil war and the economic collapse, practically all house building has come to a halt. Many unfinished homes are scattered all across Tajikistan while existing buildings deteriorate because of neglect. Families live in houses made of raw brick or clay with dirt floors. Their homes are not only decaying and unsanitary, but were not built to withstand earthquakes in a region prone to such disasters.

Habitat for Humanity programme

Habitat for Humanity got involved in Tajikistan in 1999, two years after the end of the country’s civil war. In partnership with Shelter for Life International, HFH has been building in the southern and northern regions of the war-torn country. In November 2003, a community group in the northern city of Khujand was officially welcomed on board as the newest Central Asian affiliate of Habitat.

The first housing project that Habitat for Humanity undertook was in response to the need to resettle the families forced away from their homes during the civil war. One particular focus of HFH’s work has been to encourage educated professionals who had better chances abroad to stay in Tajikistan where their skills and knowledge are so needed. Thus the first 15 houses were built with families of doctors and teachers – two professions that are seriously underpaid in Tajikistan. HFH later continued to build in partnership with low-income families of all backgrounds.

After the success of the building project in the south, families in the northern city of Khujand expressed the wish to partner with Habitat. Moreover, the local government provided HFH with good land and easy access to infrastructure. Khujand already has a considerable community of Habitat homeowners and new homes are under construction on what has come to be called “ Habitat Street”. In addition to constructing new houses, HFH Tajikistan also works on building shells left abandoned since Soviet times. Khujand local government has already donated three such unfinished buildings that became homes for ten families in need.

In its construction work, Habitat uses materials available in the region, such as fired brick and stone. Buildings also need to be able to withstand earthquakes.

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