DUSHANBE, June 5, Asia-Plus  -- FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance has sponsored rehabilitation of a tremor-affected kindergarten in Khatlon’s Qimsangir district.

Press release issued by the FOCUS Dushanbe Office said that kindergarten Firouza in the Qumsangir district was seriously damaged by devastating earthquake that hit Qumsangir on July 29, 2006 and its was in very poor state during a year because main works were focusing on rehabilitation of residential buildings.  

After detailed assessment conducted by the government of Tajikistan, the Qumsangir local authorities and FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance decided to rehabilitate the kindergarten and the rehabilitation work started last August.  The rehabilitated kindergarten, which is now able to accommodate 120 children, was officially handed over to the Qumsangir authorities last month.   

Focus Humanitarian Assistance is an international group of agencies established in Europe, North America and South Asia to complement the provision of emergency relief, principally in the developing world. It helps people in need reduce their dependence on humanitarian aid and facilitates their transition to sustainable self-reliant, long-term development. Focus Humanitarian Assistance is affiliated with the Aga Khan Development Network, a group of institutions working to improve opportunities and living conditions, for people of all faiths and origins, in specific regions of the developing world.  Underlying the establishment of FOCUS by the Ismaili Muslim community is a history of successful initiatives to assist people struck by natural and man-made disasters in South and Central Asia, and Africa.

FOCUS has worked in Tajikistan since 1997.  Over the past period, FOCUS has helped the country cope with more than 40 disasters and provided assistance to the population for an amount of more than $500,000.