Sarah Royall's blog

Everybody helps out in Tajik communities. Photo: Sadullo Ubaidulloev for Mercy Corps

Tajikistan is a small former Soviet Republic situated just north of Afghanistan. The contrast between the two neighboring countries is striking. The occasional bullet-ridden and bombed-out buildings alongside slowly decomposing scraps of former tanks are regular reminders of the violent six-year civil war that ended just barely a decade ago and went largely unpublicized in the West. Some communities have suffered enduring conflicts with violent flare-ups as recently as last year — and this is where you’ll find Mercy Corps working.

Despite these past conflicts, all over Tajikistan we find communities working together to promote peace and improve one another’s situations. “Hashars” are Tajik community get-togethers. Unlike the neighborly meet-ups in my neighborhood in America where we share gossip over drinks, here the community gets together to work on a project that benefits everyone, such as improving the roads or cutting hay that everyone can use.

A community in Obi Mehnat, Rasht Valley gathers to discuss their ideas to tackle youth unemployment. Photo: Sarah Royall for Mercy Corps

On a recent field visit to a village high in the mountains, we came to what appeared to be the end of a barely passable road. It’s obvious to see why the community has asked for our help in improving these roads. The community members decided to start the work themselves and organized a community hashar, repairing the worst part of the road. Since there are so many miles of roads that are in need of serious repairs, especially before the challenging winter weather sets in, our contribution can stretch a little further now that the community has started the first few feet.

When our recent project began in Tajikistan, we started by forming Community Action Groups (CAGs) who steer all of our work in these villages. A few weeks ago, our team led a training about the Vision for Change with one of our CAGs. Afterwards, the participants were eager to share how they related to our values. It was clear that this really resonated with them, especially because the idea of community-led development is already a strong concept in their culture.

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A Tajik bride and groom are welcomed to the groom's parent's resident in Mienadu, Tajikistan. Photo: Nuriddin Mukhtorov for Mercy Corps

About a year ago, I was sailing into the sunset off the coast of Maine with my boyfriend (who also works for Mercy Corps) when all of a sudden a ring appeared! Since then I’ve sadly spent more time out of the country than in the U.S. with my fiancée, first in Vietnam and now in Tajikistan. Somehow, though, the wedding planning has gone on despite my travels to places where the internet and phone connections are sporadic, or non-existent.

My engaged Tajik colleague and I have spent many hours comparing our wedding planning processes. The President of Tajikistan has put a US$2,000 limit on wedding spending (my parents would like this). There is no Tajik word for engagement because most marriages are arranged and it all happens so fast. The groom says he’s ready for a bride, and voilà! His parents present a beautiful bride.

Like most Tajik events, there’s a lot of food involved. The buffet we’re planning pales in comparison to the amount of food presented at Tajik weddings. Even in areas where families are struggling to make ends meet, they find a way to throw together an excellent party for their children.

Tajik girls dance at a wedding in Mienadu,Tajikistan. Photo: Nuriddin Mukhtorov for Mercy Corps

As for bridal style, we both wear white, although I’m opting for off-white to hide how pale I’ve become from being covered all the time in Tajikistan. While I’m skipping the veil, this is absolutely not an option for Tajik brides who wear a knee-length thick veil. In fact the veil is so thick that the brides can’t really see through it, so they hold it out in front of them while they walk with a bridesmaid gently guiding them.

Often times the bridal and groom parties split off after the ceremony. Ladies and men break off into separate food and dancing parties while the children look on hoping someone will pass them some of the candy or a boiled egg from the table. It’s a tradition to tip the dancers, so children can make out like bandits this way. One of my favorite moments at a wedding I was recently invited to was when the groom took the plateful of candy that had been placed on his lap and threw it into a crowd of children! It was utter chaos!

Moments like these you realize that despite the abject poverty we see in many developing countries there is still so much joy.

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After four hours of winding through bumpy dirt roads heading east from the capital of Tajikistan — Dushanbe — hugging mountain sides with sharp drop-offs to a rushing river, you'll find yourself in Gharm. It's a small, conservative town by most standards. There's one restaurant, a small daily market and a few shops that carry that Tajik staples: RC cola, rice, cookies, soap, etc.

The road crossing a river in Tavildara, Rasht Valley, Tajikistan Photo: Sarah Royall for Mercy Corps

For the past six weeks this is where I have called home. Most fellow expats in Tajikistan ask me, how do you live in such a small place? But I rather like it actually and I think it's important that Mercy Corps places expats out in the field where our work is really happening.

As though Gharm weren't small enough, I've been spending the last few weeks in even smaller villages. The roads to these villages are even worse than the road to Gharm. Our drivers skillfully pass through small rivers, slosh through muddy roads and find the road where I honestly can't see it.

The road to Gharm, Tajikistan on a good day in summer. Photo: Sarah Royall for Mercy Corps

What's at the end of these roads is astonishing. Most of Tajikistan is covered with high mountains, and amazingly people find a way to live up there. Not only do they survive the harsh winters, but they do so with an incredible sort of grace. Everywhere we go people greet us with smiles and laughter, and beg us to share a cup of tea with them or even stay the night.

Last week we visited a little village in the district of Obi Mehnat. During the winter these villages are completely cut off from larger towns because the snow makes the difficult roads up the mountains completely impassable. In 2002, Mercy Corps built the first school up in this village.

I met one of the school teachers who herself had only been able to attend 8th grade because the village lacked any further grades. She boasted that now the students from their village are constantly ranking in the top of the country for academic achievements. Not only that, but in the heart of the conservative Islamic Rasht valley, they are graduating more girls than boys!

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Last week I visited Mercy Corps’ first youth employment project to get started under the Tajikistan Stability Enhancement Program, the program I’m assisting with this summer. In the sweltering heat, we entered a small room with five girls working away on sewing machines. The instructor constantly wiped sweat away from her brow as she talked to us about the program.

Over 80 girls from the impoverished area of Shaartuz, in the lower part of Tajikistan, applied for this training. Twenty were selected based on their need and their completion of 11th grade. The instructor told us it’s important to ensure they complete 11th grade because otherwise girls or their families will want to leave school early to complete this training.

A sewing instructor in Shaartuz, Tajikistan empowers women by giving them skills that will help them earn money for their families. Photo: Manzura Mamadalieva for Mercy Corps

Two stories in particular touched me from this visit. There was a 20-year-old woman sitting in the front row who proudly showed off the dress she was wearing, which she had sewn herself. It was visible that this course had improved her self-esteem, something that will translate into innumerable improvements in her life.

Girls learning to sew in Shaartuz, Tajikistan gain more than a new skill. Photo: Manzura Mamadalieva for Mercy Corps

The second was a young woman working quietly in the back row. She told us that her husband had gone to Russia for work, a fairly common situation and one sort-of pushed by the state. Unfortunately he never came back and she has two children at home to care for. She was looking forward to finishing this three-month course so that she could take out a small loan from a microfinance institute and buy a sewing machine to start her own business. This sewing school offers business planning assistance, including help on finding financial assistance.

It’s inspiring to see the ways that Mercy Corps projects can empower women and help improve the economy at the same time.

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I've been in Tajikistan for a few days now and I finally admitted to my colleagues that I packed most of a suitcase with food because I was that worried about my ability to find vegetarian food here. They all laughed at me because the food here is actually quite good, even for vegetarians.

On my first day here, I wandered into a small market near the Mercy Corps guest house in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. A woman with an entire top row of gold teeth welcomes us to her table and allows us to sample her goodies: multiple kinds of almonds including sugared, a variety of dried apricots from last year and maybe even before, dried cherries, dried rose hips, and roasted chickpeas with or without salt from this year or before.

This was the first moment I was embarrassed to have brought my suitcase with food, which is mostly filled with almonds and dried fruit.

The Mercy Corps cooks have been very accommodating about making me vegetarian meals with protein, something I particularly struggled with when I worked in Africa. During my safety briefing I was even told that my diet is recommended during the hot season because power fluctuates frequently, causing meat to go from hot to cold and hot again before cooking, allowing bacteria to flourish first in your food and then in your gut! Sadly, the same thing happens to ice cream, so I have been warned to avoid this too. I was looking forward to ice cream, but my waistline will probably thank me!

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