DUSHANBE, October 4, 2011, Asia-Plus -- The U.S. Embassy''s Office of Defense Cooperation donated $2,770 worth of kitchen and housekeeping equipment to Orphanage Number One in Dushanbe on September 30.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, this equipment will provide improved nutrition and hygiene to 130 homeless children.  Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Gross and Ms. Firuza Nasimova represented the U.S. Embassy in a handover ceremony at the orphanage.

Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Gross said, “When the U.S. Embassy learned that Orphanage Number One in Dushanbe had a 20 year old refrigerator, we immediately looked for ways we could replace it with a new one to improve the health of the children there.”

The United States Central Command, through the Office of Defense Cooperation’s Humanitarian Assistance program, donated a new refrigerator, a new oven, 3 televisions, and 4 vacuum cleaners. Central Command''s Humanitarian Assistance programs focus on providing assistance to those most vulnerable.  Since 1992, the American people have provided more than $984 million in programs and humanitarian aid that support Tajikistan’s democratic institutions, health care, education and economic growth.