DUSHANBE, January 27, 2016, Asia-Plus -- On Tuesday January 26, Ms. Chie Tamura, Charge d’Affaires of Japan in the Republic of Tajikistan, alongside Mrs. Zumrad Ummatzoda, Deputy Chairperson of Yovon District, attended the handover ceremony for the “Project for Construction of New School Building for School No. 58 in Navobod Village, Hasan Huseinov Jamoat, Yovon District.”

The ceremony was also graced by the presence of officials from the region as well as parents, students, and community members.

According to Japan’s Embassy in Dushanbe, the project has been implemented by the Local Government of Yovon District and funded by the Government of Japan through the scheme of “Grant Assistance for Grassroots and Human Security Projects (GGP)”.  The GGP grant in the amount of $92.070 was effectively used to improve the educational environment and boost students’ enrollment.  The newly constructed school consists of six classrooms, director’s room, teachers’ room, and library.  It can now accommodate roughly 200 students and 20 teachers with a significantly improved learning environment. On this occasion, the local government of Yovon also equipped the new school building with new desks, chairs, blackboards and a sports corner.

During her speech at the handover ceremony, Ms. Tamura spoke about the importance of GGP projects for the development of Tajikistan, and the head of Educational Department of Yovon district-Safarali Sobirov expressed his sincere gratitude to the Government and people of Japan for their support.

The handover ceremony marks the expansion of contribution of the Government of Japan to promotion of quality education in Tajikistan.  The Government of Japan is dedicated to continuing its support for creating a better society for all people and committed to working together with the people of Tajikistan.

“Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Project” (GGP) is a scheme within Japan’s Official Development Assistance.  GGP in particular implements grassroots-level projects in various sectors throughout the Republic of Tajikistan.  Recipients of GGP grants include local governments, educational and medical institutions and NGOs.  As of today, GGP has supported 346 projects in the Republic of Tajikistan, for which US$ 28 million has been allocated since 1996.