DUSHANBE, September 15, Asia-Plus -- On Thursday September 14, the U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan, Tracey Jacobson, held a signing ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe to award $68,659 in grants for two cultural preservation projects in Tajikistan. 

According to information from the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, the goal of the first grant is to assist the Ministry of Culture of Tajikistan to continue work on creation of a database of historical and cultural sites in Tajikistan.  The project’s goal is to create an electronic catalog and publish a print version. 

The second grant is designed to provide continued support for the Protection and Renovation of the Khoja Mashad Madrassa and Mausoleum in Shahritus in southern Tajikistan.  This project aims to preserve and extend the life of the Khoja Mashad Madrassa and Mausoleum, to ensure that it is accessible for future generations, and that it remains a place of pilgrimage for Tajiks and neighboring Muslims. 

            These grants are funded through the U.S. Ambassador''s Fund for Cultural Preservation. Previous year''s projects in Tajikistan included the renovation of Sarazm Archeological Museum in Panjakent, preservation of the books of national and world heritage at the Library of the Academy of Science of Tajikistan, preservation of some Tajik Oral archives and the restoration of the Sleeping Buddha at the Antiquities Museum. 

Since its beginning in 2001, the Ambassador''s Fund for Cultural Preservation Program has funded six projects in Tajikistan in the amount of $141,200.  These two new projects bring this amount to $209,859.