BEFORE
AFTER
School # 7 in Sokhcharv Village: Early Childhood Development classroom before and after
SCHOOL # 7 AND # 8
Most schools in the region date from the Soviet era and have seen few major repairs since. Built from wood, plaster, and other materials never meant to endure generations of mountain winters, they now contend with sinking foundations, crumbling walls, failing windows, and sanitation that would be unacceptable almost anywhere else.
That was the reality at School # 7 in Sokhcharv and School # 8 in Derzud. Students sat in classrooms where broken windows let the winter in and heating systems couldn ' t keep up. For children who depend on these schools, the state of the building shapes every day of their education. In 2025, Central Asia Institute( CAI) and its local partner, CAI- Tajikistan( CAI-T), began major renovations at both schools, working alongside the communities to create safer, warmer, and more welcoming places to learn.
INFRASTRUCTURE BEFORE AND AFTER
In rural Tajikistan, a school is often the center of village life. At Schools # 7 and # 8, it had also become a daily test of endurance.
Built in 1985, School # 8 in Derzud had gone more than 40 years without a major renovation. More than 350 students
" At School # 7, CAI-Tajikistan( CAI-T) renovated the classrooms used by the schoolchildren and teachers, creating a cleaner, brighter, and more comfortable environment for teaching and learning."— Mahbuba Qurbonalieva, CAI-T Program Director
14 | 2026-2027 JOURNEY OF HOPE
learned each day in a building worn down by time, where aging windows, deteriorating facilities, and inadequate sanitation had become part of the school experience.
At School # 7, the story was much the same. These challenges affected not only primary school students but also the children attending the village ' s Early Childhood Development( ECD) center, many of whom were just beginning their educational journey. CAI-T ' s work targeted the structural problems first: the walls, floors, ceilings, windows, and doors that keep a building standing and keep the weather out. The goal was a school that could function reliably through the long mountain winter, year after year.
BEFORE BEFORE
AFTER
Classroom before and after of school # 8 in Derzud Village
CENTRAL ASIA INSTITUTE