Journey Of Hope - Fall 2018 Journey of Hope 2018 | Page 17

AN
KONA KURGAN High School was built by CAI Tajikistan.
Construction began in 2012 and finished a year later. Currently,
249 students (136 of whom are girls) study in 12 classrooms.
Next door, kindergarteners have their own facilities. A water
pump, installed deep enough so that it doesn’t freeze in the
winter, and toilets were also provided by CAI Tajikistan. It takes
travelers seven hours to travel from Khorog to Kona Kurgan.
IN THE WINTER, tractor-trailer trucks drive these
roads carrying goods between China and Dushanbe.
Accidents are frequent. Drivers navigate several feet of
snow, narrowly squeezing past 18-wheeler trucks stuck
in the ice.
ALI CHUR is three hours from Kona Kurgan. Despite the
distance, dozens of children from Ali Chur attend school
in Kona Kurgan. The school in Kona Kurgan, built by CAI
Tajikistan in 2012-13, is known as the best in the region.
Students frequently win local competitions and are
awarded stipends from the government for their excellent
academic performance.
FALL 2018
THE WIND IN BASH GU
MBEZ was especially stron
g
last year. When it tore the
roof off the local school,
the
villagers — mostly poor
yak farmers — didn’t hav
e the
money to replace it. With
funds from donors, like
you,
CAI Tajikistan stepped in
to help. This year 120 stu
den
ts
are studying under a new
, more durable roof.
bundles
of Ali Chur,
T
N
E
D
SI
E
R
A
rides
ents out as he
em
el
e
th
ep
ke
up to
Winter
around town.
his motorcycle
t for nine
mote settlemen
envelops this re
ng freeze
the year. The lo
of
t
ou
s
th
on
m
When
ther the locals.
bo
to
em
se
t
n’
does
16, the
taken in May 20
this picture was
zing.
well below free
temperature was
JOURNEY OF HOPE | 15