DUHANBE, August 22, Asia-Plus -- Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS) and the Tajik Ministry of Education (MoE) hosted a two-day Trainer training workshop at the Institute of Professional Development of Ministry of Education in Dushanbe on August 18-19.

Sitora Shokamolova, Communication Officer with Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Tajikistan, said the workshop aimed to prepare individuals to implement Basic Disaster Awareness Trainings in schools throughout Tajikistan and to further include earthquake safety initiatives in school curricula.

This initiative, funded primarily by Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), seeks to build on the previous accomplishments of the Central Asia Region Earthquake Safety Initiative (CARESI) Projects by improving the ability of schoolchildren to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. The CARESI Projects focus on the reducing community vulnerability to earthquakes in the Central Asian region through community-based disaster preparedness and mitigation

FOCUS is an international group of agencies established in Europe, North America, and South Asia to complement the provision of emergency relief, principally in the developing world. It helps people in need reduce their dependence on humanitarian aid and facilitates their transition to sustainable, self-reliant, long-term development. FOCUS is affiliated with the Aga Khan Development Network, a group of institutions working to improve opportunities and living conditions for people of all faiths and origins in specific regions of the developing world. Underlying the establishment of FOCUS by the Ismaili Muslim community is a history of successful initiatives to assist people struck by natural and man-made disasters in South and Central Asia and Africa.