A human story of our beneficiary
“I dreamed of becoming a doctor, I often went to work with my mother. She worked as a nurse in an emergency hospital in Dushanbe. I helped her with cleaning the premises, caring for the sick, processing instruments, etc. Unfortunately, after graduating from school, I was not able to enter a medical college but entered the communications lyceum…” shared Umar Akaev, who is 21 years old.
Umar’s mother raised two children alone. When Umar was 6 years old, he was sent to an orphanage, after which he was sent to a boarding school, where he studied from first to eighth grade. He was then transferred to a comprehensive school and received a high school diploma. Soon he suffered a difficult fate. “My mother fell ill with a severe form of pneumonia, and my sister was sent to a boarding school”.
“I started working odd jobs, living in a hostel in one room without amenities or means of subsistence. It was very difficult, there was a lot of disappointment, and from time to time I even had thoughts of committing suicide. The only thing that kept me going was the thought of what would happen to my mother and sister, they love me so much,” said Umar.
From February 2021 to February 2023, Umar was in a juvenile penal institution for committing unlawful acts. According to him, fate was merciful to him; he was granted an amnesty and was released early. After his release, he had many factors for distress, losing ID documents, stigmatization, employment problems, and lack of livelihood. He grabbed any job, but not always and not all jobs accepted him.
There is not a single person in the world, who has never experienced failure throughout his life. Failure is in the nature of the growth of human beings. When a person fails, he/she has to have an opportunity to reconsider his decisions, values, and behavior. The experience of failure forces us to develop feelings of compassion, empathy and compassion. These three emotions are important tools on our path to improving and becoming better.
Once, during a medical examination with a narcologist to obtain a certificate for employment, Umar met with an employee of Caritas Tajikistan. Then he learned that a center was opening at the Caritas Tajikistan’s office to help such vulnerable people like him.
Coming to the center, he met other beneficiaries and saw the work of specialists and their positive attitude towards beneficiaries. They treated everyone with respect and understanding, supported and taught us to look at the future with hope. Together, step by step, they made real plans.
“I began to visit the center every week, consulted a lawyer and a psychologist and observed with great interest the behavior and attitude of the center’s employees and admired their professionalism, friendliness and desire to help,” Umar Akayev shared his impressions.
As a result of the teamwork of the center’s employees in the provision of social services, Umar was able to graduate from the Communications Lyceum, where he entered before being sent to prison. Umar increased his self-esteem and gained a sense of self-confidence. To realize his dream, he was able to get a job in an emergency hospital to gain experience and enter medical college the next academic year. And in his free time from duty, he works part-time as an usher in a cinema.
It should be noted that the social services provided at the center are part of the project “Rehabilitation, socialization and reintegration of convicts and former convicts, graduates – orphans and homeless people in Tajikistan”, funded by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The project’s social services include legal and psychological consultations, referral services, haircuts, laundry, showers and first aid.
The project is being implemented by the Affiliation of Caritas Germany in Tajikistan in partnership with public organizations “Society of Psychologists – Consultants and Psychotherapists of the Republic of Tajikistan”, “Legal Initiative” and “Caritas Tajikistan”.
Dreams come true, the main thing is to believe in them and never give up!
