With over 1,000 visitors, Saturday October 6 saw the first “Rangorang” Silk Road Heritage festival spring to life in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The event was the culmination of 3 months
work by 18 ICS volunteers. “Rangorang” means multicoloured in Tajiki and so was
an appropriate name for this diverse and inclusive festival. There were various
performances by singing groups, disabled students with young music school kids
and children from an art school that offers free extra-curricular lessons to
gifted children from all backgrounds. These groups shared the platform with
popular dancing groups of Tajikistan.
The puppet show was not left unattended by many excited visitors as well.
The craft seller’s bazaar in the festival
offered economic opportunities for marginalised groups. The “Caravan of Hope”came
to sell handicrafts and jewellery created by women who have suffered domestic
abuse to help fund refuges; there were paintings for sale from young orphan
artists. Those craftsmen who took part
in such an event for the first time were invited to join the crafts exhibitions
in the future. Handmade bags from genuine
leather with national ornaments, embroidered souvenirs, beautiful pottery,
handmade fabric, traditional costumes and many other things were being
sold. Fresh fruits and candy floss as
well as 20 % discount in local restaurant was offered for participants only in
this day.
The festival was organised in partnership
with the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Service that trains young people to
work in the tourism industry of Tajikistan. It was significant that the
festival was marketed to the young people of this University and that many
students attended as the festival represents a new concept for Tajikistan.
Other partners that supported the creation of the festival were the City of
Dushanbe, The Tajik Association for
the Tourism Organisations (TATO) and the Committee for Youth Sport and Tourism.
The event clearly illustrated what can be achieved through the energy and
enthusiasm of young volunteers. Lochin Fayzulloev,
Vice Minister for Toursim in Tajikistan commented that the “Tajik people are
beginning to understand what volunteering is” and DilshodAlimov, Executive
Director of TATO said “it is a pleasure to see the young volunteers’ eyes
shining”.
With well over 1,000 members of the public
attending, including many expatriates, and even a camel, this
first year of the “Rangorang” festival and the ICS project in Tajikistan can be
seen as a great success. The hope of
everyone involved is that this success can be built upon to provide even more
opportunities to the people of Tajikistan.
It is also a great volunteering experience for Tajik young volunteers
and many organizations expressed their interest in further cooperation.
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