The projects are currently in development. These are projects covering arising out of Vatandosh’s core mission for which funding is being sought. The exact form of the project will depend on the integrating Vatandosh’s vision with the vision of the donor. Because these projects are in development, no timelines have been established.
Family Integrity
As mentioned above, family integrity is a core issue in Uzbekistan underlying many social and economic challenges and impacting every aspect of life and therefore every individual, whether s/he grew up in a broken home or not.
There are three aspects Vatandosh is focusing on as central to enhancing family integrity: reducing poverty; addressing domestic violence; and deinstitutionalizing the orphanage system. Each of these is being approached separately and in relation to each other.
Poverty reduction will be addressed through the implementation of the Poverty Stoplight program, for which Vatandosh Connect is already conducting a contextualizing pilot project. A pilot project for domestic violence is also underway,
in which a new approach to domestic violence is being formulated in collaboration
with Vatandosh Connect’s partner Elia International Ltd, of Perth Australia. Approaches to deinstitutionalization are now being formulated in collaboration with Vatandosh Connect’s partner HealthProm, of London, UK, which has conducted successful orphanage deinstitutionalization projects in neighboring Tajikistan.
VICAR will be an integral component of Vatandosh’s expertise, bringing an informed religious and cultural perspective to the development and delivery of this program.
This is envisioned as a three- to five-year project.
The Religious Context of Responding to Climate Change in Uzbekistan: the Aral Sea
This project is being developed primarily by VICAR with the support of the Vatandosh administrative offices and drawing upon Vatandosh’s extensive network. The action will examine the religious context of attitudes and responses to climate change in Uzbekistan. The Aral Sea, which has nearly disappeared in one of the gravest ecological disasters in history, will be the focal point of this action.
What are the religious factors at work in shaping attitudes and responses to climate change? How does religion impact society at large in this respect? The project will examine the Islamic, Jewish, and Christian contexts at effect in Uzbekistan at the hand of the environmental solutions presented by science. Dr. Emily Klein, Professor of Geology and Geochemistry at Duke University (Durham, USA), will lead the scientific aspects of the project.
If possible, the action will include Kazakhstan as well, which encompasses a majority
of the former extent of the Aral Sea. This is envisioned as a three- to five-year project.