SOS Children in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan, positioned on the ancient Great Silk Road between Europe and Asia, emerged in 1991 as a sovereign country after more than a century of Russian rule - first as part of the Russian empire and then as a component of the Soviet Union. Its majestic cities such as Bukhara and Samarkand, famed for their architectural opulence, once flourished as trade and cultural centres. Economic reform has been painfully slow to materialize. A World Bank report in the summer of 2003 found economic growth and living standards to be amongst the lowest in the former Soviet Union.
The charity began working in Uzbekistan in 1999 with the construction of the SOS Children's Tashkent community on land donated by the government. The village is on the site of a former vineyard in a middle-class, residential area of the capital, about 25 km from Tashkent's main airport. It has fourteen family houses which are home to 126 children and the affiliated SOS kindergarten offers room to 40 children, both from the village and the surrounding area.
A second SOS Children's Village in Uzbekistan opened in the ancient city of Samarkand in 2007. There are fourteen family houses. While the construction of the village was being completed, flats were rented for the first SOS Mothers and their children.
Local contacts
SOS Children's Village Associaton Uzbekistan
Street Timur Malik 2B
Postal address: PO Box HG 766
700143 Tashkent / Uzbekistan
Tel +7810998/71/260/49/09 or +7810998/71/260/49/10
e-mail: soscvuzb@online.ru
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