In the spring of 2023, Priscille Pavec, permanent employee of La Guilde, left for two weeks on a mission to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The first time that La Guilde has gone on a mission to Central Asia, there is a proliferation of avenues to explore and partnerships to develop.
During her mission, Priscille discovered two neighboring countries, both formerly Soviet and yet very different, especially in the way each rebuilt its cultural identity following the fall of the USSR. Thus, if Uzbekistan promotes a radical Islam to distance itself from Russian influence, Tajikistan on the contrary fights for a strong secularism with a large influx of Afghan refugees on its territory, and derives 50% of its GDP from the income of its nationals working in Russia. Different relationships to history and current events, from which arise volunteering in multiple universes and exciting and varied projects.
The Francophonie at the party
For the time being, the eight volunteers in civic service in the region (five in Uzbekistan and three in Tajikistan) are all on missions concerning the Francophonie and education: thanks to the dynamism of Serge Bellini, regional educational cooperation attaché at the At the French Embassy in Tashkent, many missions have been set up since 2022 in various universities and Alliances Françaises in both countries. In Uzbekistan, the Minister of Education even has the ambition to create civic service missions in all the universities and schools where French is taught, ie 76 establishments! If the ambition is great but not achievable in the immediate future, it remains the illustration that the Francophonie does not lack vitality, and that the voluntary work associated with it is only in its infancy in the region.
Avenues of commitment for La Guilde
During her mission, Priscille was able to meet a large number of associations and exciting local projects, particularly in Tajikistan, which are as many avenues to explore and innovative initiatives, bringing hope. Here are a few examples: the association Another look in Tajikistan which accompanies 200 children with Down syndrome, the association The source of life in the rural areas of northern Tajikistan which comes to the aid of women and children who are victims of the collateral effects of men's haemorrhage to Russia, a project to exhume a Zoroastrian temple in northern Uzbekistan which would give take place on a voluntary mission… The list is far from exhaustive and there are many reasons to get involved!
