The Language Helper Training Project exists to train local women with new skills that enable them to use the knowledge they already have for gainful employment as language helpers. When women complete the training program, the project works to connect them with foreigners to build up their potential customer basis, with the goal of the language helpers completing the training with marketable skills that they can use immediately.
The method
The course is developed with expatriate learners in mind, and structured in a way that is both easy for them to grasp and systematic. Through the course, language helpers learn different methods of teaching vocabulary, grammar, helpful questions to check comprehension, and drills, as well as ensuring that the lesson plans and materials are accessible for helpers that don’t have a background in teaching. While the course materials were originally developed for Tajik language, language helpers have adapted the materials to teach Russian as well.
Stories from the projects
A model for her children: Nargis and embroidery
Embroidery and mental health may not seem connected at first glance, but for Nargis and many other women in Omega’s Embroidery Course, it has made all the difference.
More than a business: “bringing happiness, joy, and music”
“Music can bring us closer to one another,” Jawad says. “Today, whether you are a Tajik or an Afghan, when you hear a song from Adele or Elvis Presley or whoever it is that you know, even if you don’t know what they are saying, you still feel things. You are a little more joyful,…
Counting down the days
Sano had always been interested in learning to embroider and was excited to gain a new skill. She had looked at embroidery courses before, but they all charged a fee, which she knew she couldn’t afford each month. When her friend brought her to Nuur Women’s Center – part of Omega’s projects in Vahdat –…
Rozia the Tailor: Growing in skills, growing in business
When Rozia and her family of 7 arrived in Tajikistan – just one month before the previous government of Afghanistan fell – she wasn’t sure how they would make ends meet. While it was good to feel safe, there were still plenty of challenges they had to face. “We didn’t have a place to stay…
Husna’s story: realizing her vision
Husna – a recent graduate from Omega’s Personal Development Course – is warm, charming, and easy to talk to – but she says that hasn’t always been the case. It’s only in the last few years that she has become the person she is today. “If there was something social, I tried to avoid it,”…
“Bit by bit”
Less than a year ago, Robia had never played soccer, but you wouldn’t know it now – twice a week, she is out on the field with her team, excited to be there. “The first day that we went, none of us could really play, and we did some weird things! We were all laughing –…