These words of Mawlana Hazar Imam are of utmost importance for the education purposes of the Global Jamaat. Following this mindset, a group of ambitious volunteers have been leading a Career Guidance Project since 2019 and through the whole year of 2020 under the Education Board of the National Council of Tajikistan.
A 16-year old Inora was one of the 70 participants of the career guidance project, who found it an eye-opening experience. “The sessions helped us to nurture our self-reflection and awareness in order to identify our personal strengths and weaknesses. After the Human Library session, I decided to become either a psychologist or teacher,” noted Inora after the final session.
Career 2
The Career Guidance project was initiated in 2019 to support young people to make more rational decisions based on their own interests and skills given the resources and opportunities in their jamoats, institutions, and families. It continued throughout 2020 partially online due to the COVID19 pandemic, but regular sessions resumed in November 2020. In general, each phase includes 10 sessions focusing on self-perception, critical thinking, best ways to choose a future career, soft and hard skills and other relevant topics. The sessions are organized and led at the Ismaili Centre Dushanbe by nearly 26 volunteers each Sunday over the period of three months.
Career 3
“We started with 10 volunteers in the beginning,” – said Khairisho Shonusayriev, the Head of the Education Board of the National Council. “As our target audience grew, we decided to attract and educate more volunteers to expand the project outreach in the regions as well.”
Career 3
As of today there are 26 volunteers starting from university volunteers and ending with the Institute of Ismaili Studies’ Secondary Teacher Education Programme graduates, who strive to boost the self-confidence of the young generation in Dushanbe, Sughd and Khatlon regions. The first volunteers took a step forward and trained those interested in embedding the project into the regions.
One of the highlights of the 2020 Career Guidance phase was the Human Library Event, which gathered 70 young participants aged 14-18 in two sessions with 10 successful Ismaili and non-Ismaili individuals, who shared their inspirational career paths. The speakers were from different backgrounds, such as entrepreneurship, biochemistry, psychology, IT, and education among many others.
Career 5
“The best part of the Human Library Event was the fact that you get to interact with every speaker within a short period of time. I was delighted to meet so many talented people at once, and became inspired hearing how they all started from a scratch,” – said a 14-year-old Yasmina from Dushanbe.
Career
Starting 2019 more than 70 high-school students in Dushanbe, Khujand and Khatlon region have successfully completed the Career Guidance project sessions. The third phase of the project started in February 2021, which will focus more on equipping the students with necessary job skills through internships in various local and international organizations. The new component will expose the students to a real-life working atmosphere, hence helping them to become more skilled and competitive in the labor market.
