We have exciting news! The U.S. government officially recognized Salom Fund as a 501(c)(3) public charity. This means your donations are now tax-deductible!
Updates from Salom Fund’s Summer Work
We accomplished so much this spring and summer in Tajikistan:
New Windows Make School Brighter
Students at School #12 in Khujand started their 2025-2026 school year on September 1st with brand-new, energy-saving windows in every classroom!
Replacing the windows at School #12 has been one of Salom Fund’s ongoing projects in 2024 and 2025. The old windows were more than 50 years old and in such poor condition that students were often forced to wear full winter coats, hats, and gloves inside their classrooms on cold days.
In May, Salom Fund president Temur Samiev traveled to Khujand to complete the fourth and final wing of the school. Teachers told us their classrooms are now brighter and more comfortable year-round. Even better, fewer students have been absent due to illness in the rooms where we already installed new windows.
Clinic Upgrades
In July, Salom Fund vice-president Kerry Given visited Khujand to continue work on Polyclinic #2. This busy family medicine clinic in central Khujand serves a population of more than 30,000 patients, primarily from low and middle income families.
The former archive room of the clinic was in such poor condition that it could no longer be used:
We renovated it to make it functional again and converted it to an office where patients can be seen.
We also built two new rooms for pediatric physical therapy patients on the third floor.
Now more patients can meet with doctors in private rooms with modern heating and air conditioning.
Emergency Makeover
One of our Tajik volunteers asked Ms. Given and our team to visit the speech therapist and child psychologist offices at Polyclinic #2. These rooms hadn’t been renovated since Soviet times. We found several dangers for young children, including:
- A cracked mirror on the wall
- A broken storage cabinet that wouldn’t close safely
- A damaged floor
- An old HVAC unit that was too small to provide adequate heating and cooling
Our Board held an emergency meeting and voted to renovate these rooms immediately. We removed the broken mirror, replastered and repainted the walls, replaced the windows and doors, installed new padded flooring to keep child patients safe, and added bright, colorful storage cubbies to replace the unsafe cabinet. We also replaced the HVAC unit for the rooms.
Both offices are now safer and more cheerful for their young patients!
Education Programs Continue
This autumn, Salom Fund is paying for tutors at the Buston orphanage again after last year’s graduating class achieved a 100% acceptance rate to Tajik and Russian universities for the third year in a row!
We’re also continuing to fund computer and English classes for disadvantaged students at education centers in Khujand and Buston.
Upcoming Plans
The Board of Directors approved plans and earmarked funds for a general makeover of the first floor of Polyclinic #2, including replastering and repainting the walls, installing a new receptionist area, and building a new kitchen and lounge for staff.
Salom Fund will also replace all the existing windows (40 total) in the corridors of the first, second, and third floors of the clinic. Just like School #12, most of the windows have not been replaced for more than 50 years, and many are damaged: unable to open, unable to fully close, or with cracks or gaps between the panes and the frames. Replacing these old windows with modern, high performance windows will greatly improve the comfort and energy efficiency of the clinic. Additionally, it will prepare the building for installation of additional HVAC units. The lobby and corridors of the clinic, where patients wait to be seen, are currently neither heated nor air conditioned.
Work has already begun on these renovations and Salom Fund board members plan to visit Khujand again in November to finish the project.
You can help support our plans by donating today!
