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City of Khorog, GBAO, Tajikistan

Photo Gallery of GBAO  >>

OVERVIEW
of
Dhanani Family Charity (DFC) 
 The purpose of the website:

This website address is https:// pamirscharity.org  

The website has been set up, only to make the activities of the Dhananis’ NGO fully transparent, to the Governments of Tajikistan and USA.  

Charity Views as per Aga Khan

Background of  Dhanani Family Charity (DFC):

DFC primarily consists of 4 self-funded Charity Programmes on behalf of   the Benefactors Mother Sherbanu Dhanani, Father Hasham Dhanani, Sister Naseem Dhanani, Maternal Grand Parents Ali and Rahemat Adam, Daughter-in-Law Shahida Dhanani and Son Shiraz Dhanani.  

Photos of the Benefactors  >>

Programmes:

1) A 40-year Programme for funding community projects in small villages in GBAO and Dushanbe Area in Tajikistan,

2) A Perpetual Endowment for the Aga Khan Medical Centre in Salemieh, Syria, and

3) A Perpetual Programme of monthly grocery assistance to very poor single mothers in in a small village of Douz, bordering the Sahara Desert in Tunisia. 

 

Prior to to the undertaking of the above-mentioned  4 Perpetual Programmes, DFC  funded (between 2014-2016)  one-on-one charity projects  that helped multiple individual families in Bosnia , Tunisia, and Sri Lanka.

Below are the associated links for details:

Photos of women helped in Bosnia with the types of donated assets, based on their skills. Funded US$90,000 >>

Photos of women helped in Douz with types of donated assets. Funded US$10,000>> 

 Photos of a tuk tuk donated to Upul to service tourists. Funded US$5,000 >>

Programme 1: The 40-year Programme for funding community projects in small villages in GBAO and Dushanbe Area in Tajikistan.  

a) This Programme was started in 2017 and is managed by a Non-Profit NGO and this NGO is continuously fully-funded by the Benefactors.

The NGO is registered in Tajikistan under the name “Ob Salamat va Shukufoi” (OSVS), which means “Water, Health Prosperity”.

In 2017 the NGO’s name was “Umed ba Behbudi’ (UBB) (meaning ‘Hope for Prosperity’ ). But  in 2023, the Ministry of Justice, after auditing the NGO’s operation and its completed community projects in small villages, decided to give the NGO a new name “Ob Salamat va Fukushoi” (OSVS), meaning Water Health and Prosperity, and it also expanded its Charter . 

Between 2017 and 2022, we could only operate within the the very eastern province of GBAO. But beginning in 2023, we have now been authorized to operate anywhere in Tajikistan.

 OSVS is also now a member of the World Association of Non-Government Organizations (WANGO).

 

b) The Objectives of the NGO:

The objectives of the NGO have been to help small  villages in the Pamirs mountains and those in Dushanbe area with the type of projects that those villages have needed based on their own ranked priorities.

S0, the NGO Director  have been visiting small villages  to confer with respective village chiefs to find out what would be the best help we can give them. This consultation process is continuous and so far the villages have submitted more than 150 projects and counting.

As of 2024, 55 projects (listed in item “h”) have been funded and completed and 2 more are underway.

c) The types of projects the NGO has been undertaking:

This NGO programme has , as listed in item “h“,   completed,   51 village-level projects incategories 1-6 and 4 exception projects in categories 7 and 8.

e) How the NGO OSVS is self-funded :

OSV operates using only the interest income from the Term Deposits (TD) of US$1,038,000 that the Benefactors, invested, in Term Deposits  at the First Micro Finance Bank in Dushanbe, as the initial Grant to OSVS.   

The annual interest-based budget has been averaging about US$80,000 (net of taxes) in  equivalent Tajik Somonis. The interest rate on 5-year TDs has been fluctuating around 10%.           

To date, OSVS has cumulatively received from DFC a   Grant of  US 1,616,173  (including cumulative annual Term Deposit interests to date and starting expenses) .

OSVS will be stay in operation until around 2058+ and so with the additoonal future interest income, the  cumulative Grant is estimated to grow close to US$4 million.

The monthly status of  OSVS Funds >> 

  f) How OSVS is Managed:

The NGO is managed by the full-time salaried Executive Director Mavlonazar Mavlonarov  and he is assisted by the Board of Directors, a certified accountant on retainer and  a certified lawyer on as-needed basis. 

Hierarchy >>

g) The Offices of OSVS:

It maintains,from 2023, a small official office in Dushanbe as required by the Government, but the projects have been managed since the start in 2017 from its office  in Khorog, where the Director resides.

The office in Khorog had to be given up in 2023 after the building  was nationalized, and now the Director operates it from home since  suitable office locations as of now are unavailable in Khorog.

 Khorog Office, which continued up to June 30, 2023 Photos >>

Dushanbe Office, as of February, 2023  Photos >> 

h) The Projects completed to date: 57

1) Installed pipelines and dug water wells in the number of villages shown below, to provide access to safe drinking water :  Donation Cost  US$175,300   

   25 villages in GBAO Region >> Photos  

  1 villages in Khation Region  >> Photos

   1 villages in Dushanbe Subordinated  >>  Photos

2) Installed new Irrigation Systems or Repaired existing irrigation systems to enable them to farm aditional arable lands, or  to  improve the productivity of their existing farms. Donation Cost US$48,042

6 villages in GBAO Region >> Photos

0 village/s in Khation Region >> Photos

0 village/s in Dushanbe Subordinated >> Photos

3) Cultivated Vegetable Farms and Orchards for food and income in small villages displaced by natural disasters and also Improve the living conditions of the resident familes . Completed 6 projects Donation Cost US$ 16,089     Photos >> 

4) Built Barns and Foot- Bridges- Barns to protect village livestocks from predatory animals (mountain leopards and foxes), and Footbridges to herd the livestock across rivers/streams for more pastures.      Completed 1 project.  Donation cost US$6,730         Photos >> 

5) Started /Upgraded businesses in villages to creat jobs and increase village incomes -Milk Dairy, Bee Farming, Chicken Farming, Produce fruit juices, shops for Metal Working, Carpentry, Welding, Wool-Processing, etc. Completed 9 projects.    Donation cost US$49,885       Photos >> 

6) Alleviated Basic Needs  at  Roshan Boarding School of 300+ orphan students.  Completed 4 projects    Donation Cost US$5118     Photos >>  

7) Made one-time donation of equivalent US$10,000* to Aga Khan Medical Centre in Khorog (AKMC-K)  for subsidizing need based financial support to patients who were unable to afford the cost of treatments, and to prioritize poor villagers from the Mountains.

Photo of Aga Khan Medical Centre in Khorog >>                                     

 8)  Helped 3 families as exceptions:

  a) Donated minor equipment to 2 families to earn income, working from home. Completed 2 projects    Donation cost US$1,466      Photos>>  

  b) On behalf of a 9 y.o. girl from Khorog  We researched for a complicated hip-surgery and located a great specialist at the Artemis Hospital near New Delhi, 2) Funded the shortfall in the funds that had been raised since 2 years ago towards covering the medicalexpenses and a 2-month stay locally for  recovery.  Completed 1 project,  Donation Cost US$4,300    Videos >>  

Projects under construction – 2 >> Photos

Projects under planning – 3 >> Photos

Inventory of Projects  which the Chiefs of  Villages in Tajikistan have requested OSVS to fund >>  to date 157+

 

 

h) The Future of the NGO OSVS:

The Benefactors  have come to realize that when the current young NGO Director Mavlonazar Mavlonarov retires (circa 2058),  it will be difficult and very doubtful  to find replacements for successive retiring Directors who will be as motivated and reliable as Mavlonazar and keep doing more charity projects in small villages.  

In view of the above, the NGO ‘OSVS’ will close down circa 1956 whenever Mavlonazar plans to retire.

 

2) A perpetual  Programme for annual donations to Aga Khan Medical Centre in Salamieh, Syria

a) Purpose: To provide need based financial support to patients unable to afford the cost of medical treatment, and to make purchases of equipment that would enhance patient care, priority will be given to patients from villages.

b) How it is funded.

 Benefactors set up this Perpetual Endowment (PE)was in late 2024 with an inial investment of US$500,000

 Currently as of May 2025, the PE amount is now US1 million.

Under this Programme, the PE is managed directly by the Aga Khan Foundation in Geneva  to generate annual interest income to support the Purposes of AKHS-Geneva as expressed in the  Letter of Intent given by AKHS-Geneva.   

 Going forward, the Benefactors will  increase the PE amount at the rate of   US$150,000 each year to maximiize the income tax credit.

The final PE amount is planned to be US$2million+

Photos of  Aga Khan Medical Centre in Salamieh, Syria. including the Donation Plaque  >>

 

3) A Perpetual Programme of monthly grocery assistance to very poor single mothers in Douz, Tunisia

Map of Tunisia >>

This charity Programme has been set up  for perpetual operation and was started in 2021  to provide monthly grocery assistance to a number of local poor single mothers residing in the small town of Douz bordering the Sahara Desert. 

 

This monthly grocery assistance is funded with the  annual income from 3 palm groves (total 218 trees) and 70 ewes (to breed for lambs to sell) which the Benefactors bought and donated. 

Additionally, to manage the Progamme, the Benefactors also donated  1) A pre-owned SUV to use for delievering groceries, and 2) A motorcycle for transportation to these  palm groves. 

This charity programme is curently managed by Mohamed Aoun and in the future, his descendants will manage it. S0, t this Programme hopefully will continue indefinitely.

The SUV will also enable Mohamed to  conduct  his own tours of the Sahara Desert in winter months.

Cost US$138,000

Photos of a few of the women that have been benefitting  from grocery charity >> 

Photos of the palm grows and ewes: >>