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Fourth Grader in Tajikistan Sends Artistic Thank You Gift for USDA Food Donations

Mary Chambliss, a deputy administrator in USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, accepts a gift made by a fourth grader in Tajikistan to thank America for food assistance. The gift is presented by Iqbal Noor Ali, chief executive officer of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A.
Mary Chambliss, a deputy administrator in USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, accepts a gift made by a fourth grader in Tajikistan to thank America for food assistance.  The gift is presented by Iqbal Noor Ali, chief executive officer of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A., a nonprofit international development organization.  Last year, USDA used its foreign food aid programs to provide 2.4 million tons of commodities to feed hungry people in 70 countries through the World Food Program and charitable organizations.

Mary Chambliss and Iqbal Noor Ali admire the sculpture created by 4th grade student Ramzi Gadomamadov of Roshtkala District School to express his gratitude for the milk he and his Tajik classmates receive each school day.

“This is just wonderful,” Chambliss (right) said, marveling at the cardboard house fashioned from milk cartons.  “When you go back, be sure to tell the young artist just how pleased we are to have it.”  Fourth-grade student Ramzi Gadomamadov of Roshtkala District School created the sculpture to express his gratitude for the milk he and his Tajik classmates receive each school day.  USDA donated 5,000 metric tons of nonfat dry milk to help support the Aga Khan Foundation’s food distribution efforts in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. 

Admiring the milk-carton sculpture are (left to right) Iqbal Noor Ali, Mary Chambliss, and Thomas Dans. Dans is a director of FoodMaster Company, a Kazakhstan dairy processor owned by Agribusiness Partners International of Omaha, Nebraska. 

The youngster reportedly walked more than 20 miles to proudly deliver his work of art to the nearest Aga Khan Foundation office in southeastern Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.  The illustrated milk cartons are printed in Tajik, Russian, and English and prominently include “U.S. Department of Agriculture.”  Admiring the milk-carton sculpture are (left to right) Iqbal Noor Ali, Mary Chambliss, and Thomas Dans.  Dans is a director of FoodMaster Company, a Kazakhstan dairy processor owned by Agribusiness Partners International of Omaha, Nebraska. 

Chambliss remarking that the sculpture has furniture inside it.

“Look at that, it even has furniture,” Chambliss (right) said. The student who made the artistic gift is among more than 22,000 children in Tajikistan and 16,000 in Afghanistan who are receiving milk each school day because of the Aga Khan Foundation and the USDA donation.  “Many challenges remain,” said Iqbal Noor Ali (left).  Since the milk distribution began, however, teachers report that school attendance, test scores, and student grades have improved.

School children in Tajikistan bundled up in their classroom, which is not heated during winter months


The weather inside is chilly in rural Tajikistan during frigid winter months.  The school uniform includes coats and hats as children try to stay warm while learning their lessons in an unheated classroom.  A daily snack featuring flavored UHT milk helps ward off hunger and keep the children cozy and attentive.  The milk is distributed in 376 schools in Tajikistan and Afghanistan by Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A., with support from a USDA food donation.  Photo courtesy of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A.

School Children in Tajikistan, bundled up against the cold in their unheated classroom, recieve their USDA-supplied boxes of milk.

With their milk cartons in front of them, school children in Tajikistan are ready to enjoy one of the highlights of their day.  The milk comes in four flavors, but chocolate is their favorite.  Photo courtesy of Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A.