Prior to an unexpected email in 2006, David and Kisten O'Halloran did not have the slightest interest in Tajikistan.

It started when a speech pathologist named Jan Babcock, who was working for a Dutch NGO in Tajikistan, contacted Mrs O'Halloran out of the blue and asked if she would be open to one of her books, Deaf Children Can Read and Write, being translated into Russian.

Mrs O'Halloran didn't mind, and the book began being utilised by the NGO to help deaf Tajik children and their families.

Then the NGO pulled out of the country. By that time, the couple had been to Tajikistan and had become attached to the project, Mr O'Halloran explained.

"[The book translation] was the start of the correspondence which turned into, 'please, please come to Tajikistan'," he said.

"Our response was no, we don't do places ending in stan," he laughed.

"But eventually we thought, well, let's go have a look. That was back in 2006."

After the NGO left, the O'Hallorans paid themselves for the program to continue.

"At that stage its budget was only two or three thousand a year," he said.

"We thought, we could pay for that. So we did. Over the years it's grown and our budget is now about $50,000 a year, we have 11 Tajik staff, and that's entirely funded by us and what we raise through fundraising events."

Tajikistan, with a population of about nine million, is a landlocked developing Central Asian country that, until 1991, was a republic of the former Soviet Union.

Its economy is based on aluminium production, cotton growing and remittances from migrant workers mostly in Russia, and it suffers from food scarcity and risk of famine.

A five-year civil war followed its independence, resulting in a presidential republic from 1997.

Mr O'Halloran said it was a fascinating country that was in many ways still finding its feet.

"It's a stunningly beautiful country," he said.

"Very mountainous. It's a former Soviet republic, so it feels like being anywhere in the former Soviet Union.

"It's nominally Islamic, but its very secular. It's got all the challenges that are associated with a country that is moving out of a damaging civil war."

Tajikistan borders China, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and Mr O'Halloran said it was an intriguing combination of Persian and Russian culture.

"It's at a cross-roads, in the middle of Asia," he said.

"It's the cross roads for everywhere.

"In terms of what it looks like - when you see pictures of Afghanistan on the TV, that's what it looks like: really high mountains, rocky and so forth, but it doesn't look like Afghanistan in terms of the streetscapes. They look like anywhere in the Soviet Union.

"I wouldn't recommend it as your first overseas trip, but its a fascinating place if you like something a bit different.

"For a country that's emerging out of civil war, it's a remarkably peaceful place, and it's remarkably safe. We walk around at night, and the most dangerous thing is tripping over a pothole."

Deaf Children of Central Asia's mission is to teach sign language in Tajik to families with deaf children, giving them a way to communicate and for the children to familiarise themselves with using language.

Research has shown that deaf children of deaf parents do better academically and socially than deaf children of hearing parents, which Mr O'Halloran said is due to the benefits of language on a growing mind.

The organisation employs deaf adults whose first language is Tajik to teach sign language to both the parents and the children.

It's next fundraising activity is a trivia night on Saturday, November 9.

Mr O'Halloran said it will be a night focused on fun, not competition.

"The worst thing in my mind at a quiz is making a person feel like they're stupid, so we're pretty gentle in terms of the questions," he said.

"It's light-hearted, there's lots of multiple choice, and there's a silent auction, a raffle, and lots of games.

"The smartest person isn't necessarily going to win - the best guesser will probably win."

WHAT: Deaf Children of Central Asia Trivia Night

WHERE: Pilgrim Uniting Church, 36 Paterson Street

WHEN: Saturday, November 9, at 7pm

HOW MUCH: $20 per person

TICKETS: Trybooking