February was active for the psychologist Manana Gotsiridze:
- She conducted a group psychological meeting in Terjola. A conversation about how the victim syndrome manifests itself and how to overcome the victim position was held with 12 women. An individual consultation with the victim of violence was also held.
- From February 12 to 23, another group of victims of violence - two women and six children were placed in Kutaisi Rehabilitation Center. They received comprehensive assistance from a lawyer, psychologist, and social worker. Before leaving, one of them said: “I am incredibly happy that I appeared in such a wonderful place. Every woman should visit this place to understand her situation and understand herself. My eldest daughter was afraid of the psychologist, but she liked it so much that every day she looked forward to interesting, useful conversations.”
- Psychological rehabilitation with the next group was held on Fridays at the day center for working with polymer clay.
- 8 phone calls were received - the psychologist responded to the emotional state of the beneficiaries and helped them.
- 11 individual consultations were conducted across regions online through various platforms.
- 12 individual psychotherapeutic sessions were held in Kutaisi.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
The ordinary meeting of the monitoring and advocacy group was held in Kobuleti. The initiators of the meeting, together with the Women Fund “Sukhumi”, were the Gender Equality Council of the Municipality and the City Hall Department for the Protection of Children's Rights. The meeting was also attended by heads of administrative units. The conversation concerned the availability of services for victims/potential victims of violence against women and/or domestic violence, the importance of local cooperation and coordination in violence prevention.
Dialogue regarding community needs, periodic exchange of information, pooling of resources to help vulnerable families and issues of cooperation was held among members of the referral entities.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
“Today I understood what rights we have and who we should contact if necessary. Proper communication and action are very important.”
“The training showed me the importance of women leadership. I also envisaged my own resources in the process of advocating for issues.”
“Sometimes we don’t even know about municipal programs, sometimes our needs are greater than it is included in the local government budget. Such trainings create our correct civic position.”
These were the feedbacks from the participants at the end of the training. Women and IDP girls living in Kutaisi, attended a training on a actual topic: “Women’s leadership, forms of communication, mechanisms of civic engagement.”
The participation of IDP women in the local policy-making process will significantly increase as a result of the activities planned in frames of the project.
The project is implemented with the support of USAID local governance program
The meeting of the working group was attended by IDP women and girls living in different communities of Kutaisi.
During the meeting, problems of the target communities were identified and prioritized: the number of stray dogs; rehabilitation of the square and sports ground; problem with cleaning; rehabilitation of the internal road, lack of street lighting, failure of the drainage system.
The collaborative efforts of the working group lay the foundation for focused actions and decisions. The involvement and enthusiasm of the participants reflects the collective responsibility to overcome challenges and improve the quality of life in the IDP settlements of Kutaisi.
The project is implemented with the support of USAID local governance program
During the meeting of Kutaisi working group, the problems of the target communities were identified and prioritized.
The meeting was attended by IDP women and girls living in different communities of Kutaisi. They noted acute problems: damaged roofs or facades, lack of balconies, damp walls, internal roads... Particular attention was paid to the fact that there is no mini-stadium in the settlement, and there are no garbage bins.
In the framework of the project, and with the help of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”, will meet with decision-makers in order to advocate for the identified problems.
The project is implemented with the support of USAID local governance program
“Women’s leadership, forms of communication, mechanisms of civil inclusion” - a training on this topic for IDP women and girls living in different communities of Kutaisi was held at the office of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”.
Lack of information, migration, passivity, irresponsibility, lack of time, indifference – participants noted that this is a short list of factors, that hinders civic engagement at the local level.
During the training, the participants talked about how to improve leadership skills, the quality of communication and motivation in order to increase the participation of citizens in the formation of local policies.
From the feedbacks of participants:
“It was a very interesting training.”
“A leader can’t do anything without a team, and vice versa, so everyone needs to use their abilities to do the general work”.
“I received the necessary information and became familiar with the forms of citizen participation”.
“I often use the gained knowledge”.
The project is implemented with the support of USAID local governance program
“Women's leadership, forms of communication, mechanisms of civic engagement” – IDP women and girls attended the training on these topics. It was attended by 20 people from different IDP communities.
The training was aimed at empowering women by awareness raising. Participants discussed the characteristics of leadership from a personal view. They gave arguments for necessary qualities that woman needs for successful leadership. In the process of group work, they recorded factors that hinder women’s activity.
Participants also heard information about forms of civic participation: they recalled practical examples, about forms and methods of communication with local government, how involved they are in the process of forming local policy and what is the degree of their involvement.
According to the participants, the information received at the training and the support of the Fund “Sukhumi” will help them to be more motivated and actively use forms of civic engagement to solve their problems.
The project is implemented with the support of USAID local governance program
Financial support for Ukrainians who came to Georgia as a result of the war is very important, in order to start something that will give the family stability... Therefore, they participate in various grant competitions in order to receive the necessary funding to start a small business.
This is how some of our beneficiaries started their own businesses. Recently, with the support of various organizations, trainings were held for Ukrainian refugees. Participants learned to formulate business ideas and write projects. This time, two women will receive grants: Irina Khalupka and Natalya Krivitskaya. Irina will do eyelash extensions, and Natalya will do photography.
We believe that young women entrepreneurs will successfully run their businesses - before returning to Ukraine...
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
The meeting participants - women and girls living in Kutaisi, in various IDP settlements - spoke about the priority problems and tasks that they have accumulated in their communities over the years. The list of main issues included infrastructure problems: faulty drainage system, water in basements, damaged condition of facades and roofs, etc. Access to health services (for reproductive, oncologic needs and people with disabilities) was also emphasized. Young people noted that there are no sports grounds and squares in many places.
The meeting participants decided that they would attend meetings of the City Council and actively participate in the local decision-making process in order to contribute to solving identified problems in IDP communities.
The project is implemented with the support of USAID local governance program
