On June 26-27, 2023, Ekaterine Gamakharia, the representative of the Women's Fund "Sukhumi," participated in a regional conference organized by the Global Network of Women Peace Builders (GNWP) and supported by the OSCE. Elene Rusetskaya, the head of the Women's Information Center, and Yulia Kharashvili, the head of the Displaced Women's Association "Consent," also attended the conference from Georgia.
The conference brought together women mediators and peace builders from the South Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. The primary objective of the regional conference was to develop a roadmap for civil society networking and advocacy in the field of peace building.
During the conference, the participants actively shared the progress of the implementation of the "Women, Peace and Security" agenda in their respective countries. They discussed existing experiences, challenges, and best practices related to participation in the peace-building and decision-making processes.
Psychologist Manana Gotsiridze worked in three directions in June:
- She met 5 beneficiaries of a day rehabilitation center who are learning how to work with polymer clay. She did some work with them to get rid of negative emotions, to reassess priorities and increase self-esteem.
She had daily interaction with the women in the rehabilitation center. Intensive work was carried out with traumas using various methods: art therapy, elements of cognitive-correctional psychology, psychological exercises and associative cards.
- 12 individual psychotherapy sessions were held online and 15 sessions with women living in Kutaisi. Three of them were new, and with the others, the previously started work continued.
35-year-old Khatuna passed psycho-rehabilitation for more than 6 months. After the death of her husband, she did not want to live, even her daughter irritated her, nothing pleased her, she did not believe that after the sessions of the psychologist there would be any positive changes. But working with different methods gave results: fear and irritation gradually disappeared, new priorities, new goals appeared. She thanks the psychologist for her humanity and professionalism, patience and invaluable assistance.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
Women Support Center mobilizers took part in the training: "Evidence Based Advocacy", held in 10 target municipalities.
The training was aimed at strengthening the skills necessary for advocacy. Particular emphasis was placed on identifying and ranking the problems. The essence, stages and forms of evidence-based advocacy were discussed in detail.
Using practical examples, the participants discussed the factors hindering the advocacy process, identified target groups and stakeholders.
It was noted that participation in the training is important for representatives of the Women Support Centers, as they are actively involved in the process of forming municipal policy and advocating for local problems.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
One of those, met by the psychologist of the Women Fund “Sukhumi” - Manana Gotsiridze in June, was 76-year-old Lyubov Maksimenko from the Mykolaev region. She lived in Tskaltubo, but 30 years ago she sold her apartment and moved to Ukraine. She lived happily, but when the situation escalated during the war, she came here, intending to stay for a while. She did not meet any of her acquaintances here, neither the new owners of her apartment, nor former neighbors, nor friends ... For some time she lived with the daughter of an old acquaintance, then the City Hall settled her in a hotel ... She decided to return home again. However, she did not have enough finances. Fund "Sukhumi" bought a bus ticket, gave food for the journey and sent her to Ukraine...
In June, the psychologist met with another 12 people - representatives of 5 families. The initial consultations, anamnesis, work with traumas and stress was started with them. Two beneficiaries have completed individual psychotherapy sessions and one continues to receive psychotherapy on Wednesdays. Also, all families received a set of humanitarian aid from our organization.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
A meeting with Kemlin Furley, the representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Georgia was held In Kutaisi, at the head office of the Women Fund "Sukhumi". The meeting was also attended by a representative of the Georgian Red Cross Society Kutaisi branch.
Mrs. Kemlin was informed about the ongoing projects implemented by the Fund "Sukhumi" and the Red Cross for the assistance of Ukrainian refugees. The conversation touched upon the condition of Ukrainians, existing challenges and needs. Particular attention was paid to problems in terms of health and education and their advocacy at the national level.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
June 20, the International Day of Refugees and IDPs, is traditionally celebrated by the Women Fund "Sukhumi" with various activities. For the third year already, the event “The Aroma of Sukhumian Coffee in Kutaisi Boulevard” has been held. Ukrainian refugees were present last year and came this time. The women prepared cookies with Ukrainian theme. A Ukrainian girl danced their national dance. This day was impressive and everyone saw the active work of the Fund.
The Women Fund “Sukhumi” has already provided assistance to 539 people who came from Ukraine. In June, 16 new people were added to our database. Our support was expressed in a following way:
- 28 families (44 people) received products
- We paid the rent for 6 families
- We paid utility bills for 6 families
- Medical costs for one Ukrainian woman were reimbursed
- We bought a bus ticket with $220 to Ukraine for Lyubov Maksimenko and she returned to her country.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
“It is very important that the information on women's rights disseminated by the Fund “Sukhumi” reaches every village, because women in the periphery need information on such issues most”.
“Strengthening of women's rights must start with information. When I know the information, I can better protect my rights”.
“The more strong women we have, the fewer conflicts and cases of domestic violence will be".
- These opinions were recorded at informational meetings held with women. Participants emphasize that one of the important mechanisms for empowering women is to equip them with the necessary information.
The meetings were held in the Women Support Centers of Senaki, Chokhatauri, Vani, Terjola and Khobi.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
The cycle of information meetings in Bagdati municipality continues. The ordinary meeting was organized by the advocacy group of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" and the Interdepartmental Commission of Bagdati City hall for the prevention of violence against women and / or domestic violence, protection of victims of violence and their assistance. The meeting was held in the village Persati. The meeting was attended by heads and teachers of kindergartens of the villages Zegani, Sakraula and Persati, the head of the association of kindergartens and representatives of the administration.
The coordinator of the children's rights department presented information about the services they provide to vulnerable families. The participants were also provided with detailed information about the work and services of the Fund "Sukhumi". As a problem, the participants named the fact that the victim does not have a guarantee of security, and the work in terms of prevention is weak.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
An active training course continues at the Youth Empowerment Centers. 5 more trainings were held in June,- this time in the municipalities of Senaki, Samtredia, Vani, Kobuleti and Chokhatauri. These were days full of interesting and creative activities.
Young people with leadership qualities were identified in all groups. They began to duplicate what they learned. Summer holidays have begun in schools, but despite this, young people do not slow down the pace of work, they try to hold many initiated events in their schools, towns or villages.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
During the lesson, the hours fly by so fast that we don't even feel it.
Imagination takes us to a completely different world.
Our fingers get used to colored clay and we teach them to read our thoughts.
The teacher tells us that the clay must love us...
These are the words of the women beneficiaries of the Day Rehabilitation Center, who are learning to work with polymer clay with great interest together with the teacher Maka Jishkariani. During the lessons, they talk not only about color mixing, work-related details, but also about art therapy, which helps to overcome problems.
Each lesson is interesting, it is especially pleasant to communicate with each other and the fact that they learn a lot, make new products - each of them has already accumulated a lot of work.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)