Five years ago, Irma's activity started from here. She says the starting point for her changes was this first unusual meeting. She studied to work independently. She gathered the 5th graders and talked about conflict management, using games, cheerfully. She was nervous but she did well. She remembers that the children were surprised, how she knew so many things...
The Fund "Sukhumi" connected Irma Bregadze with the Student-Youth Center. She is a member of various clubs. She recently passed a course in event planning and implementation, 2 out of 20 children were selected, she was trained in Gudauri, and then implemented a three-month project, "Where is the Boundary Between the Real and Virtual Worlds" (with the support of the Czech organization PIN). Media literacy trainings were held in 7 public schools of the municipality, documentaries were shown and the Street Art competition "Become a Media Literate!" was held.
This project was aired in the program of Mega TV:
Irma’s sister Nini also wanted to get involved in the activities of the conflict experts of the fund "Sukhumi", but at that moment she was in the 5th grade, and the club was taking pupils from the 6th grade.
Nini Bregadze: “I liked it very much. I remember once the children and teacher - Lela were standing in the yard, in a circle. I wanted to be with them ... next year a new group was created. Boys from my class were chosen - there are 11 boys and I am an only girl. Teacher -Lela said that they need girls too and I appeared in this group. We had very interesting activities".
Nini Bregadze is in the 10th grade now. She is as active as her sister - she also participates in the projects of the student-youth center, in the theatrical troupe...
At the end of January, Zestaponi Drama Theater hosted the closing ceremony of the Mac Georgia (McLain Association for Children) Theater Festival. Schools from Imereti, Guria, Adjara, Svaneti, Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kakheti participated in it. The winner of the festival was Zeda Simoneti Public School troupe with the play "Waltz of Dr. Papadachi".
Irma and Nini told us about all this with emotions, but they did not say anything about special issue, that we found out by ourselves: Irma Bregadze was nominated in the nomination "Best Women Leading Role" (one of the photos shows a shot from the play).
These sisters are very successful. Irma is going to study sociology, Nini is going to choose between journalism and theater. We have to be active all our lives, they say. It is not easy to attend meetings, from Zeda Simoneti to Terjola, rehearsals in Zestaponi, Ushangi Chkheidze Drama Theater. It needs time, energy, finances ... Parents help and motivate them, they want girls to do their best.
The third sister - Ani is in the second grade, but when she looks at the busy schedule of the sisters, she is going to be active like them...
Irma Bregadze: “Non-formal education is as important for the student's personal development as formal education. Both complement each other and help the student to acquire the skills that will help him to overcome any problem and achieve success. I have been actively involved in various activities since the 6th grade. The first contact with non-formal education was the Fund "Sukhumi".
I learned a lot: managing emotions, resolving conflict, active communication, responsibility towards the work ... I gained courage and after each meeting I felt how important it is to inform people. I will try to change the world around me for the better. I am very grateful to the Fund "Sukhumi", which does such a useful job for our generation. The Fund gave me great motivation. Today I am involved in various projects, I communicate with different organizations, I implement my own project ...I have found a sphere to which I will dedicate my whole life".
Irma and Nini are involved in the six-month program of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" Youth Empowerment Center. Irma is the organizer of the group. This course will end in March and an online conference will also be held with the participation of young people from ten municipalities, their parents and teachers. Irma will have a speech before the audience, because a girl living in a small village of Imereti has the courage of a speaker, rich experience and her success story...
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)