March 8 is the birthday of the Women Fund “Sukhumi” and a celebration of our positive, necessary and courageous activities. Our organization is 27 years old, and over the years it has changed the lives of many women.

The Women Fund Sukhumi celebrated its birthday at Boutique Hotel Argo.

The audience watched the film “Ana’s Trial” by Tamar Mshvenieradze and Mariam Jachvadze. Then there was a discussion and dialogue with the creative team.

Then everything went as ordinary birthday:

There were memories - success stories of the Fund “Sukhumi”, a personnel gallery of the 27-year-old team.

There were congratulations...

And finally, the chairperson of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”, Alla Gamakharia, cut a birthday cake with the inscription: 27 years - together.

An organization with many years of history and experience continues to actively work in its chosen areas.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

“Sharing Best Practices of Gender-Sensitive Municipal Policies and Programs” was the title of the conference, which was attended by officials from 26 municipalities and regional administrations of Western Georgia.

The participants got acquainted with interesting presentations:

Zugdidi Municipality – practice of the “Women’s Room”;

Chokhatauri Municipality – promoting gender equality and developing gender-sensitive municipal services;

Senaki Municipality - Interdepartmental Commission as a coordinating mechanism in the issues of preventing violence and responding to it;

Kutaisi Municipality – providing psychiatric services to women victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence;

Khoni Municipality – encouraging the inclusion of women in rural support programs;

Various professional courses were held at Terjola Women Support Center. Then the beneficiaries underwent special training, where they learned to formulate business ideas and present project proposals.

The next stage was the final competition of business projects. As part of the small grants program, the winner beneficiaries were provided with the necessary equipment for business. They can already start working independently and improve their financial situation.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

At the initiative of the Women Fund "Sukhumi", jointly with the department for the protection of children's rights of Khobi City Hall and the association of preschool education, a meeting on "Local cooperation to create a child/family-oriented psychosocial environment" was held.

An important dialogue took place on child/family-oriented services, challenges, aspects of cooperation in the field of protecting children's rights, preventing domestic violence and assisting the victims. Information on difficult cases was exchanged, and specific joint measures were planned to provide assistance to the most vulnerable category.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

At the initiative of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”, together with the head of the Department for the protection of Children’s Rights of Chokhatauri City Hall, a social worker and coordinator of the Mayor representatives, there was held a meeting with community activists and beneficiaries of various programs.

Information was exchanged about the needs of women's groups and challenges in terms of social work. The meeting participants got acquainted with the services of the Fund “Sukhumi”, new municipal programs, and determined cooperation with women on the issues of preventing domestic violence and assisting the victims.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

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

“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

“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

The initiative aimed at activation of the work was carried out by members of the “Interdepartmental Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women and/or Domestic Violence, Protection and Assistance to Victims of Violence” of Vani Municipality.

The civil initiative included an information campaign. Members of the Interdepartmental Commission actively participated in organizing and conducting meetings. They met with representatives of the Mayor, employees of rural outpatient clinics and women activists.

The meeting participants received information not only about the functions of the Interdepartmental Commission, but also about their departments in terms of responding to domestic violence. Particular emphasis was placed on the role of representatives of the Mayor and rural doctors in identifying specific cases.

The project is implemented with the support the Equality Fund (Canada)

In March, members of the “Interdepartmental Commission for the Prevention of Violence against Women and/or Domestic Violence, Protection and Assistance to Victims of Violence” of Bagdati Municipality conducted an information campaign to promote the effective functioning of the commission. They held meetings with representatives of the City Hall, managers of preschool institutions and members of the youth council. Participants were informed about the function of the Interdepartmental Commission and the importance of citizen participation in the prevention of domestic violence.

These activities will help to activate the work of the Interdepartmental Commission to identify facts of violence and consider specific cases.

The project is implemented with the support the Equality Fund (Canada)