On April 13 and 14, members of the working group of IDP women and girls attended a training on: “Budget advocacy and citizen participation in self-government.” All four groups – 80 people – took part in the training.
What is the budget, what does the local government program mean, what benefits are provided, what services can IDP women and girls living in Kutaisi use to improve their living conditions - the training participants were informed about these issues. They expressed their opinions:
“It was a necessary and useful training that made many things obvious for us.”
“We learned about responsibilities of local government, what can we demand and what local government cannot do.”
“It turns out that you need to follow the application procedure and register on time.”
“We have found that only application is not enough to satisfy a request or requirement.”
“We learned that it is important to have the right information.”
The project is implemented with the support of USAID local governance program
- Women need help, they need empowerment. This requires information dellivery, which is provided by the Women Fund “Sukhumi”. We always feel supported, which is very important,” these were the assessments of participants of information meetings at Women Support Centers.
The meetings were held in frames of a new project, which means that information and support for women will continue for another three years. Beneficiaries will again receive various services from the Women Fund “Sukhumi” - consultations with a psychologist and a lawyer will continue to respond to identified problems.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
The Women Fund “Sukhumi” has developed “Practical instructions for the effective functioning of the mechanism of municipal coordination to combat domestic violence against women.”
Effective work to combat violence against women requires systematic, consistent and coordinated actions of all authoritative departments, both at the central and local levels.
The goal of the practical guide is to provide practical advices to interdepartmental commissions of municipalities on how to implement an effective and coordinated response to domestic violence at local level. The document is based on best international and local practices.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
“The phenomenon of domestic violence” became the main topic of meetings of psychologist Ekatarine Kvachakidze. Domestic violence is the most common form of violence. Some researchers argue that the rapist himself witnessed violence in childhood. This is the theory of “learned behavior.” Bad habits, drugs, alcohol, etc. contribute to violence. We discussed these issues at a group meeting with teachers, where everyone expressed their opinion.
Recent researches have shown that many rapists control themselves more, while women accept their fate, become passive and do not seek a way out.
The aim of the meeting with a psychologist is for women to overcome the “weak woman” within themselves and continue to live with new vision and strength.
Individual and group meetings were held at Women Support Centers of Kobuleti, Vani, Zugdidi (Koki, Didinedzi), Tsalenjikha (Pakhulani).
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
Cutting and sewing training course was successfully completed In Senaki, and certificates of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" were given to the beneficiaries from the side of successful women: Inga Kardava (Chairman of the City Council Commission on Social Issues), Manana Gvichia (Deputy Chairman of the City Council representing political unity "Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia") Marine Naneishvili (member of the City Council).
beginner tailors are moving to a new stage - along with acquiring professional skills, they are given the opportunity to start a small business.
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
“Practical guide for teachers on identifying and responding to violence against children” – this is the title of new publication of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”. It is directed to the representatives of educational institutions - for teachers and educators of schools, kindergartens, nurseries, who have permanent communication with children and are an important link in identifying and responding to violence against children.
The aim of the guide is to provide educational institutions with information and tools that will help them to timely identify the facts of violence against children in school and at home and provide a comprehensive, multi-sector response.
The project is implemented with the support the Equality Fund (Canada)
“A practical guide for teacher - educators on identifying and responding to violence against children” - this publication was presented at meetings with teachers.
Information meetings focused on the role of educators in preventing violence against women/domestic violence and assisting the victims. They also discussed the law on violence prevention and assistance to victims, issues of referring and specifically the role of educational institutions in identifying victims of violence and their assistance.
Information meetings were held with teachers from Tskaltubo, Tsalenjikha, Senaki, Khoni, Kutaisi, Zugdidi and Khobi municipalities.
The project is implemented with the support the Equality Fund (Canada)
Another informational meeting with the members of Kutaisi women's group was held in the office of the Fund “Sukhumi”. After congratulating each other on the spring holidays, the women watched the film "Women from Gori for solidarity". The members of Kutaisi Youth Club passed training - "Disinformation and the mechanisms of combating it", "Essence and importance of media literacy". Young people learned how to distinguish real and fake information and acquired the necessary skills to fight misinformation.
Information meetings were held with the members of Women Initiative Group of the village Pakhulani -Tsalenjikha municipality. The participants received information about the International Women's Solidarity Day. They also talked about modern challenges and expressed a desire, that is relevant at all times - peace, calmness and health. Then they talked about the problems and gaps identified during the qualitative research.
Another informational meeting was held with the members of the women's group in the conference hall of Khoni municipality. During the meeting, they showed a film about a Georgian feminist woman, Kato Mikeladze, a fighter for women's rights. The film was accompanied by a discussion in which all members of the club participated. An information meeting was also held with the members of the second women initiative group. The participants watched the film "Muslim Girls for Equality", after which a discussion was held. At the beginning of both meetings, spring and March holidays were congratulated to women. Both groups also summarized the local research work conducted in February 2024. An information meeting with young people was held in Khoni public school No 3. One of the members of the group prepared a presentation about March 8 and spoke about women's solidarity. Young people saw two films - "Don't speak" and "Always 5-1". A discussion was also held.