November 25 - Start of the 16-day campaign against gender-based violence.

The Women Fund “Sukhumi” held a traditional silent action in Kutaisi. Thus, it joined the global campaign against gender-based violence with the slogan: Let’s Unite! Activity to End Violence Against Women and Girls”.

The action was attended by the staff of the Fund, representatives of partner organizations, civil activists and youth. Forum theater performances were presented and information booklets were distributed.

Starting today, more than 100 events will be held in the cities and villages of Georgia in the framework of the campaign.

The action was actively covered by central and regional mass media.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

Our group, which supports Ukrainian refugees, worked actively in November, as in previous months. For the given moment we have 383 people in our database, in November we added 53 new people. This month, 42 families (95 people) were assisted, 3 families were given warm blankets, 4 families - heaters. One man was helped with paying for medical procedures (oncology) and special food was purchased.

Slippers and linen were also distributed. Assistance to pay for housing continues, this month 4 more families were added, one of which lives in Tbilisi. Since the couple is elderly, as an exception, the Fund took the responsibility to pay for their accommodation. Ukrainian refugees continue to receive free psychological assistance and support.

- In the City Hall of Kutaisi, issuing of personal travel cards was finished and now they are working on single assistance for children, from our we help them in communication, - says Sophia Tsirgvava, an assistant for working with Ukrainians. - The program of free education for Ukrainian children STEM, in English, continues to function. We picked up children of the appropriate age and sent them to the Kutaisi project coordinator. Work on other issues are also in progress.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

The Women Fund "Sukhumi" held a meeting with teachers in the educational resource center of Senaki on the topic "Local cooperation for a social environment focused on the child and family".

Suring the meeting, they talked about the main areas of work of the department for the protection of children's rights and their support and the prospects for cooperation with local partners.

The teachers appreciated the important role of the department in strengthening families and expressed their desire to cooperate.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

Manana Pipia is packing bags for Ukrainians with delight. This is her job in the Fund „Sukhumi“. She buys everything herself and puts a lot of necessary things in each bag: rice, buckwheat, oil, butter, eggs, sour cream, milk, sweets, sugar, coffee, tea, tomato, vegetables, chicken, shampoo, powders, soap, dishwashing liquid, napkins... When she finds out that there are children in the family, additional items appear in the bag: diapers, baby food, yogurt. She buys medicine for someone, someone needs glasses, someone needs slippers or a warm blanket ... Then these gifts "go" to Tkibuli, Senaki, Chkhorotsku, Lanchkhuti... Those who live in Kutaisi or in its vicinity come to our office and Manana herself gives them gifts. She also takes pictures of them. Nobody refuses. Look how beautiful they are. They have gone through a lot of pain, the end of their pain is not finished yet, but they are still smiling. - Someone comes to our office alone, someone with children. Couples and families come. They leave us very satisfied, says Manana Pipia. “Everything we provide them is enough for a couple of months. They are surprised, they say how much we do. This is not a single assistance, we distribute it to the same family several times. Ukrainians say that no one helps them like this and they are very grateful. I am also happy when I see their smiling faces...

The new groups started a 6-month training course. The first meetings were held in the Youth Empowerment Centers of Zugdidi, Senaki, Terjola, Tkibuli and Chokhatauri. The total number of participants exceeds 100 people.

The trainings are held with different ways: interactive work, discussions, role-games and open feedback when the participants say that they like this kind of work.

Representatives of the Youth Department, teachers and members of the Gender Equality Council are actively involved in the trainings.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

Statistics of meetings in November: Three offline psychological group consultative meetings in the Women Support Centers of Pakhulani (Tsalenjikha municipality), Senaki, Chokhatauri, Vani, online meetings in Tkibuli, Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality) - 47 participants. 23 individual psychotherapy sessions, 12 online out of them .

Psychotherapy session was held with 5 day center beneficiaries who are learning how to work with polymer clay. The group meeting in Senaki was special. There were also women who were in our Rehabilitation Center. They talked about their successes, that they got a job and improved their financial situation. One of them was a victim of violence, she was embarrassed to talk about her problem.

 But the fear of death (her husband threatened and chased her with a knife and she miraculously escaped) forced her to speak. Aggression also came from the eldest son, who was on the side of his father. She was humiliated, intimidated in the Rehabilitation Center. In Senaki - we saw her good-looking, self-confident, successful. The eldest son, who accused her of all sins, now hugs her every morning and asks to forgive him. She offered to create a self-assistance group, she will help others and share her successful experience.

During the meetings held at the Women Support Centers, participants spoke about the problems that exist in terms of identifying victims of violence. They believe that in response to these challenges, meetings with women groups should be increased. All women should be informed about the services that exist in the government and non-government sectors. This information will help to identify hidden family conflicts and plan preventive measures.

The meetings were held in the Women Support Centers of Tkibuli, Chokhatauri, Terjola, Tsalenjikha and Zugdidi. During the whole month, five crisis families were identified in these centers and a corresponding response started.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

This is a best example of cooperation, the best practice!

The local self-government of Bagdati is a good partner of the Women Fund “Sukhumi”. The Women Support Center is actively working in Bagdati municipality, many interesting initiatives have been implemented.

One more interesting event has started. Women living in the village Dimi are given the opportunity to learn new professions.

Bagdati Gender Equality Council, with the support of the Fund “Sukhumi”, organized free educational courses in the village library. Within 10 weeks, some of the participants will learn how to make products from polymer clay, some will master the profession of a stylist, and some will take an Excel training course. The courses will help women and girls to improve their economic situation.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

During the information meeting, the women of Bagdati were provided with important information: about the monitoring conducted by the Women Fund "Sukhumi" to study the work of Departments for the protection of Children's Rights and Support, as well as about the main directions of work of the Department for the Protection of Children's Rights and Support of Bagdati municipality.

During the meeting, it was noted that this department is working actively and is trying to support the beneficiaries as much as possible. At the same time, it was noted that it is important to improve services for children and families and think about how to make these services more effective and achieve long-term results.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

“Local cooperation for a social environment focused on children and families” - a meeting on this topic was held in the Central Library of Tsalenjikha.

The meeting was attended by representatives of various services of the City Hall and teachers. They got acquainted with the results of the monitoring conducted by the Fund "Sukhumi" regarding the work of the Departments for the Protection of Children's Rights and Support. They also spoke about the practice and existing challenges of the Department for the Protection of Children's Rights and Support of Tsalenjikha municipality. Recommendations that will increase the efficiency of work in this regard were highlighted.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)