The Kovalenko family arrived from Kharkov. They lived in Samtredia for several months. They had to face difficulties, the child was hospitalized twice, our Fund helped them in preparation of documents for free medical treatment, helped them with food and hygiene items. Then they decided to return to Ukraine. But they didn't have money.

Sophie Tsirghvava, an assistant who works with Ukrainian refugees, decided to try to collect money, although she herself did not really believe that it would work. She wrote a request on a social network to help this family. There were people who transferred a substantial amount. There were also facts of transferring 3 or 5 GEL to the indicated account... The Kovalenkos were surprised, they cried and said that despite the fact that people have financial problems they help them anyway...

More than 3600 GEL was collected In two days.

At the initiative of the advocacy group, a meeting was held at the Terjola Youth Center, where employees of the City hall Department for Children's Rights and Their Protection were invited. The meeting was attended by teachers of the Center and various schools of the municipality.

We had a goal - to familiarize the participants with the structure of the department and the area of ​​work. Information about the challenges of the department based on the conclusions of our monitoring, was provided to the audience.

It was revealed that the teachers did not know about the work and functions of the department. They raised topical issues, the emphasis was on the need for active communication with inclusive children and their parents. Teachers hope that the City Hall will support them.

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

In September, Women Support Centers made a special focus on the problem of femicide. At information meetings in Vani, Samtredia, Khurcha (Zugdidi municipality), Terjola and Tsalenjikha, the participants noted that femicide in Georgia has reached an alarming level, which means that the efforts against violence are not enough...

According to the participants, information campaigns are very important in terms of violence prevention:

“It is necessary to work more in direction of prevention, especially with young people”.

"If the response is not strict, we will not be able to stop this process".

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

 für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)

Senaki Women Initiative Group starts to work on the problem using the "one window principle". According to the general decision, a priority issue has already been chosen: The military settlement of Senaki, which is mainly resided by the IDPs from Abkhazia, has a serious problem: a faulty sewer system - basements are flooded, which creates discomfort for the population.

The working group collected photo and video materials reflecting the problem, as well as signatures - for submission to the relevant departments. The Women Initiative Group will continue to work on the problem using the "one window" principle in cooperation with local authorities.

The project is implemented with the support

 of the UN Women organization

Solar energy has been used by people for a long time. Today, the mentioned issue is especially relevant. 10 informational meetings held in Khoni, Vani, Terjola, Senaki, Tskaltubo and Tkibuli were devoted to the topic of renewable energy efficiency.

The participants received full information on how efficient and profitable the solar battery is. The participants were interested in many things: how many liters are in the tank? What is the price? Does the price depend on the volume? Can it be installed individually in the flats? Can it be it damaged by natural phenomena?

Participants of the information meetings received competent answers to all questions.

On September 14, 2022, an info-sharing meeting between the participants of the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism (IPRM) and civil society representatives in Gori was held.

At the meeting the audience was addressed by the State Minister on Reconciliation and Civic Equality - Thea Akhvlediani, UN Women Representative to Georgia - Kaori Ishikawa; Head of the EU Monitoring Mission - Marek Szczygieł, Deputy Director of the Information and Analytical Department of the State Security Service - Irakli Antadze and the representative of the Office of the Minister of State for Reconciliation and Civic Equality - Zviad Zviadadze.

Ekaterine Gamakharia, representative of Women's Fund "Sukhumi"’s Tbilisi office, in her speech, focused on the restriction of movement for the Georgian population living on both sides of the Enguri river near to the conflict dividing line with Abkhazia, as a result of the suspension of issuance of movement documents by the de-facto Abkhaz government from January 2022. She highlighted the challenges that women encounter due to the restriction, namely crossing the dividing line by roundabout ways, at their own peril; surrendering to Russian soldiers, which cost them fine payment in exchange of release; This not only negatively impacts on their emotional state and increases stress but also puts on them a heavy financial burden. She also spoke about the complicated procedures and restriction of transporting products and cargo at the checkpoints, which hinders both the economic activity of the population and cooperation with the Abkhaz side in general.

Nino Kantaria - an active member of Kutaisi Youth Initiative Group.

This is her success story...

This project gave me the opportunity to show myself as a leader, during group work, as an active member, active citizen.

The project gave me the opportunity to learn very important issues such as peace and conflict, tolerance, gender equality, the role and function of an active citizen. Within the framework of the project, I met interesting people, listened to interesting trainings and gained important knowledge and experience that I will definitely use in the future.

The Permanent Parliamentary Council for Gender Equality and the Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee held a working meeting with representatives of international and local non-governmental organizations regarding the implementation of the 9th recommendation out of 12 recommendations of the European Union, which is related to gender equality issues.

The meeting highlighted several key issues in the direction of gender equality: the reaffirmation of the state's commitment to gender equality, the launch of the idea of women's economic empowerment, and the implementation of legislative measures that will be in line with the Istanbul Convention.

In her speech, Eka Gamakharia, head of the Women Fund "Sukhumi" Tbilisi office, emphasized the importance of women's economic empowerment for the prevention of violence against women and effective response. According to the promise of the Permanent Parliamentary Council for Gender Equality, a personal working meeting will be dedicated to the detailed discussion of the mentioned issue.

Website – sosfsokhumi.ge is the first platform in Georgia that combines all necessary governmental, non-governmental or municipal support and empowerment services and programs, legislative acts, statistics, helpful answers, blogs and news about the success stories and challenges of the victims in one space.

Women and children from Kherson, Odessa, Kyiv, Bucha, Chuguev... Women Fund "Sukhumi" has become their home - here they understand their pain, help and support them.

In June, the staff of the Fund prepared Georgian dishes for these women with their own hands, invited them to the Fund and laid a delicious Georgian table - “supra”.

Then was the suggestion for Ukrainian women to do the same in response.

On a sunny September day, pretty women - Marina, Anya, Zhanna, Natalya, Tatyana brought delicious dishes. The table was set in the yard: borsch with sour cream, Kyiv cutlets, pancakes with apples, Lviv cheesecakes, dumplings with cabbage, potatoes, cheese – in a word, a lot of delicious dishes.

It was not only an exhibition of Ukrainian cuisine. These were sad stories of women, memories of Abkhazia, emotional speeches of invited guests...

The Day of Ukrainian Cuisine at the Women Fund "Sukhumi" was at the same time a day of tears and joy, pain and faith in victory, the day of hope, friendship and love!

The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot

für die Welt - EvangelischerEntwicklungsdienst (Germany)