In January, 6 online group meetings of psychologist and lawyer were held for the beneficiaries of the Women Support Centers from Khoni, Senaki, Tskaltubo, Kobuleti, Khurcha(Zugdidi municipality), Pakhulani (Tsalenjikha municipality) - 35 people from 28 to 67 years old took participated.
The conversation was about how to manage negative emotions, and why it is so important in the situation of pandemic and domestic violence.
Couples and individual beneficiaries from different regions of Western Georgia also receive psychotherapeutic and legal consultation. This free service, is a great assistancefor them.
The life of the forum theater in January is held online, but quite actively. Facebook page of the Fund "Sukhumi" presents videos and photo collages prepared by young actors. A new section has begun - all actors of the forum theater will record a personal video.
The rehearsal period is actively continuing. The plan for February is already developed. The forum theater group hopes to meet with the audience soon ...
The project is implemented with the support of the organization Brot
für die Welt - Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (Germany)
For teenagers, it was surprising that "nicknames" often are the cause of conflicts. According to them, if another name comes from a surname, for example, Antiya - Anto, Mebonia - Mebo, this is not hurtful, but if it indicates a flaw, it can cause a conflict.
Regular online workshops on: "Skills for peaceful resolution of conflicts" were held with members of the conflict management group.
The conflict expert of the Fund "Sukhumi" introduced them to these skills. They learned what rules they should use to avoid conflict escalation. They were sent a list of skills in messenger groups.
Work with boys was held online in January. Group and individual meetings were held with the schools of Terjola, Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Kutaisi, Senaki, Poti, Lanchkhuti, Ozurgeti and Kobuleti municipalities.
Most of the meetings were held on the Zoom platform, which made it possible to show videos and hold discussions.
“I chose videos on the topic of violence and bullying to better demonstrate the essence of the problem,” mentiones the trainer - Beka Potskhveria. - The boys actively discussed these actual problems and the facts reflected in the videos. According to them, a tolerant society will better combate bullying and violence.
Since 2001, Fund “Sukhumi” actively works on issues of domestic violence against women, though raising awareness of population and promoting zero tolerance against domestic violence. A rehabilitation Day Center for Victims of Violence functions under the aegis of the Fund "Sukhumi", where victims of violence are provided psychological assistance, legal advice, professional courses and assisted in further employment.
Fund “Sukhumi” assesses the quality of existing support services for the victims of domestic violence and how they meet the needs and priorities of the beneficiaries. All findings and recommendations are reflected in the reports and documents of the organization and communicated to different stakeholders and decision-makers at the local and national level. The “Women Support Centers” established by the Fund “Sukhumi”, are constantly collecting information about local problems and needs, informing citizens, and engaging them in problem solution process.
The organization has a variety of training modules and a qualified team of trainers.
Working with youth is one of the priority areas of the Fund "Sukhumi". The activities carried out by the organization, imply the provision of non-formal education to young people and the development their specific skills and competencies. It mainly pertains to promoting unacceptability of violence against women and spreading the culture of non-violence and tolerance, building capacity in conflict management and prevention, which is implemented with the active cooperation with the schools and educational institutions.
Conflict Management Groups and Youth Clubs were functioning under the auspices of the Fund "Sukhumi" in 12 municipalities of Western Georgia for three years. On their basis, Youth Centers are created, which contribute to the development of youth, raising their leadership and creative capacities. In this regard, the Fund has extensive experience: under its leadership, the School of Leader Girls has functioned for many years, which has empowered and motivated many IDP girls and became a stepping-stone for their personal and professional growth and success.
One of the main activities of the Fund "Sukhumi" is promoting gender equality and creating a favourable ground for women’s participation in local planning and budgeting, as well as in being represented in decision-making positions.
Organization is engaged in educational, consultative, monitoring and advocacy activities to improve laws, policies and practices that strengthen the vulnerable groups and promote equality between women and men, and their equal participation in various areas of public life.
From the day of its foundation to the present day, the Fund "Sukhumi" has been continuously involved in confidence-building between conflict divided societies, peacebuilding and positive transformation of the conflict. Long lasting cooperation with partner organizations operating in Abkhazia and the study of the peacebuilding experience of various countries have laid the foundation for numerous partnership projects aimed at increasing the role of women and raising trust in the process of peacebuilding. Within the framework of joint projects, numerous researches were conducted, numerous documents, analytical works, and methodological guidelines on peace and security issues were published and widely distributed.
Through the trainings, information meetings and discussions, the Fund "Sukhumi" actively works with population (women - IDPs, youth) in the direction of rethinking the past, destroying the enemy image created by the conflict, reducing tension and spreading a culture of peace.
Fund "Sukhumi" developed and launched community-based Responsive Early Warning System. The organization constantly monitors the situation of IDP and conflict affected women and girls, as well as the level of their human security. It develops strategies for a timely warning against possible escalation of violence and instability, as well as actively participates in the problem solution process at the local, national and international level.
Fund “Sukhumi” has been actively participating in elaboration of National Action Plan (NAP) for implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325 and other UN Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security. The organization was involved in integration and localization of the National Action Plan on UNSC Resolution 1325 at the local government level and enhancing the participation of internally displaced (IDP) and conflict-affected women and girls in dialogue with the local government officials.
Fund “Sukhumi” systematically monitors and studies the situation of IDP and conflict affected women and girls living close to the conflict dividing line with Abkhazia and other locations with law degree of security and high risk of violence occurrence. To assess the situation of the population, we developed and launched Gender Responsive Early Warning System (GREWS), which is complex mechanism of gender sensitive conflict analysis. The study was conducted in September-December, 2020 and covered 11 target municipalities of Fund «Sukhumi» - Kutaisi, Tskaltubo, Terjola, Khoni, Senaki, Poti, Zugdidi (Koki, Khurcha, Shamgona, Kakhati), Tsalenjikha (Pakhulani, Tskoushi), Lanchkhuti, Ozurgeti, Kobuleti and the villages adjacent to the conflict dividing line in the Gali district (Nayui96evi and Saberio).
The new publication: „The Gender Dimension of the COVID-19 Crisis: Assessing the Efficiency of Pandemic Response” provides detailed information about the impact of pandemic on the human security of women and girls living in the target regions of Fund “Sukhumi” and describes population’s attitude towards the efficiency of the central and local authorities’ response to the pandemic.
The project is implemented with the support of Kvinna till Kvinna,
women’s Foundation (Sweden)
