Members of Khoni women's initiative groups got acquainted with the results of the research, which was aimed at "assessing the quality of human security" envisaging gender aspects, and got acquainted with the conclusions and recommendations, which they will try to advocate in cooperation with the local government. Khoni Youth Club discussed two project ideas developed within the grant competition. Activities to be implemented within the project were defined at the meeting. In the near future, the youth club will start implementing a project funded by the USAID grant competition and various types of activities. The meeting was hosted by Khoni public school N3.
The members of the women initiative group of the village Pakhulani held another meeting. The conversation touched on the problems and needs of women and the importance of sharing the experiences of the initiative groups in different municipalities. During the discussion, it became clear that the problems are identical everywhere. The members of the group discussed future plans, noting that such meetings are important in the process of identifying problems and finding ways to solve them.
In order to exchange and share information and discuss common problems, exchange meetings were held between women initiative groups. The women's group of Tskaltubo visited the women initiative group of Senaki. The participants got acquainted with each other better, discussed the needs and problems of women. According to their assessment, the mentioned format is important and interesting in terms of mutual experience sharing. It is an interesting phase in youth groups. Senaki group works on a project idea. The young people prepared two projects, which they will present to the competition commission.
During the meeting of the working group of IDP women and girls, the participants once again worked on advocacy plans, reviewed the planned activities to solve the problem step by step, finalized the plan and distributed responsibilities. These are the opinions of the group members:
“I feel that a literate citizen is gradually growing within me.”
“My view on problem solution has changed. Before that, I thought that all I had to do was to write an application and then wait to see whether the local government would take care of us or not.”
“We need the right information in order to achieve our goal. I love the education I get here.”
Within the framework of our project members of the working group study ways and methods of achieving the goal - using the example of their own problems.
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
A meeting with members of the working group of IDP women and girls was held on the topic “Determining the dynamics of the advocacy plan”.
Participants were once again given the opportunity to review a sample advocacy plan, clarify responsible persons, outline planned activities, and propose a reasonable time frame for starting the advocacy process.
The group members noted that they would definitely use the theoretical knowledge acquired within the project to effectively carry out advocacy.
The members of Didinedzi women initiative group discussed women's needs and existing problems during exchange meetings. Such a format, according to the participants, was important for sharing experience and for mutual cooperation. The members of Didinedzi youth group worked on the preparation of projects, which is a step forward in the process of submitting the works to the competition commission.
A workshop on the topic: "Prevention of domestic violence and work on the problem" was held with a women's group in Tskaltubo. The participants talked about the services that exist in terms of victim assistance and support. Thematic information sheets were distributed to the women. The members of the youth group discussed project ideas. Both groups have already prepared projects that will be submitted to the competition commission.
The youth initiative group of the village Koki - Zugdidi municipality worked on refining the goals and objectives of the project proposal. They learned to work on the project and turn the idea into a project at the training held in Kutaisi. As a result, working versions of two projects were prepared, which will be presented to the commission. The women initiative group conducted a research on the topic "Assessment of the quality of human security and gender needs of the population in Zugdidi municipality". They continue to work in direction of advocacy.
